Sweaty and Hot: Heat Surges
By Dr. Renae Haldeman · New to some of these words? See the glossary.
For thousands of years, many ancient cultures knew of an inner energy in the body that, when in balance, keeps the body healthy. Some things can throw the body out of balance, like things in our surroundings, emotional upset, or traits we inherit. Acupuncture is a way to heal the body from imbalances like trouble with controlling body temperature.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hot surges are often caused by yin deficiency (yin is the body’s cooling fluid). This means there is not enough fluid to cool the heat inside the body. The truth is that hot surges are not only for middle-aged, menopausal women. Men and women, young and old, and everyone in between can have them.
Several months ago, a 50-year-old woman came to see me at the office. She had all the usual menopause symptoms, including hot flashes that came often and strongly. The hot flashes were better in the morning and worse as the day went on. They would start behind her knees, move up her back, wrap around her belly, and then shoot up to her face, causing extreme heat and sweating. Interestingly, her belly bloating got worse when the hot flashes began. After her first acupuncture visit, her symptoms were less strong and less frequent. We kept up weekly acupuncture visits for a couple of months to help make sure her symptoms stayed away. We also found a good herbal formula, a well-known one for hot flashes. Today, she is enjoying a life free of hot flashes!
A 40-year-old woman came in with what she called a “Richard Simmons-style” sweating problem. She is a massage therapist, and having her hands busy all day made the sweating hard to manage. With just 6 appointments, we were able to get the heavy sweating under control with acupuncture. What a relief!
Just over a month ago, a 20-year-old woman came to see me about her extreme body heat. She felt hot all the time. She would break out in a sweat for no reason during the day or night. She noticed that the hot surges were worse during her period. We started treating her hot surges with acupuncture, along with her autoimmune condition, eosinophilic esophagitis (a swelling of the food pipe). She was young and had a strong constitution, so this was an easy case to treat with only a few acupuncture treatments.
My most recent hot surge patient started acupuncture two weeks ago. This 17-year-old boy had extreme heat and sweating at night while he slept. He also had constant calf cramps and trouble sleeping. After just three acupuncture visits, his hot, sweaty nights went away completely. He also stopped having insomnia and calf cramps, and his acne got much better.
If you have hot surges, there is more that can be done. Come see us for acupuncture treatment today, and you will find relief.
Related articles
This article is educational and is not medical advice. Individual results vary. Please talk with a licensed healthcare provider about your own health.