Hot Enough for You?

It's Not the Humidity. It's Hot Flashes, and It's Time to Do . . . Something. Um, What?

The curse is lifting, but the heat is on. Your own private heat. Summer in Washington, times 10. We're talking hot flashes -- power surges, flop sweats, melted mascara, nightly trips to the equator, tomato face, armpit swimming pool. Don't you want to jump right in?

Me neither. Especially not at this particular historic moment, when the pills of choice for menopausal symptoms are out of favor and we women are stranded like dogs in parked cars. (Can somebody please crack a window?)

Hormones work but are now recommended only for the shortest time and the hardest hit. Antidepressants show promise for treating hot flashes but only for the adventurous. (We brake for side effects.) So what about the rest of us, the everywomen who just want a little relief without a lot of risk? How can we handle the heat without prescriptions?

Denial's not a great strategy. Researchers say that about 75 to 85 percent of American women will experience hot flashes at some point during their muddle through menopause.

Waiting for medical science isn't a good bet, either. Doctors still don't know what causes hot flashes, nothing is known to cure them, and the few studies of nonprescription treatments are small and contradictory.

And yet there is one tiny ray of hope. A comprehensive research summary released this year by the North American Menopause Society buries this key sentence on page 5: "In well-controlled, randomized clinical trials, placebo treatment has reduced hot flashes by approximately 51 percent."

Sugar pills help half the time? Yes, said Nanette Santoro, lead editor of the report and an expert in women's health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. "A placebo, when given in the context of a hot flash treatment trial, cuts hot flashes in half." In other words, for mild to moderate hot flashes, for eight to 12 weeks (until the placebo effect wears off), Santoro said, "just about anything may help."

Hmmm. In that case, I say let's try anything . . . and everything. Let's drop our doctors at the curb and treat ourselves to something cool, 'cause, hey, you just never know.

Here's my shopping list:

Things to Cool You Off

Wicking pajamas. In the heat of the night, wicking pajamas may do the trick. The special polyester fabric allegedly wicks the moisture away from your body, dries quickly and keeps you from sticking to the sheets.