Most women suffer from hot flashes. The immediate cause of hot flash is the dilation of blood vessels on the upper part of the body mostly on the neck and face. The reason and the explanation about the enlargement of the blood vessels is still unclear. What seems to be the prime cause is the huge fluctuations of the female hormone. Hot spicy foods, hot weather, caffeine, stress and alcohol are some of the things that trigger hot flash.
Hot flash may be experienced for a few seconds and could last as long as an hour. And when it comes to the severity of attack, there is also a wide variation. Some people can sense the attack of hot flash while it is very sudden for others.