A sudden sensation of intense heat, often with flushing, sweating, and sometimes palpitations, and a hallmark symptom of the menopause transition.

A hot flash that happens during sleep, often intense enough to wake you or soak bedclothes.

Vasomotor symptom (VMS)?

The clinical term for hot flashes and night sweats together.

The stage when menopause symptoms begin and periods become irregular but have not stopped.

Defined as 12 consecutive months with no menstrual period.

Menopause and Hot Flash Glossary

Plain definitions of the terms you will see around hot flashes and menopause tracking.

Hot flash: A sudden sensation of intense heat, often with flushing, sweating, and sometimes palpitations, and a hallmark symptom of the menopause transition.
Night sweat: A hot flash that happens during sleep, often intense enough to wake you or soak bedclothes.
Vasomotor symptom (VMS): The clinical term for hot flashes and night sweats together.
Perimenopause: The stage when menopause symptoms begin and periods become irregular but have not stopped.
Menopause: Defined as 12 consecutive months with no menstrual period.
Postmenopause: The years after menopause has been reached.
Severity scale: The trial-standard 4-level rating for a hot flash: mild, moderate, severe, very severe.
Trigger: Something that may precede or worsen a hot flash for a given person, such as stress, caffeine, alcohol, or a warm room. Triggers are individual.
Symptom diary: A record of each episode over time, used to find patterns and to summarize for a clinician.
Doctor Report: Glasyn's one-page dated summary of frequency, severity, night sweats and sleep impact, duration, top triggers, and daily-life impact.

Hot flash?: A sudden sensation of intense heat, often with flushing, sweating, and sometimes palpitations, and a hallmark symptom of the menopause transition.
Night sweat?: A hot flash that happens during sleep, often intense enough to wake you or soak bedclothes.
Vasomotor symptom (VMS)?: The clinical term for hot flashes and night sweats together.
Perimenopause?: The stage when menopause symptoms begin and periods become irregular but have not stopped.
Menopause?: Defined as 12 consecutive months with no menstrual period.