Dallas — Women who experience the hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, and sleep problems that can come with menopause — all while looking in the mirror and noticing signs of aging — are bombarded with products.
More open conversations about menopause and the period before it — called perimenopause — are occurring at the same time as social media marketing has been revitalized. Women are faced with light lotions, serums and masks that promise to rejuvenate their faces and necks, supplements that claim to do everything from improve mood to relieve hot flashes and gadgets promising to help treat symptoms.
“Marketing has become very aggressive. It’s pervasive,” said Dr. Nanette Santoro, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz.
Santoro and other doctors say that before spending a lot of money on products that make big promises, it’s important for women to talk to their doctors about what’s already been proven to help — and what could be harmful.
“It really helps to be very skeptical,” Santoro said.
As the menstrual cycle ends, women’s levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease. In some women, symptoms can include hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, and vaginal dryness He sleeps problems.
In the past, doctors would ask women around age 50 during their annual checkup if they noticed any symptoms, said Dr. Angela Angell, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas. But now patients are making separate appointments and starting conversations, she said.
At those appointments, she said, many patients tell her they’ve already tried something. “They come to see me because it’s not effective or because it’s causing some other side effect,” Angel said.
The hospital where she works recently created a physician-led menopause support group, and at the request of participants, the next session will focus on helping women navigate the marketing onslaught.
Products aimed at women at this stage of life include everything from bracelets and rings that claim to help relieve hot flashes to cooling blankets and bed sheets.
Santoro said her advice to patients is to “weigh what you’re going to spend and whether this might help you.”
“If a bracelet is going to cost you $20, that’s not a big expense. It might provide some improvement,” Santoro said. “Things that haven’t been well tested may still be effective, but if you want something that works — come back, I’m not going anywhere and I’m going to give you an evidence-based treatment.”
Supplements have not been shown to be effective in many good studies for relieving hot flashes, but many are low-cost with a low potential for harm, Santoro said. If a patient wants to try something they see online, she said, it’s important to at least tell their doctor so they can be monitored while taking it — or warned.
Doctors note that over-the-counter products such as nutritional supplements, shampoos or skin care products that are advertised to menopausal women are mostly no different from regular products for this purpose in terms of ingredients.
Some products can have side effects.
Dr. Monica Christmas, director of the Menopause Program at the University of Chicago Medicine, said there is no single symptom that everyone gets. Some women experience little or none at all, while others are severely affected by a variety of symptoms, she said. She said the most important thing is to seek medical help.
Doctors say so Hormonal therapy Doctor-prescribed prescriptions can help relieve symptoms, as can prescription medications Non-hormonal medications. Some women are advised to avoid hormone therapy because they have certain medical problems.
“Not everyone needs hormone therapy, not everyone is a candidate for hormone therapy, and not everyone should be on hormone therapy,” Angel said.
normal He practices Doctors say that a healthy diet can help a lot. This can aid in weight loss, which is associated with reduced hot flashes and night sweats.
Santoro points out that avoiding alcohol is a good step for someone suffering from hot flashes because it may make their condition worse.
“Many symptoms actually improve over time, so sometimes it’s just a matter of lifestyle modifications, self-care and getting through that more disruptive time frame,” Christmas said.
For Brandi McGruder, a 49-year-old school librarian from Dallas, she noticed she was premenopausal last year when she went out to dinner for her birthday. When she and her friends entered the steakhouse, she was cold. After about 20 minutes, it was burning.
She said she made an appointment with her doctor, who prescribed an estrogen patch, which helped. McGruder said she had seen ads for products targeting women her age, but her first stop was her doctor.
McGruder said that although she doesn’t like the way her symptoms have aged her, she’s also accepting this time in her life. Her advice: “Laugh. It’s okay. Reach out to others who are going through what you’re going through, and don’t take it too seriously.”
There are changes with leather This comes over time with age, and during menopause as the skin becomes thinner due to the loss of collagen and some of the hyaluronic acid that supports the skin, said Dr. Melissa Muscar, a dermatologist and associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Using a prescription retinoid or over-the-counter retinol can help, Moscar said. They both help in collagen production and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
She said good over-the-counter moisturizers can be found at drugstores. Her advice is to look for ones that contain ceramides, which help keep skin hydrated.
“But you don’t want to get anything with a lot of added ingredients — just because it’s natural and vegan doesn’t mean it’s better,” Moscar said. “A lot of these substances are actually allergens that can make people more sensitive.”
Ingestible collagen is among the products marketed to women, but she warns that studies are mixed and that taking it “doesn’t mean it’s going to make its way into your skin and plump your face” — even though the products claim it will. She said light masks won’t hurt and some studies show they can help, but they won’t make a difference overnight. She said seeing any improvements would likely require daily use for many years.
She said sun damage is one of the biggest reasons patients suffer from more wrinkles, so consistent use of sunscreen is essential for all ages.
“I think there are a lot of new fancy things coming out that are targeted to premenopausal patients, menopausal patients, but sometimes, the tried-and-true things that we at least have the science on, I think are still the gold standard for my patients,” Moscar said.