Surviving Perimenopause: A Traveler's Guide to Managing Hot Flashes on the Road

Ever found yourself standing in a crowded European plaza, sweat dripping down your back, wondering why you bothered to travel at all? For women navigating perimenopause and menopause, travel presents unique challenges that rarely make it into guidebooks or travel blogs.

Hot flashes, night sweats, and unpredictable temperature regulation can transform dream destinations into uncomfortable ordeals without proper planning. Drawing from personal experience and health coaching background, I share eight practical strategies to help you travel comfortably during this hormonal transition. From packing essentials like extra moisture-wicking clothing and portable fans to understanding your personal triggers and making smart accommodation choices, these tips can preserve your travel enjoyment without letting hormonal changes dictate your experiences.

The conversation covers practical solutions you might not have considered: neck fans that provide constant cooling, the importance of confirming air conditioning in European accommodations, and how to respect cultural dress codes while managing symptoms. I also share personal insights about managing triggers—how sugar, alcohol, and stress specifically affect hot flash frequency and intensity, and why sometimes a slight adjustment in consumption can dramatically improve comfort while traveling.

Don't let this natural life transition keep you from exploring the world. Your adventures await, and with these practical approaches, you can focus on creating memories rather than managing discomfort. Ready to reclaim your travel confidence? Listen now, and then join me at the upcoming Freedom Fest virtual travel summit where I'll be speaking about solo travel for women.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Hot Flashes and Travel Challenges
• 2:35 Essential Packing for Menopausal Travelers
• 5:48 Cooling Gadgets for Hot Flash Relief
• 8:10 Managing Triggers and Medications
• 10:55 Cultural Considerations and Final Tips
• 13:50 Freedom Fest Travel Summit Announcement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

You're hot, sweaty, with perspiration dripping down your back and your bra is drenched with sweat, and, on top of that, you are cranky. Now I'm not talking about traveling in the summer in Europe, although that does sound pretty accurate, especially if you're speaking of the hot summer. The hottest summer on record in Europe was 2022. It was also the summer of travel revenge. They called it, where you know, once everything opened up after COVID, everybody was traveling that summer. But that's not what I'm talking about today. Welcome to Solo Travel Adventures.

Speaker 1: 0:40

I'm Cheryl Esch, your solo advocate, travel coach and perimenopause and postmenopausal sister here. So that is what I'm speaking of today. I am talking about how can you travel while you are in perimenopause or menopause and having what the most annoying thing is the hot flashes. Of course, right, we got other symptoms I'm sure you are experiencing. Who's with me? Yes, we have been there. Maybe you are just inching into your perimenopause and you're starting to experience this, or maybe you're in complete post-menopause, but you remember those days. So I'm here to give you some tips on how you can travel when you're in this hormonal period of your life, which I know not a typical travel topic, but I thought it'd be important as you look into your summer travels, which, obviously, if you're in the Northern Hemisphere or you're going anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Europe, which is always a hot spot, it will be hot, it will be crowded and if you're experiencing anything I described in the beginning, you're going to not enjoy your trip, you're going to be cranky and annoyed. So I'm giving you oh, let's see eight tips here on things you can do to help, you know, make this trip more enjoyable, especially if you have any kind of summer travel planned for yourself. But in general, these could just be great travel tips to keep in your back pocket, no matter where you're going and if you're experiencing these symptoms. All right, I am not a doctor. However, I've been through that. I used to be a health coach. So just these are recommendations, things that I have done to help me during this period.

Speaker 1: 2:32

I am pretty much almost post-menopause. I still on occasion, have some minor hot flashes, but I will share a little bit about when I feel that coming on and what triggers that. But let's start with. You know, if you're in that phase of your life and you are planning to travel, you might notice you have you sweat a lot more, correct. You might have night sweats or you just might get overheated a lot quicker.

Speaker 1: 3:02

So first thing you want to do is pack extra clothing that includes extra underwear, extra PJs, and include some additional light layers, things that you could. For example, I always maybe take a tank top or two, even if it's winter time. That's a great under layer first of all, but if I do get warm, then I can, you know, take that off and still have, you know, maybe a lighter layer underneath. So consider that I know I'm into, like, packing light, but you will likely need these extras unless you want to keep doing laundry which you still can do because you might still need to. And again, I recommend, if you're taking extra underwear, and get some Murano wool underwear. It it washes, it cleans nicely. It's also great, um, absorbent of sweat, but without sort of the stink, right. So so pack some extra clothing underwear, pjs, light layers and, in, in addition to that, started packing extra stuff.

Speaker 1: 4:06

I always pack um a pillowcase, but you may actually want to take two, because if you're one that tends to sweat at night, especially in the hairline and stuff, um, you're going to want to switch that out. Allow the other one to dry in between, um, or if you have to get up in the middle of night and change some part of your sheets. If you're in a hotel or a rental, you may not have access to extra sheets, but at least you would have a dry pillowcase. So that would be recommendation number one. Number two please make sure you are hydrating. Drink lots of water. Pack water with you when you're walking and traveling somewhere. Make sure you take water. And if you take your own water bottle, just knowing you can fill that up, just keeping hydrated will help with that as well. So that's number two. Number three this is something I discovered last summer and it was a lifesaver.

Speaker 1: 5:06

And as you go into your travels, well, first of all, most of us that are experiencing these uncomfortable moments they're hot flashes, sweats, whatever you are experiencing, just in general, I think, when we're going through perimenopause or menopause, that our body temperatures, we have that uneven balance of hormones, right? So some of us will experience it more than others, depending on your hormone levels or lack of hormones, right? So I discovered a neck fan. Most of us like to have a fan, you know, kind of keeping that air circulating around us. So this is a beautiful neck fan. I found it on Amazon, of course, but it kind of looks like headphones, but it's actually a fan and there are a couple different settings on that. As far as I think, it's a low, medium and high setting as far as how much air, and then it runs by battery, of course. And then I would suggest also, since many of us like to I know I'm this way, especially in the summer months and even, depending on how I'm feeling in the winter months, just feeling like I need a little fan on me while I sleep, feeling like I need a little fan on me while I sleep so maybe invest in a small portable fan, battery run, maybe that you can take with you on your travels and then, if you are one that sweats a lot, maybe when you are traveling and you're out and about having a sweat, towel with you. So these could be props things that you towel with you, so these could be props things that you pack with you to help, you know, mitigate some of that uncomfortable heat that your body's admitting right.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Number four make sure, when you're booking accommodations, please, please, please, because many places, some of the Scandinavian countries or even parts of Europe, they do not have air condition. So when you're booking accommodations, you're definitely going to want to make sure your place has AC and or fans. So make sure when you're looking at the description, even though it might look nice, make sure for your own comfortability, your own sanity make sure it has AC. I did one time book a wonderful place in Belize and it did not have AC. I thought I was going to be okay in April but it got super hot and we ended up moving our last two days to a place that actually had AC because I could not stand it. I was actually very menopausal at that time in my life, so I was really needing that AC. So make sure you read your descriptions.

Speaker 1: 7:44

Number five know what triggers your hot flashes. For you, is it your diet? Is it stress? Is it the alcohol you're consuming? Now, I'm not saying when you travel to not enjoy yourself. I mean, I think that is part of the reason we do travel is to have that enjoyment, to unwind and relax and enjoy life right, and so sometimes that might include sugary foods, salty foods or some alcohol, salty foods or some alcohol. But I know for a fact for me personally, sugar, alcohol and stress all seem to trigger me to have more episodes of hot flashes.

Speaker 1: 8:34

So, just understanding what it is for you and just notice that, notice, like when you have it, what was happening in your day prior to that? Maybe you have a night spite. Okay, what was going on that day? Or maybe the day before, what did I consume? Is that playing a part? Just some thoughts you have to ask yourself and understand your body.

Speaker 1: 8:56

Number six are there any kind of pills or supplements you need while you're traveling to manage your symptoms? Some people are on, you know, hormone replacement therapy or they're taking some sort of supplements to kind of keep themselves from you know having too many symptoms. So is that something you need while you're traveling? Make sure you get that packed, you get the supplies that you need for that, and if you're not sure if that's something your body needs, definitely make sure you're seeing a I would suggest a functional practitioner to evaluate not just your hormone levels, but is there also some dietary or other things that might be involved that could help mitigate or manage some of those symptoms?

Speaker 1: 9:45

Number seven you may want to reconsider where you travel. For example, if you are in the height of just, you have these night sweats and you haven't been able to really manage your hormones at this point. Maybe going somewhere in the peak of summer where it's really hot is maybe not your best option. Maybe consider a cooler climate. Maybe, in the summer months, go to I don't know Australia or in the southern hemisphere, where it is actually winter there, australia, or in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is actually winter there. Consider when you go as well. Maybe don't go during the peak seasons and that way you're not, oh, annoyed by the crowds because you're already dealing with your own um, just uncomfortability in your own body. So maybe consider where you travel and when. Um number eight, uh, in part, you know part of part seven is just where.

Speaker 1: 10:42

Depending on where you travel, I just be respectful of the culture you are traveling in. For example, I mentioned tank tops. I obviously in the summer, especially here in texas, you have to wear a tank top, but in some cultures it is not acceptable for a woman to wear a tank top. Your shoulders need to be covered, particularly if you're going into any kind of sacred places, temples. This is definitely culturally. You need to know that before you go in. So just be respectful If you do have those hot flashes and you know a tank top is the only way you can be comfortable. Maybe a little shawl can go over your shoulders. Just know what the culture is expecting of a woman, wherever you are going.

Speaker 1: 11:32

Now, I hope this helps you travel more comfortably during this phase of your life and I hope that also, as you manage it, you can find ways that it is more manageable Basically. You have these tools, these tips that I'm giving you to help you in that process of traveling during perimenopause or menopause, and I know I've been there and it's not fun, but there are ways to certainly help, you know, mitigate the height of it and just know I like to really, you know, know what triggers me and for me it's definitely the alcohol and sugar and even sometimes stress. So, even though, when I travel and if I don't want to feel uncomfortable like that, yes, I'll have a drink or two, but I don't go overboard because I know I'm going to pay for it actually the next day or the night, that night when I'm trying to sleep and can't sleep because I'm wrestling and just uncomfortable in my own sweat, right. So, sister travelers, I know it's a uncertain period maybe in your life hormonally, but you still can travel despite that. So I hope you take these tips to heart and, even if you have some place to go this summer, definitely pack your fans, anything that's going to make you more comfortable.

Speaker 1: 13:03

And this weekend, june 14th and 15th, I am part of a virtual travel summit called Freedom Fest and it's put out by Infinity Land and I will be speaking on Sunday, june 15th, at one o'clock Central Standard Time and I hope you will join. It's a panel talking about solo travel for women, so I hope you will join. There will be a link in the show notes for you can register for that summit. It is a pay, as you can, so whatever you feel led to pay, whatever you can pay, be gracious, of course, to help. You know, cover the cost of putting this whole thing together, and I hope to see some of my listeners on that panel. I hope to see you there and sister travelers, get out there and have that adventure.