As a woman who used to suffer from really bad hot flashes, which I doubt could be said of Prudence, I was so offended by her response that I actually joined just so I could write a post. Since when is having a hot flash unprofessional? A hot flash is uncontrollable, it's as if your temperature spiked to 103 degrees. You are sweating profusely, and your face turns bright red. It's not something that goes unnoticed, even without waving your arms and sticking your face in front of a fan. Yes, the complainer's boss should speak to her doctor about it, but there's no guarantee anything can be done. I found the best thing to do when I had a hot flash during a meeting was to make a joke about it, and hope it passed quickly and that I wouldn't have another one in a few minutes. I sure hope the 20-something remembers this when she goes through menopause.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that having a hot flash is unprofessional. Just the fact that the woman in question goes out of her way to make it the sole subject of daily conversation. Yes, hot flashes happen. So do hemorrhoids, yeast infections, and dandruff. How willing would you be to endure co-workers giving a blow-by-blow account of those maladies? I'm guessing not very.