Vaginal Dryness and Menopause

So many women have the unfortunate problem of experiencing vaginal dryness during those menopausal years. Things are radically changing in a woman’s body as her hormones go through major shifts. This can start during peri-menopause which is the 5-10 year period before menopause itself.

In fact, menopause is simply the absence of a menstrual period for more than 12 months, so the years before that happens can be filled with all kinds of strange symptoms and problems that are mostly related to this change in hormones.

Here is some additional information about vaginal dryness as it relates to menopause and what a woman can do about it:

Vaginal dryness can affect more than 80% of women who are entering menopause. It can also continue to be a problem for up to 50% of women even after the transition has occurred. Having this problem can greatly affect a woman’s sex life because the dryness can cause a lot of pain and irritation.

Dryness affects women who are mostly in the 40 to 65 year old range. The dryness is caused by the body not producing as much estrogen which normally helps to keep the vagina moist and free from germs since it has a higher acidity level.

In order to maintain vaginal elasticity, a women needs estrogen. However, during menopause a woman’s loses her estrogen and the vaginal wall becomes dryer and thinner. The walls become weaker and more sensitive which can lead some women to have more yeast and urinary tract infections.

Symptoms of vaginal dryness can be itching and painful intercourse. In fact, some women will even experience bleeding after sex because the walls of the vagina are too thin. This leads many menopausal women to stop having sex or enjoying an intimate life just to avoid the pain and embarrassment.

Incontinence can occur in tandem with vaginal dryness which adds another level of worry to a woman’s life. Because the levels of estrogen drop, a woman’s vaginal muscles can become weaker causing her to have a hard time preventing urine from escaping.

Treating vaginal dryness can take some trial and error. There many different treatment options available to women who are suffering from this condition, but seeing the doctor is the first step to taking care of it. Sometimes, women going through menopause who are experiencing vaginal dryness find that using simple lubricants is all that is needed to overcome the side effects associated with the condition.

When using lubricants to solve vaginal dryness issues, many women find that intercourse becomes much more enjoyable and a lot less painful. Some of these lubricants can be put on up to two hours before intercourse.

If the vaginal dryness is persistent, then it might be possible that the doctor needs to initiate estrogen therapy using oral, transdermal, topical or even tablet forms of estrogen. In these cases, the women will need to be regularly and closely monitored by their physicians to make sure that the therapy is working.