Relieve discomfort associated with intimate dryness and vaginal atrophy
As we saw in the previous article , the discomforts of menopause, including vaginal dryness, can affect women of all ages, but it is very common during and after menopause. It is also one of the most reported symptoms in patients suffering from vaginal or vulvovaginal atrophy.
Thus, 15% of pre-menopausal women and 57% of post-menopausal women suffer from this syndrome (SGM). (Portman DJ, Gass ML Climacteric 2014;14(5):557-63)
But it is not only the preserve of menopausal women, it can also be caused by several factors:
- The contraceptive pill
- Breastfeeding
- Stress
- Diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease
- Chronic heart failure
- Multiple sclerosis
- Cancer treatments, radiation and chemotherapy
- Consumption of antidepressants
- Goujerot-Sjörgren syndrome.
On the other hand, and this is often the least discussed symptom, given its taboo nature, vaginal dryness is for women what erectile dysfunction is for men; a significant hiatus in sexual life. Finally, it is associated with pain during intercourse (dyspareunia - Jamieson et al Obst Gynae 1996; 87:55-8 ) and affects approximately half of all women at some point in their lives. ( Allen, C., Evans, G., & Sutton, E. L. (2016). Pharmacologic Therapies in Women's Health. Medical Clinics of North America, 100(4), 763–789.)
How to Relieve This Unpleasant Symptom of Menopause
Relieving intimate dryness would therefore have a beneficial effect on most other symptoms. Indeed, by restoring hydration to the genital mucous membranes while lowering the vaginal pH - which tends to increase under the effect of the drop in estrogen production - the effects of vulvovaginal atrophy are relieved very lastingly.
There are two ways to reduce the discomfort associated with vaginal dryness: hormonal and non-hormonal.
We will focus exclusively on the non-hormonal path which is often the least taken, wrongly!
Indeed, it has been shown that the use of a vaginal moisturizer, in daily use, limits the impact of vulvovaginal atrophy and helps restore the typical vaginal environment by first lowering the pH, but also by preserving the cellular capital of the mucous membranes. In the next article, we will reveal the right criteria for selecting such a product, for maximum effectiveness and without any risk to your health.
