After the hot flashes have stopped. What's next?
Many women will experience vaginal dryness. It's quite common, however, few openly discuss it because female sexuality and female sexual health remain taboo.
I want to shed light on these issues. While no one dies from vaginal dryness, it can be disruptive, interfering with your ability to enjoy sexual intimacy and your overall general well-being.
Too often, we have passively accepted this imposed celibacy as a consequence of aging. The good news is that this doesn't have to be true. There are options. You get to choose.
What are the symptoms of vaginal dryness?
The symptoms of vaginal dryness can include:
- Lack of lubrication coming from the cervix
- Pain during intercourse
- Pain when wearing close-fitting clothing
- Itchiness
- Stinging
- Chronic irritation
- Minor amount of bleeding during intercourse
- Increased urge to urinate
- General feeling of pain or discomfort at most times
Most women have at least several of these symptoms at one time. Vaginal dryness can become uncomfortable enough to interfere in your life, but fortunately, there are solutions.
Why does vaginal dryness occur?
The most common reason vaginal dryness occurs is a lack of estrogen, a common part of menopause. Other potential causes of vaginal dryness include:
- Hormonal changes due to pregnancy and childbirth
- Oral contraceptives
- Radiation and chemotherapy
- Regular use of douches
- Anxiety and stress
- Autoimmune diseases
How is vaginal dryness treated?
There are several different options for the treatment of vaginal dryness. There are topical lubricants that can add moisture, but those work only for the short term.
Many women find that making lifestyle changes like drinking more water, reducing alcohol consumption, reducing caffeine consumption, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise can help as well.
The MonaLisa Touch® laser is also an excellent non-invasive option for dealing with vaginal dryness. This laser treatment can relieve dryness, itchiness, and even vaginal laxity.
The MonaLisa Touch laser treatment is done on an outpatient basis and takes only around half an hour to complete.
While you lay down comfortably, the laser will send CO2 directly into the vaginal tissues.
There is no anesthesia required, and most women tolerate the treatment extremely well. You may notice a sensation of cooling during the treatment. As the CO2 moves into the deeper layers of mucosal tissue, it jump-starts new collagen production.
Over the coming weeks, the vaginal tissue will become less lax and will generate more moisture, which allows you to avoid the uncomfortable symptoms of vaginal dryness.
The treatment has no downtime, but you may need to avoid sexual intercourse for a few days after the treatment for best results.
Dr. Rahman at Today’s Woman can help you with vaginal dryness or any other gynecological concerns you may have.
*Individual results may vary.
