EARLY MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS

Vaginal dryness is one of the most common symptoms of menopause and its onset can be fairly sudden at any stage of the menopause. Menopause Vaginal Dryness mainly affects women between 40-65 years although it can happen at anytime for reasons other than menopause.

As the vaginal tissues re-moisturize they recover their natural elasticity and functions. The degree to which their full function is able to return may be dependant on the severity of the atrophy.

As many as 80% of women entering menopause are effected by vaginal dryness and about 50% of women completing menopause continue to experience vaginal dryness.

Causes of Vaginal Dryness

Vaginal dryness is very common in women going through menopause and for postmenopausal women as well. Here are some common causes:

Decreased Estrogen

Estrogen is a hormone that’s essential to keeping vaginal tissues healthy. This hormone helps to maintain the vagina’s normal lubrication, acidity levels, and elasticity. Therefore, when estrogen levels decline, the lining of the vagina becomes thinner and less elastic, and the vagina produces less lubrication.

Estrogen levels drop during and/or after menopause, during childbirth, and during periods of breastfeeding. You may also experience a loss of estrogen if you smoke cigarettes, have had your ovaries removed, have been treated for carcinoma, or if you have certain immune disorders.

Other Causes

There are a few additional, but less common, reasons why you may experience vaginal dryness. If you use a store bought vaginal cleanser or douche, for instance, you’re disrupting the natural balance of chemicals in your vagina. This can cause inflammation and dryness. A rare autoimmune disease called Sjögren’s syndrome, which causes dryness in the eyes and mouth, can also cause vaginal dryness.

symptoms of vaginal dryness

The symptoms are itching, dryness, burning, irritation, soreness or pain during sexual intercourse. Without its natural lubrication the vagina becomes more fragile, less lubrication means more friction, which can damage the thinning vagina. Bleeding after intercourse can be a sign of vaginal tissue rupture. Forceful penetration can tear the fragile vaginal tissues.
Menopausal itching is a very distressing symptom, and can be internal or external. External itching can be due to the vulval tissues drying, losing their acidic and protective moisture.
An increased susceptibility to infection is another possibility with menopause vaginal dryness. As the acidity of the vagina reduces so the usual protective vaginal environment loses its ability to fight vaginal infections such as Candida albicans (Thrush) and other micro-organisms.

Alternative Treatments for Vaginal Dryness

Hormone therapy may not be the right treatment for everyone. Replacing natural estrogen can help with dryness, but can also trigger side effects. These include:

• weight gain

• fluid retention

• nausea

• headaches

• breast tenderness

• spotting of the skin

• increased risk of stroke, blood clots, and breast and ovarian carcinoma.

There are several alternatives to estrogen therapy, which work very well and are often worth trying before using estrogen therapy. They include:

• Water-based lubricants, which can help add moisture to the vaginal lining. Their effectiveness can last for hours at a time, making them a good alternative when dryness causes discomfort during sexual intercourse.

• Vaginal moisturizers made specifically for addressing dryness can be used to relieve symptoms for up to three days with just one application.

• Compounds in soybeans and soy products mimic the effects of estrogen. If you add soy to your diet, you may experience some relief from vaginal dryness.

• Black cohosh is an herbal supplement that’s considered by some to relieve menopausal symptoms. There are no significant clinical studies that show its effectiveness.

• Wild yam is another supplemental ingredient that promises to relieve dryness, but evidence from research is lacking.

Talk to your Gynecologist before taking any kind of herbal medicine, as it may interfere with other medications, vitamins, or other herbs you’re currently taking.

In addition to these alternatives, it’s also a good idea to avoid vaginal cleansers or douches. These products will only make dryness worse. And while dryness can make sex uncomfortable, having intercourse more regularly actually promotes natural lubrication.

Vaginal dryness is an uncomfortable condition, but can be managed and treated.

3 Low-Impact Exercises to Help with Vaginal Dryness

When it comes to menopause symptoms, vaginal dryness is among the more unpleasant to experience. Changes in hormone levels during perimenopause can cause the vaginal tissues to become thin, lose elasticity, and secrete less moisture, resulting in a feeling of itchy, sore dryness. Luckily, there are a number of natural ways to help with vaginal dryness, one of which is exercise. Regular exercise boosts physical strength in the body, which can help it to fight off infections and other aggravations, including dryness. Try these low-impact activities to help promote sound vaginal health.

• Sex

Sex not only works out all sorts of muscles in the body, but it is also a natural antidote to vaginal dryness. When a woman is aroused, blood flow to her genitals increases, thus stimulating the natural secretion of moisture in the vaginal tissues to help remedy dryness. Communicate with your partner about increasing the amount of sexual foreplay (e.g. kissing, caressing, and oral stimulation) to ensure you are fully aroused before intercourse.

If you find that sex is uncomfortable or painful due to dryness, try incorporating a water-based lubricant into foreplay, which can relieve dryness.

• Aerobic Workouts

Like many other functions in the body, healthy vaginal tissues can be boosted by regular aerobic exercise. Working out for 30 minutes a day, five times a week increases the strength of the body in terms of fitness, disease prevention, and ability to fight infection. To help with vaginal dryness, any form of moderate intensity exercise that makes you slightly warm and breathless will help; try a yoga class, walking briskly, or jogging.

While swimming is an excellent form of exercise, it is best to avoid this with vaginal dryness because the chemicals used in swimming pools are likely to exacerbate the condition.

• Pelvic Floor Exercises

Strengthening pelvic floor muscles with exercises known as Kegels will help to promote the healthy function of vaginal tissues and – conveniently – these can be done wherever, whenever, without anyone else noticing. Your pelvic floor muscles are the ones you would use to stop the flow while urinating. To strengthen them, squeeze them tight, hold for ten seconds, then release for ten seconds. Do ten repetitions of this, three to five times a day to notice an improvement in vaginal muscle tone in four to six weeks.

The great thing about these exercises is that all three will not only help remedy dryness; they’ll do wonders for your general well-being, too. Remember that, while the suggested activities help improve vaginal heath over time, there are natural vaginal moisturizers that can provide relief for immediate discomfort, and it’s important to follow a healthy diet. The multitude of treatment options available mean that, while this menopause symptom may be unpleasant, it does not have to be permanent.