During perimenopause and after menopause, a woman’s body goes through a number of natural hormonal changes that can cause various symptoms. One common and unpleasant side effect of menopause is vaginal dryness, which can lead to pain during sexual intercourse.
Vaginal dryness is uncomfortable, but OB/GYNs Anita Gondy, MD, Saovaros Michaels, MD, and Henry Luh, DO, at The Ob-Gyn Center, Northwest, offer several solutions that provide relief. Discover the treatments available that mean you no longer have to live with vaginal dryness.
Understanding vaginal dryness
After menopause, sometimes after giving birth and breastfeeding, or following ovary removal, chemotherapy, or radiation, your estrogen levels significantly drop. Estrogen moisturizes and lubricates your vagina, maintaining its elasticity, so reduced levels can cause your vagina to become dry.
The walls of your vagina can also become thinner as a result of vaginal dryness. This condition is known as vaginal atrophy.
If you have vaginal dryness, your vagina can feel dry, itchy, and even like it’s burning. You might also experience pain, bleeding, and reduced lubrication during sexual intercourse.
Treatments for vaginal dryness
Depending on your needs and preferences, hormonal and nonhormonal treatments are available to address vaginal dryness. Make an appointment with our team at WHASN – NW for a full evaluation and personalized treatment plan.
Hormonal treatments
Increasing the amount of estrogen in your body helps restore the lubrication and elasticity in your vagina. Our doctors prescribe vaginal estrogen creams, pills, and rings that, when inserted into your vagina, increase the amount of estrogen produced.
Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a treatment that brings your estrogen and other hormones to the balance they had before menopause. HRT is an excellent option for women looking for relief from a variety of menopause symptoms including vaginal dryness.
The natural hormone DHEA stimulates sex hormone production and repairs vaginal tissue health. Our clinicians can apply DHEA directly inside your vagina.
If your main challenge is pain during sexual intercourse, Osphena® and Intrarosa® are both treatments specifically designed to address this issue. You take Osphena orally, and Intrarosa is inserted into your vagina.
Non-hormonal treatments
If you prefer a nonhormonal solution to vaginal dryness, our doctors offer the MonaLisa Touch® treatment. Using advanced fractal CO2 laser technology, MonaLisa Touch gently repairs your vaginal lining, increasing lubrication and restoring elasticity and tone to your vagina.
MonaLisa Touch is an in-office procedure at WHASN – NW that takes just five minutes. During the treatment, our doctors insert the laser probe into your vagina, where the probe gently uses laser energy to repair your vaginal walls.
The treatment isn’t painful, you won’t need anesthesia, and you can return to your typical activities right after the procedure. Most women get three laser treatments over a period of 18 weeks.
Vaginal dryness is annoying, uncomfortable, and can make you feel miserable, but it’s also a very treatable condition. To make an appointment to discuss solutions, call our Las Vegas, Nevada, office at 702-254-8900 today.
