Post Menopausal Health ~ Facing the Issues

Menopause brings about all sorts of changes in a woman’s body and in her perceptions of herself as a woman. Some of us sail through this sometimes life altering event without much difficulty while others are plagued with hot flashes, insomnia and mood swings that last for years. Sagging skin and age spots are just a few of the things that can shake our confidence. But, menopause also brings about a condition that women are reluctant to talk about and as a result are ill-informed and going untreated and that is vaginal atrophy. Proper treatment is extremely important to our physical comfort, health and emotional well being.

The medical community has begun to recognize that because VA difficult to discuss, many women are suffering needlessly. The International Menopause Society recently launched a new initiative to bring women and medical practitioners up to date on this issue. VA affects fifty percent of all post menopausal women.

It is described in a recent article in Medical News Today as follows:

“VA is characterized by symptoms including vaginal dryness, itching, increased tendency of infection and pain during sex. It occurs when the vaginal walls become thin, fragile and inflamed due to a reduction of estrogen in the body. While VA has an obvious impact on sexual intimacy, it also has negative consequences for a woman’s personal relationships, self-esteem and overall quality of life. If left untreated, VA can lead to serious long-term urogenital problems, including incontinence. However, despite these negative implications, just one in four women will actually speak to her doctor about VA.1″

In a recent study involving over 3,500 postmenopausal women, it was shown that “96% of postmenopausal women are incorrectly attributing VA symptoms to other conditions such as thrush or a bladder infection. The data also show that women do not understand that VA is a chronic condition, and are resorting to short-term symptom relief using lubricants and moisturizers, when treatment for the underlying cause is available from the doctor.”

If you think you might be suffering from VA, do yourself a favor and talk to your doctor about it. You’ll be glad you did. Silence is no longer an option for today’s woman. We have too much living yet to do.

The complete article:

Medical Community Urged To Improve The Vaginal Health Of Post-menopausal Women