Painful sex after menopause
Post-menopausal women may experience physical alterations of the vagina thanks to decreased levels of estrogen in the body. Watch Patricia Geraghty, NP, as she explains the painful symptoms of this condition and the importance of timely treatment.
Transcript
Though not all women or even all menopausal women are sexually active, one in two postmenopausal women
have symptoms. [CHIME MUSIC] Vaginal alterations due to the decreased amount of estrogen
can cause painful sex or bleeding with sex. It can cause a dry, itchy, or irritated vagina.
It can cause painful urination or frequent bladder infections. These are symptoms that can be experienced
by women whether or not they are sexually active. This ends up being about 32 million women.
We used to call this vulvovaginal atrophy, but the preferred name now is genitourinary syndrome
of menopause. One of the most common causes is the vaginal and genital tissue
changes that occur after menopause. These progressive changes are from a lack
of estrogen. This causes thinning, drying, and reduced elasticity of the vagina walls and genital tissue.
Eventually, there are architectural changes. The inner labia can fuse with the outer labia and disappear.
The vaginal opening can become a small slit. The urethra, the opening to the bladder, can recede up into the vaginal opening.
If treated in time, there can be complete reversal of these post-menopause changes.
menopause
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