Vaginal Atrophy 

Vaginal Atrophy 

So, what is vaginal atrophy? Well, it’s a group of symptoms that effected your womanhood, causing significant discomfort during the menopause transition. Yes, the dreaded menopause occurs in the mid-forties, with 1/100 women experiencing premature menopause. Tampering with your hormones, this transitionary period begins by altering the sex drive, affecting your sleep cycle and the natural lubrication of the vagina. In more extreme cases, women exhibit symptoms associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).

It’s rather unsettling when you think that nearly 45% of women are afflicted by vaginal-associated problems, with little chance of recovery. But the question remains, what causes associated vaginal issues?

What are the Associated Symptoms of Vaginal Atrophy?

Glands release vaginal discharge in the cervix while both Skene’s and Bartholin’s glands are involved in contributing to the production of mucus. Like a wave clearing foot imprinted sand, a timed release of mucus aids with removing dead cell debris and maintaining an optimal pH. Therefore, with women who are going through the changes, the radical shift in hormones interjects the timely release of mucus. Unfortunately, it’s not always treatable with hormone patches, exercising or eating a balanced diet.

Natural lubrication is an obvious problem faced by women, but what about cases of ovarian cancer? With most getting a hysterectomy and it being the safest option – as soon as the ovaries are dissected, the patient goes through the menopause immediately. In an optimal scenario, dead cells are discarded by macrophages, and shiny new ones fill their position. Yet, this process is relatively limited with changes to cellular biochemistry owed to the ageing process.

What symptoms do women usually exhibit?

• Vaginal dryness
• Genital itching
• Incontinence
• Reduction in the production of vaginal mucus
• Discomfort during sexual intercourse
• Pain
• Possible chance of bleeding
• Disturbed cell cycle

Ultimately, with this reduction in mucus production, the epithelium (outer cell layer) becomes thinner and is more likely to suffer trauma. Again, this adds to normal discomfort with dryness also playing an immediate role. So, it’s like a vicious cycle of pain.

How are women affected?

Well, it doesn’t matter what age you are, but vaginal discomfort is sure to be disrupting to your sex life. I mean who wants to have sex when it aches downstairs, with issues such as itching and overall dryness. Plus, if you’re placed within the category of women where even hormone replacement therapy doesn’t work, then your solutions are limited.

Current Treatments for Vaginal Atrophy

Solutions for vaginal discomfort can be treated with either hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and MonaLisa Touch.

HRT 

Menopausal symptoms cause widespread damage due to the dysregulation of hormones – HRT is a viable option in some cases. Patients can take HRT in the form of hormones, tablets, skin patches and long-term treatment plans. However, having an abnormal increase in hormones contributes to an increased chance of developing breast cancer. Therefore, it might be beneficial to treat with the MonaLisa Touch, a precise local therapy without any cancer risk.

MonaLisa Touch

Stepping into the future off Cynosure’s shelf, we have the MonaLisa Touch. An ultra-modern fractional CO2 laser is able to re-furbish any woman’s womanhood. Using precision, the laser creates micro-lesions in the vaginal cell wall, inducing new cell production. Alongside this, collagen production is upregulated, directly enhancing natural elasticity and mucus production.

After several five-minute treatment sessions, we tend to see great results in the natural lubrication of the vagina. Clinical trials for the MonaLisa Touch were exclusive to women over the age of 50 with an absence of menstruation for at least year and eliminated people on HRT therapy. Results over a month showed a significant reduction in vaginal dryness, itching, dyspareunia (pain during sexual intercourse) and laxity. If you’d like more information about the MonaLisa Touch, then click here.

What are the benefits of the MonaLisa Touch?

In some cases, HRT therapy can increase your chance of cancer and cause widespread interference with natural cellular processes. The MonaLisa Touch is all about precision and accuracy, with focused local effects on enhancing vaginal lubrication. I guess like most you value your time, yes? Well, treatments with the MonaLisa Touch are quick and easy, fitting nicely in-between your schedule. I mean the procedure takes five minutes, with substantial benefits seen after at least three sessions.

Three is the magic number, well three sessions are enough to let your body get to work and start producing collagen. With treatments evenly spaced out over a few weeks, people tend to benefit from the immediate histological effects.