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Healthy vaginal tissue is thick, slippery, and stretchy. In fact, that describes the ideal environment for sexual intercourse, so when your sexual experience changes, your lubrication level is the first thing you should check.
One of the main culprits of a parched vagina is menopause. Because the hormone estrogen wanes during this time in your life, and estrogen is the main driver of vaginal moisture, the two are tightly linked. But other things can cause your vaginal tissue to dry up too. Medications, hysterectomy, radiation and chemotherapy treatments, douching, and illnesses can all be part of the problem.
But the solution is available at Optimized Wellness in Centennial, Colorado. When hormone imbalance is wreaking havoc with your sex life and making your vagina itch and burn due to dryness, our team of specialists led by Amy Maron-Martinez, ARNP, can set things right again. Here are four ways to restore vaginal lubrication.
Because the problem of vaginal dryness is so common, there are many products lining the shelves at your local drugstore that address the issue. You can choose creams, lotions, or ointments to add an extra measure of moisture when you need it. Some products are designed to use prior to sex, and others are used daily to promote your body’s natural production of mucous.
If you’re taking medications that are causing your vaginal dryness, ask your doctor if there’s an alternative. Some allergy drugs and antidepressants can reduce the amount of mucous that normally lines your vagina, so switching up your meds may solve the problem.
While you’re evaluating your medications, take a minute to assess your hygiene routine. If you’re douching, stop. There’s no reason to force-wash your vagina, and doing so can lead to vaginal dryness, infections, and even fertility problems.
It may seem counterintuitive to have more sex to solve your painful sex problem, but regular intercourse can actually keep your vaginal environment healthy. When you’re aroused, the increased blood flow to the vaginal area stimulates lubrication, so the more sex you have, the more moist your vagina will be.
This also means that foreplay is not just an enjoyable phase of sex, but also the key to comfortable sex.
If lifestyle and at-home treatments don’t solve your vaginal dryness, you may be a good candidate for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. BHRT is one of the most effective ways to address a dry vagina because it gets to the core cause of the lack of lubrication — lost estrogen.
Amy Maron-Martinez specializes in the latest hormone replacement therapies and trusts BHRT because it most closely replicates your natural estrogen. Once she diagnoses that low estrogen is the cause of your vaginal dryness, she customizes a formula for your unique symptoms in the form of a tiny pellet.
She inserts the pellet just under your skin in your hip, where it gradually releases the hormones you’re missing in controlled doses. This means that you won’t get the ups and downs commonly associated with spikes and plummets in hormone levels.
You will, however, notice that your vagina starts to feel better and sex become more enjoyable again.
Schedule a consultation today to discuss the best way to deal with your vaginal dryness and to find out if BHRT is right for you. Call our office or book an appointment online.
