Your Age And Your Vagina

Aging takes its toll on my organs and systems in the body. No one can ever entirely escape the affects of aging. No one can ever completely turn back the biologic clock. But we can conduct ourselves with good nutrition, exercise, and good lifestyle behaviors.

As we all get older, many things change and we often have to make allowances for them. Take our skin, for example. We use creams and moisturizers to combat aging and sagging of our skin as we enter middle age. And, just like our skin, it’s important to remember things internally like our joints, bones, and even vaginal tissue can also change with age.

As a woman enters menopause, vaginal changes may occur. The vagina can become shorter and narrower. And, as a woman’s estrogen levels start to naturally decline with age, the vaginal tissue can become less of a soft cushion for an erect penis to land. This allows more potential for increased friction, and intercourse can become quite painful for some women who have estrogen changes in the vagina.

In your fertile years, estrogen plays a key role in the development of your reproductive cycle and—among other things—helps keep your vagina healthy, i.e., soft, pliable, and accommodating to an erect penis. As a woman approaches menopause, her hormone levels start to plummet. Once menopause occurs, a woman’s estrogen production really starts to decline and can cause her vaginal tissue to change.

A new drug, Osphena® (ospemifene) works like estrogen in the lining of the uterus, but can work differently in other parts of the body.

Taking estrogen alone or Osphena® may increase your chance for getting cancer of the lining of the uterus, strokes, and blood clots. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the lining of the uterus. Your healthcare provider should check any unusual vaginal bleeding to find out the cause, so tell them right away if this happens while you are using Osphena®.
You and your healthcare provider should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Osphena®.

Possible Side Effects
Serious but less common side effects can include stroke, blood clots, and cancer of the lining of the uterus.
Common side effects can include hot flashes, vaginal discharge, muscle spasms and increased sweating.

Bottom Line: The side effects of menopause are vaginal dryness and often painful sexual intimacy. Help is available. Women who experience these problems can be helped with topical and oral medications.

Problems “Down There” That Affect Your Sex Life

One of life’s greatest pleasures is intimacy with your partner. Nothing can put the ice on that relationship faster than when there is pain and discomfort for either a man or a woman associated with sexual intimacy. This article will review the most common causes of vaginal pain and what can be done to make the ouch go away.

Vaginitis
The itching, burning, and pain associated with vaginitis results from a disruption in the natural balance of bacteria that live in every healthy vagina. There’s no single cause. Common culprits include hormonal changes due to birth control, menopause, or pregnancy as well as chronic medical conditions, such as HIV and diabetes, which weaken the immune system. Frequent sexual intercourse and sex with multiple partners can be to blame as well. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in women of reproductive age. Women with BV may have a copious, thin grayish-white discharge. BV is easily treated with oral or vaginal antibiotics.
Yeast infections are caused by the overgrowth of one of several strains of Candida, a fungus that lives normally in the vagina. Women may notice a thick white discharge with a slight odor. However, many women complain of genital itching, soreness, or irritation. Treatment consists of a vaginal cream or an oral antifungal medication, Diflucan.
Treatment is painless and easy; most women simply insert at bedtime a prescribed cream or an ovule (a soft suppository) — generally soothing but messy — or they can take a prescription oral antifungal such as Diflucan. You’ll avoid the mess, but relief might take a few days longer.

Atrophic vaginitis is a result of a decrease in estrogen levels and the lining of the vagina becomes thin and easily irritated. Treatments such as estrogen creams or a vaginal estrogen ring can help.

Trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted infection, can cause a greenish-yellow frothy discharge, with some itching and burning. This infection is easily treated with oral or vaginal antibiotics.

Vulvodynia

Vulvodynia is a condition where the pain so severe you can’t sit comfortably let alone have intercourse. The cause is unknown, but possible contributors include injury to nerves in the vulva, hypersensitivity to Candida, and pelvic floor muscle spasms. Treatment options include estrogens, oral antifungal medication, topical steroid creams, and physical therapy to loosen the muscles causing the spasms.
Vaginismus
This is a rare condition that fewer than 2% of women, which causes the muscles surrounding the vagina to contract so tightly that a woman can’t have sexual intercourse or even insert a tampon. The cause is unknown, but like vulvodynia, vaginismus responds to physical therapy. Now doctors are using Botox to relax the muscles and prevent spasms for up to six months.

Stress Incontinence
Stress incontinence occurs when there’s increased pressure or stress on the bladder or lower abdomen, such as when sneezing, when coughing, or during intercourse. This is a source of great embarrassment to a woman who loses urine during sexual intimacy. The cause is usually due to multiple vaginal childbirths, estrogen deficiency, obesity, and chronic constipation with the chronic straining to have a BM.
The easiest solution is for a woman to use the bathroom prior to sexual intimacy in order to empty her bladder. Kegel exercises can help build up the pelvic muscles that support the bladder and the urethra. Now there are minimally invasive surgical procedures that can help restore continence that can be done on an outpatient basis with immediate results.

Bottom Line: If you think you have any of these, see your doctor. Over-the-counter creams will often make the problem worse. The diagnosis is easily made in the doctor’s office and treatment can begin immediately and you will put the icing back on your sexual cake.

Cancer Prevention For Women-Listen To Your Body

Your body may be the best detective for discovering cancer This blog will provide tenant signs and symptoms that may help you discover cancer in the early stages when treatment is most likely to be successful.

Breast changes
If you feel a lump in your breast, you shouldn’t ignore it even if your mammogram is normal. If your nipple develops scaling and flaking, that could indicate a disease of the nipple, which is associated with underlying cancer in nearly 95% of cases. Also any milky or bloody discharge should also be checked out.

Irregular menstrual bleeding
Any postmenopausal bleeding is a warning sign. Spotting outside of your normal menstrual cycle or heavier periods should be investigated.

Rectal bleeding
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in women. One of the hallmarks is rectal bleeding. Your doctor will likely order a colonscopy.

Vaginal discharge
A foul or smelly vaginal discharge could be a sign of cervical cancer. And examination is necessary to determine if the discharge is due to an infection or something more serious.

Bloating
Ovarian cancer is the #1 killer of all reproductive organ cancers. The 4 most frequent signs of ovarian cancer are bloating, feeling that you’re getting full earlier than you typically would when eating, changing bowel or bladder habits such as urinating more frequently, and low back or pelvic pain. You can expect a pelvic exam, transvaginal sonogram, and perhaps a CA-125 blood test to check for cancerous cells.

Unexplained weight gain or loss
Weight gain can occur with accumulation of fluid in the abdomen from ovarian cancer. Unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds or more may be the first sign of cancer. Weight loss in women can also be due to an overactive thyroid gland.

Persistence cough
Any cough that lasts 2 or 3 weeks and is not due to an allergy or upper respiratory infection or a cough that has blood in the sputum needs to be checked. Also, smoking is the number one cancer killer in women.

Change in lymph nodes
If you feel lymph nodes in your neck or under your arm, you should be seen by your doctor. Swollen, firm lymph nodes are often the result of an infection. However, lymphoma or lung, breast, head or neck cancer that has spread can also show up as an enlarged lymph node.

Fatigue
Extreme tiredness that does not get better with rest should warrant an appointment with your doctor. Leukemia, colon, or stomach cancer-which can cause blood loss-can result in fatigue.

Skin Changes
Any sores irritated skin the vaginal area, or a non-healing vulvar lesion can be a sign of vulvar cancer.
Bottom Line: If you notice something different about your body, get it checked out. Most likely it’s not cancer, but if it is, cancer is treatable and often curable.

When Things Aren’t Right “Down There”-When Women Should Call Their Doctor*

For most women, a couple of irregular menstrual cycles or an occasional yeast infection are just a part of life — nothing that time or simple treatment won’t cure.  However, there are a few symptoms that warrant a call to the doctor.  This article will cover when you should call your doctor for problems “down there”?
1. Pelvic Pain
Pain at the time of ovulation, is referred to as Mittelschmerz.  However, if you have pelvic pain that persists or doesn’t ease with simple home treatment, call your doctor.
When a woman has chronic pelvic pain, doctors will check for benign uterine fibroids and endometriosis. They will also look for pelvic inflammatory disease, which usually appears as a triad of pelvic pain, vaginal discharge, and fever.
In addition, abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding may signal an ectopic pregnancy, in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus.  This is a medical emergency and you need to visit an emergency room if you can’t reach your doctor.
Ovarian cancer is another condition that can cause pelvic pain.  The symptoms of bloating, pelvic pressure and frequency of urination for more than two weeks is a potential sign that you should be checked for a possible ovarian cancer.
2. Irregular Bleeding
If you’re not on any kind of birth control and you have irregular bleeding that lasts for more than a month or two, you should always be checked.  Irregular bleeding includes: periods that last longer than normal, bleeding mid-month, having two periods per month, bleeding after sex, and other unusual patterns.  Abnormal bleeding may stem from multiple causes that aren’t serious, among them, perimenopause or uterine fibroids or polyps.
If you bleed every time after sex, that may indicate that the cervix is being easily irritated especially if there’s some infection of the cervix.  Sexually transmitted diseases, such as gonorrhea or chlamydia, can cause cervical lesions that bleed with sex.
If you’re postmenopausal, be especially vigilant about any vaginal bleeding; it’s a potential sign of uterine cancer. Uterine cancer, compared to ovarian cancer, is extremely treatable. It’s very curable because it’s generally found in an early stage and it has an early warning sign, which is postmenopausal bleeding.
3. Abnormal Vaginal Discharge
Abnormal symptoms include a strong odor; an unusually large amount of discharge; accompanying itching, burning, or irritation; unusual color; or blood in the discharge.
4. Vaginal Dryness
Vaginal dryness in postmenopausal women or vaginal atrophy can cause spotting after intercourse. Because older women have less estrogen, their vaginal tissue thins or atrophies and becomes dry and irritated.  Not only does vaginal dryness make sex painful, but vaginal thinning also leaves women more susceptible to infections and can contribute to urinary incontinence.
Most women can find relief with estrogen creams, rings, or tablets that are applied or inserted directly into the vagina.
5. Sores or Lumps
Sores in the genital area may point to herpes, a sexually transmitted disease, or cancer. Symptoms of cancer of the vulva include unusual lumps, wart-like bumps, or red, flat sores that don’t heal. Sometimes, the flat sores turn scaly or discolored.
Bottom Line: Most problems “down there” are innocuous but you should know when to call your doctor.  These are the five most common symptoms that need your attention and that of your doctor. 

*Modified from WebMD, 4-20-11