Vaginal Drought
By Dr Sandrine Atallah, MD, Sex therapist, hypnotherapist
The natural
lubrication of the vagina, giving to it a soft and elastic
texture is regulated by hormonal, genetic, medical and psychological factors.
This natural balance of moistening can be disrupted thus very easily during
the life of a woman.
The lubrication consists in a more or less plentiful transparent drainage
which moistures all the vagina wall and the rima vulvae. This "sweating",
sign of the feminine excitation, is necessary to allow penetration and
facilitate penis movements. Lubrication is both a protector and a pleasure
activator.
If the vaginal wall does not moisten enough, women suffer from vaginal
dryness. This drought can cause pain during penetration or can even prevent
having a sexual intercourse. Burns and itches can occur, provoking tiny
lesions on the vaginal wall due to the frictions on the dry mucosal membrane.
This painful experience often affects women psychologically and can even
disrupt the couple’s dynamic. Psychological consequences go from
fear of sexual relations with loss of sexual pleasure, to a reduced sexual
activity, ending possibly in the systematic refusal of any intimate contact.
Although many women suffer from it in a more or less temporary way during
their sexual life, and although many of them confide in their gynaecologist
and even in their partner, only a few use the available solutions, nevertheless
simple and effective. These women often consider that it is a temporary
or a benign disorder and sometimes they are not anymore concerned by sexuality.
Furthermore, these women often ignore the origin of this dryness unless
they are menopausal.
But menopause or not, it is important to know the multiple factors that
interfere and destabilize the natural vaginal lubrication. It allows the
release from an inequitable feeling of culpability towards the partner,
and help women consult and effectively treat the vaginal drought.
The various causes of the vaginal drought
The causes are diverse and when added, it multiplies their negative effects
The hormonal causes:
- In the front line, the deficiency in oestrogen of menopause
- hormonal changes like for example during breastfeeding
- pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. Afterwards the pelvic
region becomes congested with blood restoring moistening
- ovary disorders
The iatrogenic causes:
Certain contraceptive pills, antihistaminic, vasoconstrictors, certain
antidepressants, certain antiacneic treatments, the side effects of certain
chemotherapies, antihormonal treatments of the breast cancer …
The infectious causes
Vaginal infections (specially yeast) which, besides the vaginal drought,
come along with pruritus, with nauseous discharges or with whitish losses
of abnormal color and consistency.
A bad hygiene of life
- Tobacco, by the nicotine vasoconstrictrive action
- Alcohol which provokes a dehydration
- Stress and fatigue
- An excessive intimate hygiene
Psychological causes
They are often connected to the couple sexual behaviour, for example,
the quickness or the absence of preliminary, the low frequency of the
sexual relations, the lack of desire, the fear of sexual relations, couple
disagreement … Sexual inhibition and the ignorance of her body can
also be found.
Preventing
or treating vaginal drought
1-Having a regular sexual activity (in couple or solo),
- To improve the blood stream of the genitalia
- To prevent the atrophy of genitalia and thus to decrease the vaginal
drought.
2- Prolonging preliminary before sexual relations.
3- Regularly practising Kegel
exercises
Kegel exercises consist in tightening and relaxing the muscle group which
supports (bear) the organs of the pelvis and the rectum. The alternation
of tension (blood pressure) and relaxation strengthens the pelvic floor
and can improve the sexual function (office), while reducing incontinence
(involuntary flight of urine of the bladder).
4- Do not hesitate to use lubricants or moisturizers
easily found in pharmacies (do not use the petroleum jelly or to the lubricants
oil based, they alter condoms that lose their efficiency and also become
irritating).
5- Reducing the stress in everyday life.
6-Restoring a healthy hygiene by stopping or by decreasing tobacco,
alcohol …
7-For intimate hygiene use a sweet soap of neutral PH, one or
at the most twice a day without vaginal showering.
8- Consult to be better advised
9- In case of menopause, take the opinion of the doctor about
:
- Substitute hormonotherapy (the most effective solution of vaginal drought)
- Non hormonal therapies (cremate on base of tocopherol)
- Therapies in healing plants ( phytœstrogènes )
Finally, don’t forget that speaking about vaginal drought is a way
of recognizing that the desire is not dead, that sexuality continues and
that the pleasure is possible with an appropriate help.
