What To Do About Chronic Vaginal Dryness

Are you experiencing a burning sensation when you pass urine? If you’re sexually active, you also may find intercourse painful. Both of these symptoms may be the result of vaginal dryness.

At Ample Health, we focus on women’s health as part of a comprehensive family medicine practice. Board-certified internist Dheeraj Kamra, MD, and his team of Dr. Mythili Nagaraj, Yelena Popova, PA-C, and Alice Phillips, FNP, understand the distress vaginal dryness can cause.

What causes vaginal dryness? 

As a woman, it’s likely you’ll experience vaginal dryness at some point during your life, if you haven’t already. One of the most common reasons for vaginal dryness is menopause. 

Before menopause, the female hormone estrogen keeps the tissue in your vagina and urethra lubricated and healthy. When you enter menopause, your estrogen levels drop dramatically.  

Without help, your vaginal tissue and your urethra, through which you pass urine, can become thin, papery, and easily irritated. More than half of women report vaginal dryness after menopause.  

Younger women can also experience vaginal dryness when breastfeeding or using birth control pills. Health conditions such as diabetes and Sjogren’s syndrome can also result in vaginal dryness. 

Other causes of vaginal dryness include certain medications such as antidepressants, antihistamines, anti-estrogen drugs used to treat fibroids or endometriosis, and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. 

Effective treatments for vaginal dryness

You don’t have to live with vaginal dryness. At the first signs of irritation, apply a vaginal moisturizer available at your drugstore. And if you’re sexually active, use a water-based vaginal lubricant before intercourse.  Don’t use an oil-based lubricant if your partner uses a condom. 

If you’ve tried nonprescription solutions and they didn’t work, we have other solutions. 

If you have severe symptoms at the start of menopause, you may benefit from hormone replacement therapy. HRT is helpful as a short-term solution while your body adjusts to life after menopause. 

Once your symptoms are under control, or if your vaginal dryness is the result of something else, we may prescribe a low-dose estrogen vaginal cream, tablet, or ring. You use the cream or tablet about twice a week to keep your tissue in good condition. The ring lasts for three months. 

These forms of estrogen help restore the health of your vaginal tissue so you can resume sexual intimacy. They provide just enough estrogen to keep your vagina healthy and present a lower risk than traditional hormone replacement therapy. 

If you can’t take estrogen, we may prescribe other oral medication or a vaginal suppository to help you. 

Call our Carmichael, California, office or book an appointment online for all of your family medicine needs.