For galore women, perimenopause and menopause travel with a big of carnal and affectional curveballs, including changes to their enactment thrust and to the acquisition of enactment itself. During and aft the menopause transition, arsenic galore arsenic 4 retired of 5 women acquisition what’s called the genitourinary syndrome of menopause — a postulation of symptoms including vaginal dryness , burning, urinary issues, and vaginal symptom during enactment that’s described arsenic chopped solid oregon barbed wire.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629e924bf05-be85-4baf-bb63-dd3269740160 Findings from a caller survey of Japanese women suggest that women who regularly prosecute successful intersexual enactment are little apt to acquisition vulvar symptom than women who don’t person sex. Researchers concluded that “some intersexual functions and symptoms alteration with property but whitethorn beryllium maintained successful women who prosecute successful much regular intersexual activity.”e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976296e264d51-ffc7-466e-9bee-9d5eec227ed7 Some experts, however, deliberation that it would beryllium a large mistake to reason from the information that much enactment volition lick the aesculapian contented of achy sex. Indeed, the absorption of the narration betwixt not having enactment and achy enactment apt goes the different way, says Lauren Streicher, MD , the founding aesculapian manager of the Northwestern Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause successful Chicago. “What this observational survey fundamentally recovered is that women who don’t person symptom during enactment are the ones having sex. And women who are having symptom during enactment are little apt to beryllium sexually progressive — besides not surprising,” says Dr. Streicher, who wasn’t portion of the investigation. While Desire Declined, Orgasm and Sexual Satisfaction Stayed the Same The survey looked astatine much than 900 Japanese women ages 40 to 79 who had been sexually progressive wrong the past year. Researchers divided them into 2 groups: Women who’d engaged successful intersexual enactment successful the past 3 months (the “regular activity” group) Women who hadn’t been sexually progressive successful the past 3 months but had successful the past twelvemonth (the “lower activity” group). Key findings included: Women who were sexually progressive successful the past 3 months reported less symptoms of vaginal dryness, pain, and irritation during their regular lives. Desire, arousal, and lubrication quality declined with property but orgasm and restitution stayed astir the same, particularly among women who maintained regular intersexual activity. Women successful the regular enactment radical were mostly younger and much apt to beryllium premenopausal, which could partially explicate the findings, according to the authors. Still, the nexus betwixt regular intimacy and less symptoms remained, adjacent aft adjusting for factors similar property and hormone therapy. Is There Any Truth to ‘Use It oregon Lose It’? For women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause who acquisition symptom during intercourse, having intercourse much often volition not assistance enactment go little painful, says Streicher. “Quite the opposite,” she says. “If it’s painful, intercourse makes it worse. Your assemblage goes into ‘defense’ mode — pelvic level muscles tighten and you person much dryness." But determination is immoderate information to the “use it oregon suffer it” adage for radical who person pain-free penetrative sex, says Streicher. “If they are having penetration connected a regular basis, whether it’s a penis oregon a artifact oregon a vibrator oregon immoderate they’re using, that does stimulate humor flow, it does assistance with lubrication, and it does support the insubstantial elastic. So determination is immoderate information to ‘use it oregon suffer it,’ with the caveat that this is for radical who don’t person symptom with intercourse,” she says. Having Pain During Sex? Talk to a Menopause Expert to Get Treatment “A large takeaway present is that it is ne'er good to person symptom with sex. If you person symptom with penetration, you should halt having intercourse oregon penetrative sex. I don’t say, ‘Don’t person sex,’ due to the fact that you tin person enactment a batch of ways different than penetration,” says Streicher. You should speech to a healthcare supplier — preferably a menopause adept — to get treatment, she says. Monica Christmas, MD , an subordinate aesculapian manager of the Menopause Society and an subordinate prof obstetrics and gynecology astatine UChicago Medicine, says the findings item the value of diagnosing and treating genitourinary syndrome of menopause. “Unlike different menopause-related symptoms similar vasomotor [hot flashes and nighttime sweats] oregon mood-related symptoms that tin amended implicit clip without treatment, genitourinary symptoms bash not,” says Dr. Christmas, who wasn’t an writer of the study. Vaginal Estrogen Therapy Is the Most Effective Therapy For mild discomfort during intercourse, over-the-counter moisturizers and lubricants whitethorn supply immoderate relief, but erstwhile symptoms persist oregon are much mean to severe, medicine therapy is warranted, Christmas says. “Local low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy is harmless and highly effectual astatine alleviating bothersome vulvovaginal symptoms contributing to symptom and avoidance of intercourse,” she says. “Unlike systemic hormone therapy, determination are astir nary contraindications to section low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy.” A contraindication is simply a information that constitutes a crushed not to instrumentality a definite attraction due to the fact that of imaginable harm. Vaginal estrogen therapy comes successful galore formulations, including a vaginal pill, insert, and pick administered doubly weekly, oregon a vaginal ringing that is inserted each 3 months. “It tin beryllium started astatine immoderate clip and continued indefinitely,” Christmas says. While vaginal estrogen therapy is effectual for galore women, it won’t lick the contented for everyone. “That’s wherefore it’s important to spot an adept successful idiosyncratic for a diagnosis,” she says. Bottom line: No 1 should person to endure erstwhile determination are harmless and effectual attraction options. “And though optimal intersexual wellness is integral to wide well-being, it is besides imperative to admit the effect these symptoms tin person connected women who aren’t sexually active. Treatment should beryllium offered to anyone with symptoms, whether they are engaging successful intersexual enactment oregon not,” says Christmas. “Normalizing the usage of section low-dose estrogen therapy should beryllium a thing.”
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