A lateral look at World Menopause Day's theme, Heart Health Matters: examining the poorly understood problems of vaginal dryness and relationship problems

LONDON, ENGLAND, October 18, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Today is World Menopause Day and it’s worth taking a lateral look at this year’s theme, Heart Health Matters.
While the leaders of the medical world concern themselves with the effects of plummeting oestrogen on cardiovascular disease, other matters of the heart suffer during The Change…love is challenged when sex becomes difficult.
Why does sex become difficult during the menopause? Multiple factors, starting with loss of oestrogen causing loss of libido, and loss of quality of the vaginal tissue. This can lead to relationship problems and break-ups…unnecessarily broken hearts, given that vaginal dryness can be easily solved using the moisturiser Hyalofemme once every three days – including for women who can’t take HRT, such as cancer patients.
Dr Karen Gardiner says: “The incidence, severity and repercussions of vaginal dryness are poorly recognised. Friction can cause pain that makes it difficult to even walk. Some women discover they can get Hyalofemme on prescription, some buy it over the counter, but many more do not find a solution. Instead, their formerly loving and fulfilling sex lives ebb away with their oestrogen tide, but do not flow back. That has to change.”
In 2007, support group Menopause Matters estimated that there were more than 3million dry vaginas in the UK.
While hot flushes and other symptoms resolve after menopause, vaginal dryness gets worse – a study showed 60% of women have symptoms after the fourth year of menopause (Dennerstein, Obstet Gynecol 2000). Since more of us are living longer, the number of dry vaginas will increase, potentially resulting in family tragedies.
Despite 75% of women reporting that their symptoms had a negative impact on their lives, only 4% attributed these symptoms to vaginal dryness (Nappi, Kokot kierepa Climateric 2012).
Vaginal dryness is a term that few of us are comfortable with, and fewer still fully understand – women talk about itching, burning or pain without realising it is dryness. It sounds as if it’s an embarrassing but minor issue. But during perimenopause, which is already a time of heightened emotions and anxiety, it can cause severe physical and emotional problems.
Vaginal tissue is normally bright red, plump and moist, enjoying a good blood supply, optimised by a wealth of good sex – the phrase “a healthy vagina is a well-used one” is often quoted at sexual medicine conferences. With declining oestrogen levels, the vaginal lining becomes thinner, cells are less able to hold moisture, so it appears pale pink, sometimes bluish, and is less elastic as the blood supply also decreases.
Dr Gardiner says: “Without the use of a mirror and some yoga practice a woman won’t notice her vagina is a different colour or has thinning walls. But she – and her partner – will notice dryness.”
Not enough attention is paid to the dryness of the vagina, officially known as vaginal atrophy. Yes, that’s right, it shrivels. Dryness causes friction, which leads to tiny cuts and grazes. And because another effect of oestrogen loss is a change in vaginal pH, these are more likely to become infections because acidic vaginal secretions keep harmful bacteria at bay.
Symptoms range from women who find movement painful to those who can no longer enjoy a roll on the fireside rug. It can be devastating. Pain during sex doesn’t make for a heart-warming encounter, and dryness during intercourse can challenge their sense of themselves as fully functioning women. Introducing lubricant works for some but ruins spontaneity for others.
Hyalofemme is made with hyaluronic acid, a hygroscopic molecule with a high affinity for water. Because it occurs naturally in the body, it feels natural within the vagina and doesn’t cause irritations. Hyalofemme’s unique, optimised formula, Hydeal-D®, is a Low Molecular Weight version, which means that it can hold even more water per molecule than standard hyaluronic acid and is small enough to penetrate the cell wall (Sandri, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2004). Its muco-adhesive qualities ensure slow, constant release of water, keeping vaginal cells plump and elastic. This means no friction, no micro-lesions and no problems with sex.
This is a different mode of action to a lubricant or moisturiser which simply introduces water or oil-based fluid into the vaginal cavity. There is scientific data to suggest that Hyalofemme can reverse vaginal atrophy (Shuai-Bin Liu et al. 2014). And it has been proven to be as effective as 1% oestrogen cream (Chen J, et al, 2013).
Dr Gardiner adds: “The irony is not just that Mother Nature plays such a cruel trick on women when they should be enjoying the freedom of empty nests and uninterrupted evenings of naked relaxation, but also that so many women do not seek help.
“This fast-acting and natural-feeling vaginal moisturiser generally needs to be used just once every three days for couples to be able to enjoy spontaneous sex again. It’s non-hormonal so it’s great for women who can’t or don’t want to use hormone therapies. It’s not messy and doesn’t cause discharge, so it can be used discreetly if women don’t want to discuss dryness with partners.
“Feedback is that Hyalofemme changed their lives. I wish more women could make this change during The Change.”

NOTES:
Dr Karen Gardiner is founder of Purple Orchid Pharma, the women’s self-care company, dedicated to helping women to help themselves, in line with the “life-course approach” of preventative medicine set out by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Dr Gardiner says: “The concept of self-care rather than health care is about us being actively involved in what’s good for us, rather than being passively treated.
“By taking care of ourselves as well as we do of our loved ones, and by making informed choices, we can live longer, in better health.”
Purple Orchid supports women from 16 to 66 and beyond, by providing relevant and reliable information about reproductive health and supporting self-care products.
See www.hyalofemme.co.uk and www.purpleorchidpharma.com or Facebook/Twitter.
For articles by leading psychosexual therapist Angela Gregory, including “HRT – Husband Replacement Therapy?” see POP’s information site www.healthewomen.co.uk

Kay Cox
Purple Orchid Pharma Ltd
+44 (0) 7770 412 505
email us here