Healthy Estrogen = Healthy Vagina
Declining estrogen levels have far reaching effects for women.
Ask any postpartum or postmenopausal women and they will tell you hormone imbalance can have a major impact on daily life.
Vaginal Health and Estrogen
While most women equate declining estrogen levels with symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and difficulty losing weight, dropping estrogen levels also play an important role in maintaining vaginal and urethral tissues. Estrogen is responsible for preserving tissue thickness, lubrication, and flexibility.
Overtime, falling estrogen levels decrease blood flow leading to tissue changes of the vulva (outside) and vagina. As these tissues become thinner, drier and less elastic women can experience a host of symptoms, most of which doesn’t get reported to due to embarrassment.
Common Symptoms
- Dryness
- Burning
- Itching
- Microscopic tearing
- Pain during sex
- Spotting/bleeding after sex
- Urgency, frequency of urination
- Urine leakage
- Chronic or recurring UTIs
Urine Leakage
Urinary incontinence or the involuntary leakage of urine is extremely common affecting over 15 million adult women in the US. While most women reside themselves to this being a normal part of the aging process, the truth is, incontinence isn’t normal and doesn’t have to be tolerated. As women reach their 40s, most would tell you they have to squeeze, pray, or even plan for urine leakage during normal activities such as coughing, laughing, sneezing, or lifting objects.
While having a baby and increased age are the main risk factors for urine leakage, hormone imbalance also plays a major role. Beside its role in maintaining thickness and stability in tissues of the vagina, estrogen is also responsible for maintaining the lining of the urethra, the tube that allows urine to pass from the bladder outside the body. Thinning vaginal tissues as well as the lining of the urethra are the perfect combination for urine leakage.
Frequent or Recurring Vaginal Infections
Estrogen regulates the pH of the vaginal tissues. Maintaining a healthy pH ensures a proper number of beneficial bacteria. When estrogen levels are within normal range, tissues are thickened and have regular cellular turnover. As the skin cells slough off to reveal new healthy tissue, they breakdown feeding the natural beneficial bacteria that reside in the vagina. The bacteria within the vagina produce lactic acid which keeps the vagina in an acidic environment.
Without enough estrogen, the vaginal tissues become thin and have less cells to slough off. Without the abundance of cells for food, beneficial bacteria decrease in numbers and the lactic acid level drops leading to a rise in vaginal pH. An increase in pH creates the perfect environment for non-beneficial bacteria and yeast overgrowth.
Treatment for thinning vulvovaginal (inside +outside) tissues
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can help restore the tissues to healthy levels increasing tissue integrity and pH. For some women however, BHRT might not be enough or might not be an option.
Lubricants can be an option for women, we have a saying at Inspire Your Health, lube should be for fun not function. If you are using lube daily to cope with unwanted and embarrassing tissue changes, it’s time we had a conversation. Most lubricants available to women aren’t designed with the vaginal pH in mind and can increase the risk of infection including bacteria and yeast overgrowth. On top of that, using too much lubrication can make things messy and sex less enjoyable.
Fortunately, therapeutic laser technology like the FemTouch™ is now an option for increased vaginal health. FemTouch™ uses fractional C02 laser technology to cause microscopic injury to the tissues. Over time this results in an increase in collagen and blood supply restoring tissue elasticity, thickness, and pH promoting the return of healthy bacteria and moisture production while also reducing embarrassing urine leakage and enhancing sexual satisfaction.
Safe, painless, and effective
The FemTouch treatment takes less than 10 minutes to perform, pain free, incredibly effective, and can be used with or without BHRT. Interested in seeing if this treatment is right for you?
Schedule a consult with Dr. Ruth Hobson to discuss your options and tailor a treatment plan that’s right for you.
Ruth Hobson
Naturopathic Doctor Portland
Inspire Your Health
503.406.8748
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References
- Bride MBM, Rhodes DJ, Shuster LT. Vulvovaginal Atrophy. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2010;85(1):87-94. doi:10.4065/mcp.2009.0413.
- Urinary incontinence. womenshealth.gov. https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/urinary-incontinence. Published January 31, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019.
- Urinary Incontinence. Urinary Incontinence, Sexual Side Effects of Menopause | The North American Menopause Society, NAMS. https://www.menopause.org/for-women/sexual-health-menopause-online/causes-of-sexual-problems/urinary-incontinence. Accessed November 7, 2019.
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