Vaginal atrophy or atrophic vaginitis is a medical condition whereby the tissues within the female vagina (known as the genital mucosa) have thinned, shrunk or reduced and ceased to function as healthily as they once did, becoming fragile and lacking in elasticity and the natural lubrication normally associated with this wet tissue.
The condition can affect women after childbirth or just before (peri-), during and after (post-) the menopause due mostly to hormonal changes, including a drop in estrogen production. The condition can adversely affect both your day-to-day life and relationships with a partner.
Vaginal atrophy manifests itself with a number of symptoms, which are often overlooked and simply `put up with` by women; these include: vaginal dryness, vaginal burning (with and without urination), vaginal itching, dyspareunia or painful sexual intercourse (including bleeding), decreased vaginal lubrication during sexual intercourse and urinary incontinence, to name but a few.
Treatments for vaginal atrophy or vaginal laxity seek to recover the genital mucosa to a more youthful state by stimulating the tissue to produce new, healthy collagen to plump up the area and restore proper blood flow to the vagina. The restoration of the vaginal tissues should then reduce or even eliminate the symptoms originally caused and return proper function and comfort for the woman.
A number of devices are now used in clinics including laser and radiofrequency to eleviate this common, yet often not talked about condition of vaginal discomfort. Such treatments are often preferred over surgical interventions.
It is reported that although 75% of women felt that vaginal atrophy (and the symptoms it produces) negatively impacted on their lives, 65% failed to recogise that it was a chronic condition that could be easily treated.
