Vaginal atrophy?a really ugly name for a condition that affects almost 50% of women over 50?is the medical term for the thinning of the vaginal walls as cells break down and dry up. You may know it as dryness, itching, pain and odor that gets worse as you get older. What you may not know is that it is chronic and worsens over time, but can be treated easily with great results. Yes, there is hope for your sex life after menopause!
I recently participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland that is a pioneer in making products for diabetes, children?s growth issues and women?s health. The company wants to increase awareness about ?VA? and brought what they regarded as seven of the most influential menopause bloggers to New York to brainstorm ideas with Dr. Lauren Streicher, renowned gynecologist and Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University?s Feinberg School of Medicine. Read about our ?MenoSisters? here.
Here are some interesting facts that show you?re not alone!
- Menopause is the stage of life that begins the moment you have your last menstrual period
- There are currently 60 million women in the US in menopause
- 73% of people 57-64 are sexually active; half of those say they have problems having sex
- In a large group of women surveyed, they reported the following symptoms.
- Dryness?????????????????????? 83%
- Pain ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?42%
- Itching ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?26%
- Soreness ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 27%
- Burning ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?14%
- Incontinence?????????????? 30%
- Loss of libido????????????? 40%
- STDs among women over 50 are skyrocketing. Because many are once again single and dating, and assume that freedom from getting pregnant means freedom from having protected sex, many are finding that sleeping with the ?nice guy? can bring devastating results.
- Life expectance is now over 70 years, meaning that our life after menopause is longer than ever, fully 40% of our entire life. It is more important than ever to pay attention to our health and overall wellness, including vaginal health.
- Over 45% of menopausal women have vaginal atrophy. Only 25% of them seek help.
- 64% of women do not understand that vaginal atrophy is a permanent condition that requires ongoing attention.
- VA can be reversed easily with estrogen cream or an estrogen vaginal pill.
- 72% of doctors don?t bring up the subject with their patients.
The general consensus of the group was that anything with the name ?vagina? in it is a taboo subject that women just don?t want to discuss. For most of us, our mothers certainly never shared much about their menopause experiences, and certainly didn?t discuss their vaginal discomfort. And with 72% of doctors never educating their patients about VA, it?s no wonder that we are left to assume that we will have to suffer in silence as part of our aging process.
It wasn?t too long ago that the word ?breast? was also hush-hush. Now, we have major breast cancer awareness around the world. And how about those ED commercials? We have heard so much about erectile dysfunction over recent years that we have become desensitized to the words?.? Our group brainstormed alternative names for vaginal atrophy that could be used in a media campaign, creating awareness and discussion about the condition that now affects 25 million women in the U.S.
The latest research data was released at the North American Menopause Society conference on October 4th. I will summarize those findings for you in my next post, but for now, know that they validate what the above statistics show, with input from a large survey of men who are also affected when the women in their lives have VA.
As a team of bloggers, we bonded over a shared passion to help spread the word about this most-common symptom of menopause. We want to break through the veil that surrounds the subject, stirring conversation among women, their husbands, their girlfriends and their doctors. Our day of brainstorming provided Novo Nordisk with some valuable ideas about how to use social media to drive the discussions.
So if you see a media campaign that focuses on ?chronic vaginal discomfort,? ?chronic vaginal symptoms,? or anything with the word ?vaginal? in it, pay attention! It just may be the result of our roundtable discussion, and it will provide you with the resources and tools to improve your vaginal health and overall wellbeing in menopause.
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Source: http://www.flourishover50.com/2012/10/the-new-va/
ron artest gladys knight private practice deion sanders creutzfeldt jakob disease the lone ranger yu darvish
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