Common Causes for Vaginal Dryness
July 8, 2009
Vaginal dryness is a common female problem and may occur at any stage of life. However the bout of this health issue is mostly seen during or after menopause.
Vaginal dryness stands mainly for inadequate lubrication but in most of the cases some symptoms like minor itching and slight pains are felt around vaginal opening. Sexual intercourse process becomes quite painful due to vaginal dryness problem.
In normal condition a thin membrane covers the vaginal walls. The consistency of the membrane fluctuates according to the ascending pattern of age so aging is one of the reasons for vaginal dryness although this female disorder is faced in puberty even. During menstrual period some regular but temporary change of vaginal moisture level is observed which gets over after the menstrual bleeding cycle.
Mostly vaginal lubrication is made of clear fluid that passes through the walls of the blood vessels surrounding vagina. At the time of sexual excitement, due to increased blood flow in vagina and pelvic organs increased amount of vaginal fluids are produced. However, this normal lubrication process might get hampered due to some physical influences like childbirth, breast feeding, and on setting of menopause.
The common symptoms of vaginal dryness include itching, dryness, burning sensation, pain or slight bleeding at the time of intercourse, and setting of urinary incontinence. There are different reasons for vaginal dryness.
Reduced estrogen levels are one of the main causes of vaginal dryness. There are different reasons for fall off estrogen level like childbirth, lactation, perimenopause or menopause, surgical elimination of ovaries, addiction to smoking, as side effect of radiation or chemotherapy or hormone therapy.
Adverse effects of cold and allergy medication, some antidepressants cause remarkable reduce of moisture level from your body and thus affects vaginal also. Sometimes breast cancer medicines also induce vaginal dryness in body.
In case of Sjogren’s syndrome the affected person suffer from dry mouth and dry eye syndrome, for the same reason women affected by this autoimmune disease suffer from vaginal dryness.
Douching is a process of vaginal cleansing with a liquid preparation. However, due to the adverse effect of the liquid the natural pH balance of vagina sometimes gets disrupted and causes irritation. Irritated vagina stimulates dryness.
If the reason behind the dryness is detected it becomes easier to treat the problem. It is wise to consult a doctor in case vaginal dryness persists for 3-4 consecutive days, so that the reason behind the complication ca be detected.
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