To mark World Menopause Day on 18th October 2010, the International Menopause Society (IMS) is launching new Recommendations for the management of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy, a distressing condition that will affect up to half of women after menopause.
This new guidance is essential as, according to new research, one in two women with vaginal atrophy (VA) will live with their condition unnecessarily for over three years, despite effective treatments being available.
The data suggests that this is largely due to poor awareness and understanding of the condition among women, and because VA is a “taboo” subject – even between a doctor and patient.
VA is characterised by symptoms including vaginal dryness, itching, increased tendency of infection and pain during sex. It occurs when the vaginal walls become thin, fragile and inflamed due to a reduction of oestrogen in the body.
While VA has an obvious impact on sexual intimacy, it also has negative consequences for a woman’s personal relationships, self-esteem and overall quality of life. If left untreated, VA can lead to serious long-term urogenital problems, including incontinence. However, despite these negative implications, just one in four women will actually speak to her doctor about VA.1
Dr David Sturdee, President of the IMS and lead author of the Recommendations, said, “It is unacceptable that women are living with VA for so long, when various safe and effective treatments are available.
So, to mark World Menopause Day, the IMS is launching the new Recommendations and is calling upon doctors to proactively raise the topic of vaginal health with postmenopausal patients. Women with VA are also encouraged to seek medical advice, as there is absolutely no need for them to continue suffering in silence.”
The Recommendations note that many women may not report VA symptoms to their doctor because of concerns about taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Some of this reluctance is due to the adverse publicity for HRT over recent years, but, regardless of whether these concerns are justified, local oestrogen therapy for VA, which delivers a low dose of hormone directly to the vagina, is not associated with the possible risks of systemic (oral) HRT. Doctors need to ensure patients fully understand this, so that they can benefit from VA treatment.
In addition, women with VA may have cultural or religious reasons for not talking to their doctor about their symptoms, and women in general may be understandably reluctant to discuss such private matters, particularly with a male doctor.
The Recommendations offer advice and guidance to healthcare professionals, to enable them to initiate a successful dialogue with their patient. Most women express relief and respond positively when a doctor initiates the conversation about this topic.
Source: Caroline Dowdy
Edelman Health