The Dr Louise Newson Podcast1 Aug 2023

215 - More than ‘a little vaginal dryness’: how vaginal hormones can transform lives

Are you experiencing symptoms like burning and itching around your vulva and vagina, or painful sex? Or perhaps you have the urge to wee more often or are plagued by recurrent urinary tract infections?

Joining Dr Louise this week is trailblazing US urologist and sexual health doctor Dr Rachel Rubin, to address these common menopause symptoms and the relief vaginal hormones – often used alongside systemic HRT – can bring.

Dr Rachel explains why we need to stop using terms like vaginal dryness and vaginal atrophy, which hugely downplay the impact of declining hormones on your whole genitourinary system.

‘When we say women have vaginal dryness, we minimise their symptoms, we minimise that it's no big deal, that you can just use a little lubricant, a little moisturiser,’ says Dr Rachel.

Plus, Dr Rachel and Dr Louise also discuss DHEA – a hormone treatment which converts to estrogen and testosterone in the vagina – and the benefits this can bring to women struggling with genitourinary syndrome of the menopause (GSM), again often alongside systemic HRT.

Dr Rachel’s three tips if you are struggling with GSM:

Know that if you have any symptoms that affect your vagina, vulva or urinary system and you’re over the age of 45, you deserve a vaginal hormone product.
Talk to your healthcare professional about access to this treatment that can prevent urinary tract infections, decrease your frequency and urgency of needing to urinate, decrease your pain in intercourse and lead to better lubrication, arousal and orgasm.
Keep using your localised hormone replacement: it is a safe product, so can be used long term to sustain the benefits.

Click here to visit Dr Rachel’s website, and follow her on Instagram @drrachelrubin.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(386)

86 - How hormone treatments, including testosterone, reduce future diseases

Hormone treatments are often seen as a treatment to help with symptoms, but many clinicians still do not understand how they can improve our future health too.This week, Dr Louise Newson is joined by ...

23 Juli 0s

85 – Why being healthy feels so hard, and how to change it

We’re surrounded by advice about what to eat, how toexercise and the latest wellness trends. Yet despite having more health information than ever before, many people feel overwhelmed, exhausted and no...

21 Juli 0s

84 – Why so many women stop feeling like themselves Elinor Wilde

Many women suddenly start feeling anxious, overwhelmed or unlike themselves during times of hormonal change. They often assume they’re no longer coping or are told it’s simply stress, depression or th...

16 Juli 0s

83 – Why are women still leaving work because of their hormones?

We’re losing experienced, talented women from the workforce because hormonal symptoms are still being overlooked, misunderstood and too often left untreated.In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined...

14 Juli 28min

82 – The hidden link between epilepsy and hormones

For women living with epilepsy, times of hormonal changes can all bring unexpected changes in seizure patterns. Yet many are never told that fluctuating hormones could be playing a role.In this episod...

9 Juli 20min

81 – The hormone confusion that’s affecting millions of women

What’s the difference between natural and synthetic hormone treatments, and why does it matter?In this episode, Dr Louise Newson is joined by pharmacist and hormone expert Sara Hover, who has spent mo...

7 Juli 29min

80 – What if we’ve misunderstood hormones all along?

Many people only think about hormones in relation tomenopause, puberty or fertility. But hormones influence every cell in yourbody, affecting everything from your energy and metabolism to inflammation...

2 Juli 32min

79 – ”I knew it wasn’t depression”: Jenny’s PMDD story

For years, Jenny was wrongly told she had depression. She was prescribed antidepressants, saw multiple healthcare professionals and even underwent a hysterectomy, yet no one addressed the underlying h...

30 Juni 29min