Vaginal atrophy can be uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. Unfortunately, the discomfort isn’t the only problem you might face if you have this condition. Four common complications can come with vaginal atrophy and it’s helpful to know what to do about them.
4 Common Complications Of Vaginal Atrophy
1. Urinary Incontinence
One of the potential issues with vaginal atrophy is that it can affect your urinary system. Apart from increasing your urge to urinate, you may experience a little leakage. This incontinence can significantly disrupt your life.
2. Urinary Tract Infections
Another problem that can affect the urinary system is that you become more likely to develop urinary tract infections. If you’ve had them before, you may have the infections more frequently. This may happen because vaginal atrophy influences urinary system atrophy which can further affect how efficiently the urinary system works.
3. Vaginal Infections
Vaginal atrophy changes the balance of microorganisms in the vagina. If the natural levels of bacteria, yeast, and other organisms are thrown out of whack, you may get vaginal infections more often. In addition, the atrophy makes the vaginal tissues more vulnerable to tearing so that can impact infections as well.
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4. Chronic Vaginal Discharge
The imbalance of microorganisms in the vagina can lead to a chronic discharge. This discharge can have a thin consistency and be yellow or grey. It may or may not have an odor. Some people find it embarrassing and difficult to deal with.
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What You Can Do About Your Symptoms
Whether or not you can ease your symptoms on your own depends on the severity of your symptoms. Since some of the issues arise from the lack of moisture in the vagina, it may be helpful to try over-the-counter lubricants to see if they help.
Additionally, some persons have positive outcomes with a preventive approach to urinary tract infections. Some things that can help include staying hydrated, urinating after sex, and not holding in their urine for long periods.
Where urinary incontinence is concerned, it can help to practice pelvic floor exercises. In these exercises, you would squeeze your pelvic floor muscles between five and 10 times while standing, sitting, or lying down.
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Each squeeze should last for a second and you shouldn’t hold your breath while doing it. It might be tempting to do it a lot, but doctors recommend resting between each set and not doing these exercises more than six times per day.
It’s important to note that it can take a couple of months for you to see a difference and even then you must keep doing the exercises.
When To See A Doctor
It’s best to see your doctor if nothing you do works to alleviate your symptoms. While over-the-counter options work well for some people, others need medical intervention.
Your doctor is likely to prescribe medication to treat any infections as they’re not going to resolve on their own. Additionally, you may get different types of lubricants that can be inserted into the vagina to alleviate your symptoms.
If the lubricants don’t help, it’s time to talk to your doctor about estrogen-based medications. These drugs are meant to increase your body’s estrogen levels so that would address the root cause of all your issues. These will have side effects, though, so you should discuss them with your doctor.
Though vaginal atrophy is likely to affect you as you get older, it doesn’t mean you have to put up with the symptoms or complications. You can try to manage it on your own but it’s just as essential to know when to talk to your doctor. Sometimes, a medical approach is the only way to get everything under control.
