Vaginal dryness

Vaginal dryness may happen to anyone with a vagina at any age. But it happens more often with older age, mainly after menopause. Vaginal dryness can cause pain and irritation during sex and at other times.

Lower estrogen levels are the main cause of vaginal dryness. Estrogen is a hormone that helps keep vaginal tissue healthy and moist. Other causes of vaginal dryness include some medical conditions and ways of cleaning the vagina.

Estrogen levels can fall for these reasons:

• Breastfeeding
• Childbirth
• Cigarette smoking
• Cancer treatment
• Immune disorders
• Menopause
• Oophorectomy (ovary removal surgery)
• Perimenopause (the time before moving into menopause)
• Primary ovarian insufficiency, a condition in which the ovaries stop working well before age 40
• Use of antiestrogen medicine

Other causes of vaginal dryness include:

• Douching, cleaning out the vagina with water or other fluids
• Having a vagina that was created by surgery
• Sjogren's syndrome
• Use of allergy and cold medicines and some antidepressants

Vaginal dryness affects many people with vaginas. Many of them don't bring up the topic with their healthcare professionals.

If vaginal dryness affects your sex life and relationship with your partner, make an appointment with your healthcare professional. Living with vaginal dryness doesn't have to be part of getting older.