GynoFiles

Non-hormonal vaginal health is the current buzz word. While estrogen therapy is fast, effective and safe for vaginal health through perimenopause and menopause, and the SERM Osphena appealing because of the benefits beyond vaginal health, it's the alternatives that are gaining traction current. The most shocking news yet is the finding that SSRI treatment can be beneficial for vaginal health. Since the introduction of Prozac, a medication that alters serotonin for the treatment of depression, there has been an expansion of the use of all of serotonin modulators for the treatment of a variety of conditions including sexual function, smoking cessation, and pain syndromes. When used in a study of hot flash treatment it was found that a short eight week course venlafaxine improved the vaginal dryness and pain of intercourse of sex and that it was even better than low dosage estrogen in this trial. Just improving mood and having more sex is also beneficial for vaginal health, so do no...

Gynos are reminding women that yearly visits for menopausal health are still recommended although the content of those visits has changed. Women who are low risk for cervical cancer may be eligible for less frequent cervical pap smears than every year. Women post hysterectomy, no longer need cervical screening, but if they are at risk they may need cancer tests of the vagina. A test for the health of the vaginal wall, the Vaginal Maturation Index Pap tests can also be used to judge your vaginal sexual health. This is the test is abbreviated as the Maturation Index. A Maturation Index is not a cancer test, but it is a type of pap smear that doesn't report out cancer or precancerous changes, but specifically reports on the percentage of healthy superficial cells the walls of the vagina. The Maturation Index is performed by using a swab and placing it in fluid.  It is an analysis of the vaginal wall cells from epithelial layer of the vagina. 100 cells are evaluated and the propor...