Everything to Know About Vaginal Health | Pain, Dryness, Microbiome & More

takeaways

1. Dr Shirin Lakhani discussed how women's intimate health issues are often dismissed by practitioners, with conditions like vaginismus historically brushed off with advice to 'have a glass of wine and relax'.

2. The conversation covered a range of conditions across a woman's life, including painful periods, stress incontinence, vaginal laxity, dryness, lichen sclerosus, vaginismus and menopausal genitourinary symptoms.

3. Treatments discussed included PRP (the O-Shot and P-Shot), radiofrequency microneedling (Empower RF), HRT, localised vaginal oestrogen, moisturisers and botulinum toxin for vaginismus.

4. Shirin explained that low-dose vaginal oestrogen has low absorption and is generally considered safe for most women, and that she believes the black box warnings relate to older systemic HRT rather than localised treatments.

5. The importance of the delicate vaginal microbiome was raised, with disruptors including perfumed washes, douching, antibiotics and stress, and the vagina being described as self-cleaning.

6. Shirin described her 'Check Your Vulva' campaign, aimed at normalising self-examination and using correct anatomical terminology to break down stigma from a young age.

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