Medical Treatments for Dyspareunia in Menopause
Menopause can be a frustrating time in a woman’s life, dealing with symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, difficulty focusing, and vaginal dryness. Menopause is marked by 12 months since the last menstruation, and brings about a change in hormones. The ovaries have stopped producing estrogen and progesterone, which can lead to dyspareunia. Dyspareunia is a recurrent or persistent pain during sexual intercourse that mostly affects women. The reasons for this condition can be physical or psychological, but there are medical treatments that can help, including the following: 1. Medications Medications are required to treat the pain or infections associated with this condition. Topical estrogen is recommended to reduce vaginal dryness and discomfort. Ospemifene is widely prescribed to treat moderate to extreme dyspareunia in menopause and this has been approved by the FDA. Moreover, antifungal medications are also prescribed to treat yeast infections. In the case of severe infections associated with this condition, antibiotics could be prescribed for a while. Medications include treating the skin infections around the private organ and most of them are steroid creams. In some cases, the doctor would prescribe low dose pain medications to ease the muscle spasms in the pelvic region. Estrogen therapy is also considered and it could be either a pill or a kind of formulation.