Vaginal dryness

What is vaginal dryness?

Vaginal dryness is too little natural moisture, so penetration chafes or hurts. It’s a complaint with many possible causes, more than the menopause alone. Too little arousal, stress, breastfeeding, and certain medicines can be behind it too. Usually something can be done about it.

Where it comes from

It’s a common complaint, and rarely just one thing. The NHS names menopause and hormonal changes, pregnancy and breastfeeding, some medicines such as hormonal contraception and antidepressants, too little arousal during sex, and conditions like diabetes. The Belgian Gezondheid.be adds stress and insufficient arousal, and stresses that the treatment depends on the cause. Dryness is a signal, then, not a diagnosis in itself.

What vaginal dryness is not

“If I’m dry, apparently I don’t want it.” Not necessarily. Arousal and moisture don’t always run in step, and dryness can be purely hormonal or situational. The other way around, tension or hurry can get in the way of arousal. Lubricant is then not a sign of failure, just a pleasant solution.

What I make of it

In my work as a gigolo I see how often dryness has to do with hurry and tension, not with unwillingness. Anyone who feels rushed or expects pain gets going less easily, and then it stays dry. What helps is calm, time, and using enough lubricant without embarrassment. Often your own moisture follows after all, once the body feels safe enough. If the dryness persists, also outside moments like these, talk about it with your GP, because usually something can be done.

Sources

• Vaginal dryness. NHS. Provides that vaginal dryness is a common problem with causes such as menopause, pregnancy and breastfeeding, some medicines, too little arousal, and conditions like diabetes, and that lubricant and vaginal moisturizers help.
• Oorzaken van vaginale droogheid. Gezondheid.be. Provides that alongside hormonal causes, medicines, stress, and insufficient arousal play a part too, and that the treatment depends on the cause.

Related terms

• Vaginal atrophy. The tissue change behind dryness in and after menopause.
• Lubricant. The simplest and most pleasant aid for dryness.
• Arousal. Moisture often follows only once the arousal is there.
• Menopause. The best-known, but not the only, cause.