Aging and the Vagina

When a woman ages, a lot of things in her body begins to change too. Her skin becomes loose, her hair would thin, her weight becomes unmanageable, and those dreaded wrinkles begin to appear. The changes would extend inside her body as well. Internal organs do not function as effectively as before. Her hormonal level is lowered down. And if the hormone count decreases, her whole reproductive system is going to transform as well. Menopause is apparently near.



Vaginal Changes
With age, the vaginal walls become less elastic, less rigid and will be considerably thinner. If this happens, the vagina will become shorter. The normal vaginal secretions will be rare, and if one will do appear, its consistency is watery now. The tissues of the vagina will decrease as well and the vagina will be drier.


A dry vagina has increased risk of infections. Symptoms of vaginal infections are usually smelly discharges caused by yeast or bacteria. These discharges are thin, grayish-white, and have a certain fishy smell. Menopause causing hormonal imbalance adds more to the risk.


Vaginal prolapse can also happen. This means the whole vagina can drop out of its position. This sometimes causes incontinence. The symptom could be swelling on the opening of the vagina. The back wall can also have bulges. There are also cases that a woman won’t have any external symptom at all. This is more dangerous because if the problem is not surfacing, then immediate treatment may not be possible. Vaginal prolapse can be treated non-surgically, although surgery may be required in severe cases. Non-surgical method involves inserting a pessary into the vagina to support it and its surrounding organs.


The Effects
Due to changing appearance and function of the vagina, a woman would change psychologically and socially too. Since the vagina will be dry, the sexual response will be highly affected. Sexual intercourse will become uncomfortable to an aging woman. And because the walls are thinner and drier, the vagina will be irritated during an intercourse. Also, it would its lose sensitivity as it ages.



Psychologically, with these changes in her vagina, a woman would feel not adept any longer to counter her partner’s sexual urges. The psychological effects of this situation may vary between women. A woman might become overly jealous of her husband. She might feel insecure when faced with this scenario. She might not feel confident as a woman anymore.


Socially, a woman might hide inside her shell. It is possible that she might lessen her male friends and widen her circle of female friends instead. In worse cases, she might ward off a man’s existence entirely for that matter. Given the case, she won’t be able to live a balanced life. Interaction, social or otherwise, is necessary to every individual. In the absence of this, a well-rounded and complete existence cannot be achieved later on in her life.


The Aging Process
Although aging will definitely change a woman’s way of life, she should still try to do her best to be the same person she is. She should not succumb to loneliness or being alone. Aging will happen. It is a phase of life everyone will go into. We cannot stop it, but it is possible to defer it. We all should welcome it and be prepared for it instead. The entire body will change. The vagina will change as stated, but our personal outlook should not be altered. Our personality should be intact. A healthy person is not just physically strong, but psychologically, emotionally, and mentally as well. Let us all choose to age gracefully.