Not your Grandma's skin
February 21, 2013
Overheard in a Ladies Room:
Stall 1: "I went on birth control pills to help get rid of my acne."
Stall 2: "Did they help?"
Stall 1: "Yeah, a lot. But now I've gained 5 pounds and my breasts are sore."
Stall 2: "I'd rather be a little chubby with sore boobs than have a face like an uncooked pizza."
Stall 1: "Amen to that!."
SO last time I scratched the surface on skin changes during menopause. Today I'm going to dig a little deeper and catalog some of the other kinds of skin conditions that can occur aside from sagging and wrinkling skin. Which are bad enough by themselves.
In an article I read on DermNet NZ there is a very detailed listing of skin problems that can occur during and after menopause. I'll put the address/link at the end of this talk. Basically, as I said last time, Estrogen appears to affect every system in our bodies, and very much so, the skin - our largest organ/system. Estrogen receptors are very prolific in the areas of the face and the bottom half of our bodies, including the genitals and legs. Remembering that loss of estrogen and collagen leads to thinning of the skin, one condition of the genitals is Atrophic Vulvovaginitis. This is defined as thinning of the skin of the vagina ( or if you're an Oprah fan "vagaygay"). Because the area becomes thinner in structure, tenderness, itching, burning and even painful sex along with urinary pain can all occur. These symptoms, if untreated can lead to Vaginitis, or simply, inflammation of the vagina. Heavy and profuse discharge from the vagina can occur with this, leading to vaginal infections, and what is commonly referred to as yeast infections.
Lovely.
These conditions, while not life threatening, are certainly bothersome to say the least. Bad enough you'e sweating like a farm animal every hour on the hour, now your vagaygay is itching like a bitch. Not fun.
Some other conditions that can occur with estrogen depleation include Hirsutism and its opposite best friend, Alopecia. The first is abnormal hair growth in women, especially on the face. ( Remember that chin hair I mentioned last time?) It appears to be very common in post menopausals who are not on any kind of Hormone Replacement therapy. Alopecia, the opposite offense, is hair loss from areas that usually have hair - like the front and top of the head. But it also occurs in the genital region, reducing the thickness and amount of pubic hair. Kind of like a natural Brazilian. So, the downside is you get hair where you don't want it and lose it where you kind of like it.
My absolute favorite condition, though ( read the sarcasm here) is a condition called Keratoderma climactericum. Just try to say that five times really fast. This is defined as a thickening of the skin on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The two places where you NEVER thought you'd gain weight: hands and bottom of your feet!. It occurs much more often in obese menopausals - another great reason to keep your weight stable - and it may led to itchy and painfully cracked skin, where splitting can occur. This can lead to topical skin infections.
Two other conditions worth a mention are Vulvar lichen sclerosus and Dyaesthetic vulvodynia. The first is a chronic skin disease that mainly affects the anogential region. Symptoms include itching and irritation at the anus, white thinned and wrinkled skin ( but really, how would you know that unless someone looked at it for you?! Painful intercourse and recurrent labial tears can also come from this condition. Vulvodynia is chronic vulvar burning with irritation, and a sensation of the skin at the area feeling "raw" instead of itchy.
This is all pretty heavy stuff, but worth knowing. The next logical questions are how are any of these managed and can they be prevented?
Well, lets start with the common sense approaches, which are really the best ones.
First of all, stop using harsh soaps and soaps filled with perfumes. These are drying agents, and even tho they get rid of bacteria, they do leach much needed moisture from the skin. Never rub your skin or the areas mentioned above roughly. Thin skin is delicate skin and hard, vigorous rubbing can lead to tears and further irritation. Stay hydrated from within. The more moisture you have internally will indeed help with your external shell staying hydrated. Hydrated skin does not fissure and crack. Here's a hint I always tell me patients: if you are addicted to Chapstick, or your eyes are always dry to the point you want to rub them, you need to drink more water. You should never know your eyes exist. You shouldn't feel or notice any discomfort in them. If you do, there is a problem, and the most common one is internal dehydration. It's mild, but it's enough that you notice it.
I can't say enough about moisturizers. There is a plethora of products to choose from on the market today. Just know you should always check the ingredient labels before you buy anything. You don't want anything with alcohol in it and stay away from stuff that's too perfume-y. These ingredients cause drying and you're already dry!. There's a reason Johnson's Baby lotion has so few ingredients. If you wouldn't rub it on your baby's butt, don't rub it on your own! I was in CVS today and I happened to be speaking with a salesperson whom I know personally, who works there. She is currently going through menopause as well and we were discussing the changes we see in our skin. She told me that some of their best selling skin lines cater to women over 50 and it seems like skin care for this age group is rapidly growing. That makes sense as the baby boomers are all coming into their middle/late years. Women are a very powerful market when it comes to dollars and how they want to spend theirs. I am not surprised that skin care for menopausal and postmenopausal women is expanding so rapidly.
Now, to the medical treatments for skin problems.Obviously if you have vaginitis or a yeast infection, you need medical care in the form of suppositories or antibiotics if there is a true infection. Don't wait for any symptoms to get worse. Most women are of the Scarllet O'hara school of thought that everything will be better tomorrow, so I won't bother to worry about it today. Well sorry, Scarlett, but when it comes to problems DOWN THERE, there's no time like the present to treat them. Never and I mean NEVER let a genitourinary problems fester ( literally!). I like being proactive, so once again, taking a vitamin made specially for women over 50 can never hurt, and make sure to drink it with a lot of water or even cranberry juice. Cranberries really do help in keeping the genitourinary system viable.
Seek medical attention for any problems. The worst thing you can ever do is nothing. Be proactive about yourself and your health. Always.
http://www.dermnetnz.org/site-age-specific/menopause.html
Overheard in a Ladies Room:
Stall 1: "I went on birth control pills to help get rid of my acne."
Stall 2: "Did they help?"
Stall 1: "Yeah, a lot. But now I've gained 5 pounds and my breasts are sore."
Stall 2: "I'd rather be a little chubby with sore boobs than have a face like an uncooked pizza."
Stall 1: "Amen to that!."
SO last time I scratched the surface on skin changes during menopause. Today I'm going to dig a little deeper and catalog some of the other kinds of skin conditions that can occur aside from sagging and wrinkling skin. Which are bad enough by themselves.
In an article I read on DermNet NZ there is a very detailed listing of skin problems that can occur during and after menopause. I'll put the address/link at the end of this talk. Basically, as I said last time, Estrogen appears to affect every system in our bodies, and very much so, the skin - our largest organ/system. Estrogen receptors are very prolific in the areas of the face and the bottom half of our bodies, including the genitals and legs. Remembering that loss of estrogen and collagen leads to thinning of the skin, one condition of the genitals is Atrophic Vulvovaginitis. This is defined as thinning of the skin of the vagina ( or if you're an Oprah fan "vagaygay"). Because the area becomes thinner in structure, tenderness, itching, burning and even painful sex along with urinary pain can all occur. These symptoms, if untreated can lead to Vaginitis, or simply, inflammation of the vagina. Heavy and profuse discharge from the vagina can occur with this, leading to vaginal infections, and what is commonly referred to as yeast infections.
Lovely.
These conditions, while not life threatening, are certainly bothersome to say the least. Bad enough you'e sweating like a farm animal every hour on the hour, now your vagaygay is itching like a bitch. Not fun.
Some other conditions that can occur with estrogen depleation include Hirsutism and its opposite best friend, Alopecia. The first is abnormal hair growth in women, especially on the face. ( Remember that chin hair I mentioned last time?) It appears to be very common in post menopausals who are not on any kind of Hormone Replacement therapy. Alopecia, the opposite offense, is hair loss from areas that usually have hair - like the front and top of the head. But it also occurs in the genital region, reducing the thickness and amount of pubic hair. Kind of like a natural Brazilian. So, the downside is you get hair where you don't want it and lose it where you kind of like it.
My absolute favorite condition, though ( read the sarcasm here) is a condition called Keratoderma climactericum. Just try to say that five times really fast. This is defined as a thickening of the skin on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The two places where you NEVER thought you'd gain weight: hands and bottom of your feet!. It occurs much more often in obese menopausals - another great reason to keep your weight stable - and it may led to itchy and painfully cracked skin, where splitting can occur. This can lead to topical skin infections.
Two other conditions worth a mention are Vulvar lichen sclerosus and Dyaesthetic vulvodynia. The first is a chronic skin disease that mainly affects the anogential region. Symptoms include itching and irritation at the anus, white thinned and wrinkled skin ( but really, how would you know that unless someone looked at it for you?! Painful intercourse and recurrent labial tears can also come from this condition. Vulvodynia is chronic vulvar burning with irritation, and a sensation of the skin at the area feeling "raw" instead of itchy.
This is all pretty heavy stuff, but worth knowing. The next logical questions are how are any of these managed and can they be prevented?
Well, lets start with the common sense approaches, which are really the best ones.
First of all, stop using harsh soaps and soaps filled with perfumes. These are drying agents, and even tho they get rid of bacteria, they do leach much needed moisture from the skin. Never rub your skin or the areas mentioned above roughly. Thin skin is delicate skin and hard, vigorous rubbing can lead to tears and further irritation. Stay hydrated from within. The more moisture you have internally will indeed help with your external shell staying hydrated. Hydrated skin does not fissure and crack. Here's a hint I always tell me patients: if you are addicted to Chapstick, or your eyes are always dry to the point you want to rub them, you need to drink more water. You should never know your eyes exist. You shouldn't feel or notice any discomfort in them. If you do, there is a problem, and the most common one is internal dehydration. It's mild, but it's enough that you notice it.
I can't say enough about moisturizers. There is a plethora of products to choose from on the market today. Just know you should always check the ingredient labels before you buy anything. You don't want anything with alcohol in it and stay away from stuff that's too perfume-y. These ingredients cause drying and you're already dry!. There's a reason Johnson's Baby lotion has so few ingredients. If you wouldn't rub it on your baby's butt, don't rub it on your own! I was in CVS today and I happened to be speaking with a salesperson whom I know personally, who works there. She is currently going through menopause as well and we were discussing the changes we see in our skin. She told me that some of their best selling skin lines cater to women over 50 and it seems like skin care for this age group is rapidly growing. That makes sense as the baby boomers are all coming into their middle/late years. Women are a very powerful market when it comes to dollars and how they want to spend theirs. I am not surprised that skin care for menopausal and postmenopausal women is expanding so rapidly.
Now, to the medical treatments for skin problems.Obviously if you have vaginitis or a yeast infection, you need medical care in the form of suppositories or antibiotics if there is a true infection. Don't wait for any symptoms to get worse. Most women are of the Scarllet O'hara school of thought that everything will be better tomorrow, so I won't bother to worry about it today. Well sorry, Scarlett, but when it comes to problems DOWN THERE, there's no time like the present to treat them. Never and I mean NEVER let a genitourinary problems fester ( literally!). I like being proactive, so once again, taking a vitamin made specially for women over 50 can never hurt, and make sure to drink it with a lot of water or even cranberry juice. Cranberries really do help in keeping the genitourinary system viable.
Seek medical attention for any problems. The worst thing you can ever do is nothing. Be proactive about yourself and your health. Always.
http://www.dermnetnz.org/site-age-specific/menopause.html
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