WEDNESDAY, Feb, 22, 2023Vaginal dryness. It happens to most postmenopausal women, but few talk about it and even fewer get treated for it. Vaginal dryness is a painful condition that occurs when the lining of the vagina does not produce enough lubrication. A healthy vagina has a thick discharge that keeps the tissues lubricated and healthy. When the body no longer makes adequate lubrication, the tissue becomes thin and dry, which may cause discomfort. According to an article in the International Journal of Women’s Health, approximately 50% to 60% of postmenopausal women suffer from this condition. Yet, only 25% receive treatment. Vaginal dryness can wreak havoc on a woman’s quality of life. Painful sexual intimacy can be challenging to navigate in a relationship. Vaginal dryness can also cause discomfort when sitting or exercising, and it can lead to an increase in urinary tract infections (UTIs). Vaginal Dryness Symptoms According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the symptoms of vaginal dryness include: Painful sexual intercourse/penetration Itching in the perineum Burning when urinating Irritation of the perineum Bleeding post intercourse Vaginal discharge Recurrent urinary tract infections Vaginal Dryness Causes The Mayo Clinic states that a decrease in the body’s production of estrogen is the primary cause of vaginal dryness. The body’s drop in estrogen levels may be caused by: Perimenopause Menopause Removal of ovaries (oophorectomy) Childbirth Breastfeeding…  read on >  read on >

Combining breathing exercises with gradual aerobic activity may benefit teens who are recovering slowly from a concussion. New research found that while the two therapies each offer benefits, together they led to even greater improvement in thinking and memory skills, depression and mood. The findings are scheduled for presentation in Boston and online at the meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 22 to 27. “When someone has a concussion, it can affect the body’s autonomic nervous system, and it is increasingly clear that this underlies the inability to tolerate exercise, problems with thinking skills and mood issues in those with persisting symptoms,” said study author R. Davis Moore, an assistant professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. “Our study used a handheld biofeedback device to help people train their breathing to match their heart rate patterns,” Moore said in a meeting news release. “This can help balance the autonomic nervous system and manage symptoms.” Recovery from concussion is considered slow when it takes more than one month for symptoms such as headache, dizziness, depression, mood problems, memory and concentration issues to resolve. Heart rate variability is the range of time between heartbeats. For example, a person may have a range of 60 to 100 beats per minute. After a concussion, all patients have changes in this rate, then typically return…  read on >  read on >

For reasons that can’t always be explained, some women experience pain in their external genital area. Called vulvodynia, this term encompasses everything from localized pain at a specific spot, such as on the outer or inner labia, for example, to pain throughout the area. It might feel like burning, aching, rawness, swelling or just irritation, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Although pain in this area is common, when it lasts for three months or more without an infection, skin disorder or other medical condition to explain it, that’s vulvodynia, according to ACOG. The pain can be severe or mild and it can last forever. It’s also treatable, according to a blog post from University of Texas Health Austin. “You know, women don’t often come in saying, I have pain. They say things like, ‘I have burning, irritation, pain during sex at times, pins and needles feeling,” Teresa Reed, a former physician assistant at UT Health Austin, said in the blog post. “When they come in, we rule out all those other things that can cause those conditions. By definition, vulvodynia is the absence of physical findings, it is a musculoskeletal, neuropathic condition.” What is vulvodynia? The National Vulvodynia Association (NVA) describes the condition as “chronic vulvar pain without an identifiable cause.” Although descriptions vary, most women say they have a…  read on >  read on >

It’s not always necessary to lower a child’s fever, but parents often do. A new poll from Michigan Medicine found that about one-third of parents reach for fever-reducing medicines too quickly. “Often parents worry about their child having a fever and want to do all they can to reduce their temperature. However, they may not be aware that in general the main reason to treat a fever is just to keep their child comfortable,” said Dr. Susan Woolford, co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at University of Michigan Health, in Ann Arbor. “Some parents may immediately rush to give their kids medicine, but it’s often better to let the fever run its course,” Woolford said in a university news release. “Lowering a child’s temperature doesn’t typically help cure their illness any faster. In fact, a low-grade fever helps fight off the infection. There’s also the risk of giving too much medication when it’s not needed, which can have side effects.” The poll surveyed nearly 1,400 parents of children aged 12 and under between August and September 2022. The results showed that even though parents recognize the benefits of a low-grade fever for fighting off infection, about one-third would still give their child fever-reducing medication at temperatures below 100.4. Half would do so at a temperature between 100.4 and 101.9,…  read on >  read on >

Natural immunity acquired from a COVID infection provides strong and lasting protection against severe illness if a person becomes reinfected, a new evidence review has concluded. Ten months after a COVID infection, protection against hospitalization and death remains at 89% for Omicron and 90% for earlier variants, according to pooled data from 65 studies conducted in 19 countries. However, protection against reinfection wanes quickly with Omicron, which is the dominant COVID strain at this time, researchers found. After 10 months, a previous case of Omicron provides only 36% protection against a follow-up COVID infection, researchers reported Feb. 16 in The Lancet. The analysis suggests that the level and duration of protection derived from COVID infection is at least on a par with that provided by two doses of the mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, researchers said. “These findings are not surprising as multiple studies have shown that prior infection confers protection against severe disease, though it may not confer protection against infection in the Omicron era,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore. He was not involved in the research. But because people first infected with the coronavirus run the risk of hospitalization, death and long COVID, researchers concluded that vaccination remains the overall best form of protection against COVID. “The vaccines and…  read on >  read on >

Older people have vaccines available to prevent severe influenza and COVID-19, but there’s been nothing to protect against the third respiratory virus that contributed to this season’s wretched “triple-demic.” Until now. Two major pharmaceutical companies published clinical trial results this week that pave the way for an RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine to be available for adults by the time next cold and flu season rolls around. “RSV continues to be the last of the major winter respiratory viruses for which we don’t have a vaccine, but as these two articles in the New England Journal of Medicine indicate, we’re getting close,” said Dr. William Schaffner. He is medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, in Bethesda, Md. The companies — GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Janssen — both have RSV vaccine candidates that can prevent severe illness in seniors, results show. The GSK vaccine provides 94% protection against severe lower respiratory tract RSV, and about 83% protection against lower respiratory tract infections overall, said Dr. Leonard Friedland, vice president and director of scientific affairs and public health for GSK U.S. Vaccines. “We’re very, very pleased and excited because this is the first time that an RSV vaccine has made it through phase 3 and has published data in a peer-reviewed journal,” Friedland said. The Janssen vaccine also provided good protection in a phase 2b…  read on >  read on >