Not having enough sex bad for your vagina

There’s a common condition which women may experience if not having enough sex.
It’s a sparkling and fresh new year, so here, have something new to worry about.
You can thank us later.
Yes, in addition to nuclear war, melting ice caps, the national debt, your health and your finances, there’s whether or not you’re having enough sex to add to the list.
The reason being, where women are concerned, unpleasant things can happen to the nether-regions as a result of drought.
Namely, vaginal atrophy.
This horror-inducing combination of words signifies a common but treatable condition where the vaginal walls have started to thin.
While it can effect anyone, women going through the menopause are more susceptible to it, Body Soul reports, because of the decrease amount of oestrogen their bodies are producing.
The Mayo Clinic also explain how women who have been treated for cancer (breast cancer in particular) may also be affected.
But what is vaginal atrophy, specifically?
Its symptoms include discharge, burning, itching, difficulty peeing and pain during sex and is caused by a decrease in the production of the female sex hormone oestrogen.
Yet keeping sexually active is key in combating vaginal atrophy, with regular orgasms helping to relieve these symptoms by increasing blood flow.
Dr Louise Mazanti, a London-based sex therapist, said: “It is very important that we have a healthy sex life with a partner or with ourselves.
“People very often say, ‘I don’t have a sex life because I don’t have a partner’.
“But forget about that and have a sexual relationship with yourself.
“It’s about using massage and touching the tissue so that it becomes alive, the blood flows and the tissue becomes elastic.
“It is really about exercising the tissue.”
Dr Mazanti warns if cells are not getting enough oxygen then waste from tissue can’t be dealt with, which in turn leads to tissue inflammation and, eventually, vaginal atrophy.
When toxins build up, it also prevents the cells from getting vital nutrients, leaving the tissue thinner, weaker and a lot less healthier.
It’s not just physical conditions such as vaginal atrophy which causes problems.
Dr Mazanti explained how losing the ability to have sex can have some serious side effects on a person’s mental health.
She added: “When your ability to have sex and your desire to have sex decreases, it is a massive change in identity.
“You start to question ‘who am I now if I am not the sexual woman I used to be?’
“It can cause depression and an identity crisis and deep consideration of an existential nature.”