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Average age women go through the menopause revealed
A top gynaecologist has revealed the average age British women go through the menopause.
Dr Narendra Pisal, consultant gynaecologist at London Gynaecology, told medical site Net Doctor that menopause literally means 'end of menstrual cycle', occurring when the body stops producing female sex hormones from the ovaries. It's pre-cursed by the perimenopause – when periods become irregular and symptoms start – which can last between six months and 10 years.
Dr Pisal said the average age of menopause for British women is 51, but 'this can be different for you depending on your ethnicity and genetics'.
Every woman's experience of the menopause is slightly different, but many of us report similar frustrating side effects such as hot flushes, night sweats and weight gain. One of the most common menopause symptoms, however, is often overlooked: pain during sex.
For many women, penetrative sex becomes painful during, and after, menopause but few know why or how to overcome the issue.
A former GP also told Net Doctor that painful sex is down to a biological change that occurs as levels of female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, drop during the menopause.
Dr Shirin Lakhani of Elite Aesthetics says the discomfort is often down to a shift in the hormones that ‘make the tissues in the vagina become thin and dry, and this dryness in turn can add friction during sex’. She says the vagina also feels tighter as it’s not able to stretch as much as it did pre-menopause.
The answer to making sex enjoyable again? Dr Lakhani suggests making time for foreplay to encourage vaginal lubrication and help you relax, along with exploring other forms of pleasure including clitoral stimulation. After all the majority of women aren't actually able to orgasm through penetration alone, a new study has found.
You can read Net Doctor's full report on sex and menopause here.
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