The Millstone Times February 2019

HEALTH 

 WELLNESS

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QUESTION: How does The MonaLisa Touch counteract vaginal dryness? V aginal dryness is extremely common during menopause. It’s just one of a collection of symptoms known as the increasing blood flow to the genital region and helping maintain the size of the vagina. Dr. Simigiannis is one of the leading gynecologists in the nation using this new procedure.

genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) that involves changes to the vulvovaginal area, as well as to the urethra and bladder. These changes can lead to vaginal dryness, pain with intercourse, urinary urgency, and sometimes more frequent bladder infections.

For more information feel free to contact: Dr. Helen Simigiannis, MD, FACOG Antheia Gynecology 375 US Highway 130, Suite 103 East Windsor, NJ 08520 Next to the Americana Diner 609.448.7800 www.antheiagyn.com

Dr. Helen Simigiannis, MD, FACOG

These body changes and symptoms are commonly associated with decreased estrogen. However, decreased estrogen is not the only cause of vaginal dryness. It is important to stop using soap and powder on the vulva, stop using fabric softeners and anticling products on your underwear, and avoid wearing panty liners and pads. Vaginal moisturizers and lubricants may help. Persistent vaginal dryness and painful intercourse should be evaluated by your healthcare provider. If it is determined to be a symptom of menopause, vaginal dryness can be treated with low-dose vaginal estrogen, or the oral selective estrogen-receptor modulator ospemifene can be used. The MonaLisa Touch is a new therapy for the treatment of vaginal dryness that is non hormonal, non medication and non surgical using a gentle laser. Regular sexual activity can help preserve vaginal function by

Adolescent & Routine Gynecology Menopause Minimally Invasive Surgery Endometrial Ablation Birth Control

Expressive Writing Can Help You Confront Pain

When something bad happens, we often relive the event over and over in our heads, rehashing the pain. This process is called rumination; it’s like a cognitive spinning of the wheels, and it doesn’t move us forward toward healing and growth. The practice of Expressive Writing can move us forward by helping us gain new insights on the challenges in our lives which can help us confront emotional pain more skillfully. It involves free writing continuously for 20 minutes about an issue, exploring your deepest thoughts and feelings around it. The goal is to get something down on paper, not to create a memoir-like masterpiece. A 1988 study found that participants who did expressive writing for four days were healthier six weeks later and happier up to three months later, when compared to people who wrote about superficial topics. In writing, the researchers suggest, we’re forced to confront ideas one by one and give them structure, which may lead to new perspectives. We’re actually crafting our own life narrative and gaining a sense of control. Once we’ve explored the dark side of an experience, we might choose to contemplate some of its upsides. The process of finding Silver Linings invites you to call to mind an upsetting experience and try to list three positive things about it. For example, you might reflect on how fighting with a friend brought some important issues out into the open, and allowed you to learn something about their point of view. In a study in 2014, doing this practice daily for three weeks helped participants afterward become more engaged with life, and it decreased their pessimistic beliefs over time. This wasn’t true for a group whose members just wrote about their daily activities. It was particularly beneficial for staunch pessimists, who also became less depressed. But the effects wore off after two months, suggesting that looking on the bright side is something we have to practice regularly.

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The Millstone Times

February 2019