Selene Vaginal Rejuvenation

Selene Touch Vaginal Rejuvenation

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many different causes for painful sex, and you should go to your gynecology office for an evaluation. Pain that is deep inside the pelvis can have serious causes, like tumors, fibroids, cysts and endometriosis. Pain that is in the vagina or on the outside can be the result of atrophy or lichen sclerosus, but can also be caused by sexually transmitted diseases and vaginal infections.

This term is used to describe treatments that can help reverse the effects of age and menopause on the vaginal skin. The term is non-specific. It can apply to laser treatments, hormone therapies, or surgery. Some clinics also use this term for “new” procedures that haven’t been proven to work. Be a smart. Ask your doctor whether any therapy you are considering has been proven to be both safe and effective.

Most women note significant improvement within a month.

Selene Touch is a series of three 5-minute treatments. Results last 1-2 years. Most women schedule a single “touch-up” treatment every 1-2 years.

Each Selene Touch laser treatment costs $500. Medical laser treatments like the Selene Touch can be deducted as a health care expense if you itemize your taxes, and can be paid for with funds in a health savings / medical savings account. Selene Touch is not covered by any insurance companies.

Selene Touch Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation is done in-office at our medical practice: 1842 Buenaventura Blvd. Redding, CA 96001

As women age and go into menopause, the level of estrogen hormone in their body drops. This lack of estrogen has many effects on the body. Without hormones stimulating the uterus, your periods stop. Without hormones stimulating the ovaries, you don’t produce eggs and can’t get pregnant. The lack of estrogen affects the temperature control center in the brain and causes hot flashes and night sweats. It affects the mood centers in the brain and makes you more emotional. Sex drive / libido also drops. Lack of estrogen in the vaginal skin causes atrophy, and painful / dry sex.

Atrophy occurs when the lack of estrogen causes less blood to flow to the vaginal skin. That means less oxygen and nutrients get to the skin. Over time this leads to chronic, worsening skin damage. The lubrication glands dry up and there is less moisture. The skin thins and becomes more fragile – so fragile that many women experience little “paper-cuts” and slight bleeding when they have sex. The vagina also shrinks in diameter. As the skin thins, the underlying nerves are now closer to the surface of the skin. The pressure and friction of sex can then trigger feelings of burning and pain. All of these changes together are called “vaginal atrophy.”

Painful sex, burning, and sometimes itching or slight bleeding from tearing. Atrophy also affects the urethra (the tube that empties your bladder) causing urinary urgency. Atrophy can also change the ph in the skin, leading to frequent vaginal infections with yeast or “BV” (bacterial vaginosis).

Lichen sclerosus is a skin condition, similar to eczema and psoriasis. It typically occurs in women over 50, but can occur in younger women as well. It causes the skin of the vulva / labia (just outside of the vagina) to become thin and fragile. The skin often turns white and wrinkles like parchment paper. It cause severe itching, burning, pain with sex, and skin tearing. Many women with lichens are misdiagnosed as having chronic yeast infections for years.

You need to go to your gynecology office. A trained practitioner can make the diagnosis of atrophy or probable lichens by doing a pelvic exam. To confirm a diagnosis of lichens you may need a colposcopy or skin test. Most patients with lichens usually have atrophy as well!

In the past, women with vaginal atrophy were treated with vaginal estrogen hormone creams. These hormones only work for as long as you continue to take them. Many women find that these creams are messy and expensive or not covered by their insurance companies. In the past, women with lichens were treated with steroid creams. These steroids have to be used often and sometimes the medicine can actually make the skin damage worse!