What To Do When You Need Lube
As the female body ages, natural lubrication can become a problem. The vaginal walls thin and tear as previously moist inner tissues become dry and, well, tissue-y. Intercourse becomes painful, which makes sex unpleasant, which in turn leads to avoidance. Your doctor may prescribe estriol creams containing estrogen and or low doses of testosterone. These prescription medications do help with dryness, but are increasingly raising red flags since they may be associated with breast cancer.
Ignoring the problem and not treating dryness poses its own set of problems as it may limit clothing options (tight pants can actually hurt), inhibit you from partaking in certain exercise(cycling and horseback riding are out), or just plain sitting down (you might have to carry along your own cushion). Even your annual examination by your gynecologist can become a painful chore, especially when it's time to insert the speculum. And where does that leave a woman who is still very interested in having sex?
There are any number of over-the-counter lubes women can choose which, to varying degrees, do work. However, many women are reluctant to buy these products because they're oily or heavily scented or they find the packaging or even the name of the product embarrassing.
This is an area where naturopathic choices really stand out. Go to any health-food store or natural foods market or natural products pharmacy and you'll discover a plethora of products to suit any lubrication need. Basically these products fall into two categories; lubricants to use on a daily basis, an approach I would liken to the daily moisturizing of your hands and face.
There are also sex-specific lubricants for when you're "in the moment," to be applied directly to the vagina, or your partner's phallus. Not only does applying these products to the phallus make insertion easier, but if the entire shaft (not just the tip) is well coated, that makes a great delivery system for applying the moisturizer more deeply up the vaginal passage.
The Emerita company makes a number of feminine lubes you can find in most health food stores. The OH Warming Lube goes on and in smoothly and also warms the entire area up. Feminine Personal Moisturizer contains vitamin E, and Pro-Gest contains natural progesterone.
My personal favorite product is sweet almond oil, a readily available (and inexpensive) lubricant. Sweet almond oil is light, absorbs quickly, and is pleasant to use. It calms itchiness in the vagina and around the perineum, plus it can be used as a sexual lubricant and applied directly on the man. table. Use it daily for best results.
Eve Marx writes frequently about sex for ThirdAge.com.
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