Care · By concern

Vaginal dryness and intimate discomfort at menopause: understanding it, treating it, feeling comfortable again, in Paris 16th

Vaginal dryness is no small detail of menopause: it burns, it makes intercourse painful, and it affects urinary life. This is the genitourinary syndrome of menopause, and it can be treated. At the practice, 42 avenue Mozart, Dr Chaima Gatri, OB-GYN and gynecological (gynaecological) surgeon, treats it as a reason for consultation in its own right: she examines, she explains, and the treatment is built with you. English-speaking practice.

Updated on 8 September 2026

Recognizing it

Dryness, burning, pain: the genitourinary syndrome of menopause

Falling estrogens (oestrogens) thin the lining of the vagina and vulva: the tissues lose their suppleness and their natural lubrication, and the vaginal flora changes. The urethra and the bladder respond to the same hormones: urinary symptoms belong to the same picture.

Constant dryness — a tight, uncomfortable feeling every day, outside intercourse too: in underwear, when walking, on a bicycle.
Burning and itching — at the entrance of the vagina, on the vulva, with sensitivity to the slightest friction.
Pain during intercourse — pain on penetration, burning that lingers afterwards, sometimes light contact bleeding.
Urinary symptoms — urgency, frequency, burning when passing urine, urinary infections that keep coming back.
Slow progression — these signs worsen the longer menopause lasts: they do not improve on their own.

That last point is what sets them apart from hot flashes (flushes), and it is the reason to seek advice.

Book an appointment — Dr GATRI

Three settings

Three situations, one mechanism

Dryness goes with menopause. It also appears in two other periods of life when estrogen levels collapse — and it can be treated in all three.

Menopause and perimenopause — the symptoms often begin before periods stop for good and settle in afterwards; the dedicated consultation is described on the Menopause page.
After childbirth and while breastfeeding — the drop in estrogens after delivery, prolonged by breastfeeding, dries the lining just as intercourse resumes; a perineal scar adds its own tenderness. This period passes, and the discomfort can be relieved before it does.
Treatment after breast cancer — the hormone therapy prescribed after breast cancer — aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen — deprives the lining of estrogens: dryness is then frequent and intense, in women who are sometimes young. The place of hormones, local ones included, is discussed with your oncologist; hormone-free treatments come fully into their own here.

The consultation

A conversation, an examination, explanations

The consultation begins with a conversation: how long the discomfort has lasted, what it prevents in daily life and in your intimate life, your history, your treatments, what you have already tried. Saying it plainly is enough.

Then comes the examination, explained step by step: examination of the vulva and the vagina, assessment of the lining, and a search for another cause that would call for its own treatment — infection, thrush, a vulvar skin condition — with a swab when it is useful. You leave with your prescriptions and the explanations that go with them, the printed report of every examination performed at the practice, and the menopause information document of the French Menopause Study Group (GEMVI): menopause information sheet.

Treatments

What the practice offers

Several treatments answer this discomfort. They are used alone or together; the choice is made with you, according to your history and how much the discomfort weighs.

Local treatments — low-dose local estrogens, as pessaries, cream or capsules, restore thickness and suppleness to the lining; vaginal moisturizers maintain hydration over the long run; lubricants relieve at the time of intercourse.
Laser at the practice — the Fotona TimeWalker® IntimaLaser™ PRO gynecological laser delivers controlled thermal energy to the lining, without incision: three 30-minute sessions, performed by Dr Gatri, without anesthesia (anaesthesia), in the examination position. You leave straight away; for the 24 hours after a session: no baths, no swimming pool, no intercourse.
Pelvic floor rehabilitation — at the practice, the StarFormer® IntimaWave® applicator works the pelvic floor by magnetic stimulation: six sessions over three weeks, 20 to 30 minutes each, seated and fully dressed, with no probe. Rehabilitation with a midwife or a physiotherapist is covered by the Assurance maladie. Both address urinary leaks.

What is known and what is less well known about each of these treatments is set out on the Patient information and ethics page.

When to consult

What brings women to book an appointment

Discomfort that settles in — a few weeks of dryness or burning are reason enough to consult.
Intercourse that has become painful — the pain can be treated, and the apprehension it creates eases when it is spoken about early.
Repeated urinary infections — after menopause, they arise from the same mechanism.
Bleeding after menopause, a white patch, itching that lasts — this is always investigated, at the practice.

Frequently asked questions

Your questions, our answers

Does vaginal dryness go away on its own?

It worsens the longer menopause lasts, as long as it goes untreated. Several treatments relieve it lastingly, and they work all the better when the lining is treated early.

Intercourse is painful: what can be done?

A great deal. Lubricants relieve at the time of intercourse, moisturizers maintain the lining, local estrogens restore it in depth, and the laser is a hormone-free option. The consultation also looks for another cause of pain, so as to treat it at the same time.

Do I have to take hormones?

That is one possibility among others. Low-dose local estrogens act exactly where the discomfort is; moisturizers, lubricants, the laser and pelvic floor rehabilitation contain no hormones at all. The choice is made with you.

I have had breast cancer: what can I use?

Dryness is frequent on aromatase inhibitors and on tamoxifen, and it deserves treatment. The place of hormones, local ones included, is decided with your oncologist. Moisturizers, lubricants, the laser and rehabilitation involve no hormones.

How many laser sessions, and does it hurt?

The protocol is three 30-minute sessions, without anesthesia; the interval between them is set with Dr Gatri. The session takes place in the examination position; what you feel is explained at the preliminary consultation.

Does the laser replace local treatments?

It is added to them, or replaces them, depending on your situation. At the consultation Dr Gatri sets out local treatments, the laser, rehabilitation at the practice and the rehabilitation covered by the Assurance maladie; the choice is made with you.

After childbirth, does the dryness last?

It goes with the period when estrogens are low, and breastfeeding prolongs it; it eases when cycles return. There is no point in waiting: moisturizers and lubricants make the return to intercourse easier.

Is it covered, and how do I book?

The consultation and the examinations performed at the practice are covered by the French health insurance (Assurance maladie) under sector 2 conditions; local treatments are medications reimbursed under the rules in force. Appointments are booked on Doctolib with Dr Gatri, or through the secretariat.

Fees

Fees and reimbursement

The consultation and the examinations performed at the practice are covered by the Assurance maladie under sector 2 (non-OPTAM) conditions; depending on the indication some laser procedures are covered by the Assurance maladie, comfort treatments and magnetic stimulation sessions are outside the official schedule, and a written quotation is provided before treatment begins. Fees are listed in the fee schedule and displayed at the practice; the information framework of this site is described on the Patient information and ethics page.