Your Sexual Health Matters, and Votiva® Can Help

Sexual health matters; it’s an important part of your overall health. If you’re having problems with the form or function of your vaginal tissues, it’s important to address them with your doctor.

At Viva Health, board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Aleksander J. Bodnar offers vaginal rejuvenation procedures that can ease uncomfortable symptoms and restore your sexual health. Here’s what he wants you to know about how Votiva® can help.

Vaginal atrophy and vaginal laxity

Vaginal atrophy refers to the thinning of the vaginal walls caused by decreased estrogen levels during menopause. Unfortunately, it causes a number of uncomfortable physical symptoms that lead to sexual dysfunction, including:

• Shortening and tightening of the vaginal canal
• Vaginal dryness
• Vaginal inflammation
• Pain during sex
• Spotting after sex
• Pain or burning when urinating
• More frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Urinary incontinence

Vaginal laxity, on the other hand, refers to a woman’s self-reported assessment of the vaginal tissue’s looseness or tightness. 

If you look down at the tissue, you may see that your labia are shriveled or enlarged instead of tight. And for many women, that means decreased pleasure — or even pain — during sex, but without the other uncomfortable symptoms associated with atrophy.

Why does vaginal tissue loosen?

Well, it depends on the reason for the change. For example, the primary reason women experience vaginal atrophy (as mentioned) is lower estrogen production during menopause. Affecting about 70% of all women, it’s called genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM).

A major cause of vaginal laxity, though, is having children, especially if you’ve given birth a number of times, if you had large babies, or if the doctor had to use forceps during the delivery.

And just as your facial skin wrinkles and creases as you get older, so too does your vaginal tissue. 

The production of collagen and elastin, two proteins that give your skin strength and stretchability, naturally declines as you age. This affects all tissues, including the vaginal ones. Vaginal laxity is the outcome.

So, what can Votiva do to help?

Votiva by InMode uses radiofrequency (RF) technology to improve sexual health. It’s the first — and only — device available that addresses both internal and external vaginal issues, including sexual dysfunction and vaginal laxity. 

Patients have a choice of using FormaV® (internal), FractoraV® (external), or both methods during their Votiva treatment.

The internal device slips into the vaginal cavity, where the RF energy triggers a “healing response” in the tissues, leading to increased vascularization and production of collagen and elastin, essentially reversing the effects of decreased estrogen during menopause.

It’s also been shown to improve pelvic floor dysfunction, especially when used in addition to Kegel exercises. The device is used internally for about 10 minutes, externally for about five.

In the course of its work, the treatment also improves urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness, and irritation; reduces pain during sex and perneal scarring from childbirth; and, by tightening lax tissues, increases lubrication.

If your sexual health is suffering from lax tissue issues, Viva Health is where you need to be. Call either of our locations, in Linden and Clifton, New Jersey, to set up a consultation with Dr. Bodnar, or book online with us today.