What happens to your skin after menopause?

After menopause, women will naturally feel that their skin has changed compared to before, because their ovarian function has declined or even ceased to function, which will make their skin less delicate than before, and it will appear to have more wrinkles and spots, and the aging process will become faster, so it is better for women to delay the time of menopause.

Menopause represents the decline of ovarian function, depletion of estrogen secretion, cessation of menstruation, and termination of reproductive function. It is generally divided into three stages: premenopause, menopause and postmenopause. Menopause is calculated based on the time of the last menstrual period for women over 40 years old. Most women go through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55.

The sudden and obvious lack of estrogen after menopause can cause some pain and discomfort, which may occur in some people before menopause. It is often manifested by changes in mood and emotions, irritability, excitability, insomnia, anxiety, inner uneasiness, depression, paroxysmal facial flushing, hot flashes, sweating, dry and itchy skin, sometimes a crawling feeling on the skin, loss of skin elasticity, increased wrinkles, gradual muscle relaxation, occasional pain, fatigue or weakness, headache, dizziness and unstable blood pressure, etc. These symptoms are called menopausal syndrome.

1. Senile vaginitis

The ovaries of normal women of childbearing age secrete estrogen, which causes the vaginal mucosal epithelium to proliferate and thicken, and has strong antibacterial ability. After menopause, women's ovarian function declines, estrogen levels decrease, glycogen content in epithelial cells decreases, and the pH value in the vagina rises, changing from acidic to alkaline, which is not conducive to the survival of lactobacilli in the vagina, resulting in a weakening of the vagina's self-cleaning function. At the same time, due to the atrophy and thinning of the vaginal wall and insufficient blood supply, local resistance is reduced, making it easy to be infected by other parasitic bacteria in the vagina, causing senile vaginitis. It is often caused by common pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli or anaerobic bacteria.

2. Osteoporosis

After menopause, estrogen deficiency can cause increased bone absorption, intestinal calcium absorption disorders, decreased calcitonin secretion, reduced bone formation and weakened inhibitory effect on osteoclasts, resulting in increased bone loss.

Starting from the menopausal transition period, the average annual bone loss rate is 1% to 3%, or even 5%, which lasts for 5 to 10 years. Then the bone mass is relatively stable, with less loss for about 10 to 20 years. After the age of 70, bone loss accelerates again with aging.

3. Osteoarthritis

The loss of sex hormone protection and abnormal levels of related cytokines in menopausal women play an important role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has a certain effect on alleviating the pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.