Medscape: Untreated Genitourinary Symptoms of Menopause Can Result in Serious Complications

[GarlicMile]

I know you know this but, since we are still battling a severe delay in GPs' knowledge of menopause-related health, here's a nice, clear report to show them.

Also important if you have a mother in a care home.

“These infections did progress to systemic complications in some cases, with severe sepsis and usually secondary pneumonia,” the authors wrote about the observational finding. “In contrast, the very few patients receiving hormone therapy rarely experienced such outcomes, suggesting that estrogen therapy plays a protective role not only in epithelial restoration but also in reducing infection risk and preventing renal sequelae, sepsis, and mortality.”

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/untreated-genitourinary-symptoms-menopause-can-result-2025a1000fsf

One of the main reasons I started HRT was watching my DM have sepsis over and over from UTIs.

It's a good article, but it's important that a distinction is made between systemic HRT and local vaginal estrogen products. The use of the words here 'hormone therapy' could suggest full systemic HRT, which it isn't.

The leaflet in the packs of topical estrogen doesn't help because it's the same one in all systemic HRT.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that about your mum, @AnnaMagnani. Hope she got sorted out.

You're quite right, @JinglingSpringbells, they're talking about local oestrogen. Cream better than pessaries, imo, because you can apply it inside the labia as well as in the vagina - which the leaflet doesn't mention either, though it makes total sense.

I’ve been using estriol cream for about 2 years and it has made a massive difference. GP was clear I’d be on it for life and it’s very low risk (they never say anything is zero risk). UTIs are such a massive issue in the elderly,