Natural medicine to ease painful intercourse

I am 65 years old and recently sexual intercourse has become too painful to bear. 

I have already been through the menopause and am not taking any hormone replacement supplements or medication. Please can you recommend anything natural that can help me, as this is quite distressing.

A. You are not alone. This is something many women your age have to deal with. The pain and discomfort you are experiencing is almost certainly due to vaginal dryness as a symptom of ongoing menopausal changes.

One of the most simple treatments for your symptoms is to purchase natural vitamin E capsules and insert them directly into the vagina, where the capsule will rapidly dissolve and work to lubricate the internal membranes and reduce local inflammation.

Use one capsule daily, preferably each night before bed.

Essential fatty acids are also useful when taken regularly as part of your diet — so make sure that you increase your intake of healthy fats through eating plenty of nuts, seeds, fatty fruits, and adding oils to your salads and smoothies. Udo’s oil is a great combination, or you could opt for straight flaxseed or chia seed oil.

Low-fat diets are often a precursor to dryness — whether it be the mouth, the skin, eyes, or internal membranes. Eating plenty of wholefoods, and avoiding anything which is labelled as ‘diet’ or ‘low fat’ is a good start. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misinformation in the health and diet world, and we still tend to reach for sugar-free and fat-free items thinking that we are doing the right thing, and we end up unwittingly swapping healthy nutrients for chemical additives.

You may also benefit from using an organic lubricant to help with sexual intercourse. Most store-bought lubricants are based on petro-chemicals, which means that they contribute to the issue, further drying out the vaginal tissues.

‘Yes’ have formulated a certified organic range of intimacy products that are beneficial to the internal membranes. They have a water-based lubricant, best for use with condoms, and an oil-based lubricant, which provides maximum lubrication.

‘Yes’ pure intimacy products are beneficial as an internal moisturiser as well as a sexual lubricant, and they don’t contain any chemicals, hormones, or parabens — making these products safe for individuals who have breast or prostate cancer. The tube sizes range from 25ml — 125ml, and prices start at £4.99. Order by phone on 00 44 0845-094 1141 or online at www.yesyesyes.org

I am travelling by long haul flight this winter, and would love to hear of any natural remedies to prevent jet lag.

At a basic level, you can help your body recover from the disruption of the travel by avoiding sugary, salty, and fatty snacks (all of which are often used to break up the boredom on long flights!). Fizzy drinks, alcohol, coffee and tea are also best kept to a minimum. Keep up your water intake, and you will really notice a difference in how quickly you bounce back once you have reached your destination.

Many people find that adjusting their watch to the local time as soon as they land helps with minimising disruption to the sleep-wake cycle.

Melatonin production is affected by long haul flights; this hormone is released in the pineal gland to determine when we wake and sleep.

It used to be a case of taking melatonin tablets to help our bodies to adjust, however this is now a prescription-only medication. Instead, try increasing your intake of tryptophan by eating foods such as eggs, honey, milk, turkey, and tuna. Tryptophan aids in the production of serotonin, which is responsible for creating melatonin in the brain.