Introduction
As age progresses, the skin and muscles of the body begin to sag and lose their elasticity. The same happens with the vagina too. Vaginal muscles also lose their strength with increasing age and become loose. Additionally, during pregnancy and childbirth, the vagina is stretched in a number of ways that cause it to loosen.
Many people believe that being overactive in sexual activity also leads to losing the vagina. However, this is a myth, as sex has no long-term effect on vaginal tightness, and there is no scientific evidence that intercourse causes vaginal loosening over time. Therefore, primarily two factors have been found to cause vaginal loosening: aging and childbirth.
How Can Vagina Be Tightened?
A loose vagina can be tightened in a number of ways that include exercises as well as surgical and nonsurgical treatments, which are listed below:
1. Kegels Exercises: These exercises are known to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. The vagina is surrounded by pelvic floor muscles. Therefore, the vagina will feel less constricted if these muscles get loosened. This exercise can be done in the following way:
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To begin, the woman must recognize the pelvic floor muscles. To do this, the woman must pause in the middle of urinating. If she succeeds, that means she has identified the correct muscles.
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After that, the next step is finding a position for the kegel exercise. The most common position for Kegels is resting on one's back.
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The third step is to tighten the pelvic floor muscles by holding the contraction for five seconds and relaxing for five seconds. Over time, the holding time can be increased to ten seconds. In addition, it should be noted that only pelvic floor muscles should be tightened, not thighs, abs, or buttocks.
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The third step should be repeated a minimum of five times.
2. Other Exercises: Apart from Kegels exercises, other pelvic floor exercises are also there for vaginal tightening. However, any form of exercise will show results only if it is done regularly and constantly.
3. Nonsurgical Vaginal Tightening Procedures: Non-Surgical vaginal tightening uses energy-based techniques to tighten the muscles inside the vagina. These include laser vaginal tightening.
4. Surgical Vaginal Tightening Procedure: Surgical vaginal tightening procedures include a surgery called vaginoplasty.
What Is Laser Vaginal Tightening?
This procedure is a conservative treatment for vaginal tightening. It uses fractional carbon dioxide and erbium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er: YAG) laser for treating vaginal laxity. Apart from treating vaginal laxity, this treatment is also used for correcting urinary stress incontinence and mild pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Many women prefer this treatment as this is a nonsurgical and noninvasive procedure.
Micro-ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser has ablative properties, which means it causes some destruction in the tissues of the target area. In addition, it generates laser light having a wavelength of 10.6 micrometers which makes micro ablation zones on the mucosal surface of the vagina. These injuries stimulate the body's healing response, resulting in increased production of collagen, new vessels, and, lastly, tightening and firming of the vaginal tissues.
This procedure is very effective in treating vaginal laxity; however, it is also associated with some side effects. Some women may feel pain, swelling, and a burning sensation after this treatment. In addition, this procedure might have to be repeated to maintain the results.
Er: YAG laser works on a different mechanism. It does not cause any injury to vaginal mucosa; instead, it heats up the tissues, which in turn boosts collagen production and results in vaginal tightening. In this type of laser treatment, the mucosal surface of the vagina remains as it is without any destruction. Therefore, the side effects are lesser as compared to ablative carbon dioxide lasers.
Both laser procedures are very easy and do not take much time to complete. Before applying lasers, topical anesthesia is applied and left there for at least ten minutes. After that, it is wiped off, and the vaginal tissues are cleaned and dried up. After the treatment, patients are advised not to have sexual intercourse for three days.
What Is Radiofrequency Vaginal Tightening?
Radiofrequency devices are used for emitting electromagnetic waves that produce heat resulting in collagen production and hence, tightening of the vagina. This treatment is very safe and effective and does not need any anesthesia before treatment. In addition, this treatment can be done within 15 to 30 minutes, and there are no severe side effects of this procedure. Patients might experience a warm sensation that is very mild. Because of less downtime, patients can go back to their daily activities on the same day after the treatment.
What Is the Surgical Procedure for Vaginal Tightening?
The surgery performed for vaginal tightening is called vaginoplasty. This option is chosen when patients have severe vaginal laxity, which can not be improved by nonsurgical methods like lasers and radiofrequency. As this is a surgical procedure, therefore, it is done under local or general anesthesia.
In this surgery, the vagina is tightened by tightening the vaginal canal. Once the required amount of tightening has been decided, a pie-shaped wedge is marked to indicate the excessive skin that needs to be excised from the vagina. Next, strong sutures are used to tighten the tissues underneath the skin. Finally, the mucosal skin is sutured tight after the vaginal canal has been tightened. In addition, for a more aesthetically pleasing outcome, bulging external skin can also be minimized.
This surgery has one or two weeks of downtime. The patient experiences pain and swelling after this surgery which goes away after a few days. Patients are instructed to avoid intercourse for a minimum of eight weeks.
The results of this surgery last longer than the nonsurgical treatments.
Conclusion
Vaginal tightening procedures result in a constricted vagina which enhances sexual pleasure and improves the quality of sexual life. In addition, loosening of the vagina is a significant symptom of pelvic dysfunction. Therefore, the vaginal tightening procedure gives relief from other symptoms which are associated with vaginal laxities like pelvic floor dysfunction or pelvic organ prolapse.
