Here’s where you can feel free to leave a query and gain an answer to those questions that puzzle you about everything female – and beyond. I’ll make it my priority to find out what I can about what you want to know, and share it, while tactfully safeguarding your anonymity of course! Sound like a plan? Ask away, and let’s get the information flowing, shall we?
Sweet Regards,
Holly
By Holly
One of the reasons I love what I do is because I get to spread valuable information throughout the Sweet Talk community.
In a recent email, a friend asked my advice on some personal discomfort she was experiencing.
After turning 40, she noticed that she seemed to be plagued by vaginal itching and irritation whenever she and her husband were intimate — which, after the birth of their daughter, wasn’t all that frequent. Sometimes it would resolve itself, but other times she found herself going to her doctor for treatment. Being someone with an aversion to taking a lot of medications, she asked me if I knew of anything else she could try.
Not being a doctor, I decided to reference one. So, I opened my copy of Ask Dr. Marie, written by ABC News Medical Contributor Marie Savard, M.D. If you’re a woman and don’t own this book, I highly recommend it. It gives you comprehensive medical information on all aspects of anatomy and sexuality, so that you can carry on specific conversations with your own doctor to result in your best possible care.
Chapter seven of this book covers some of the most common and unusual causes and cures of itchy business in the sweet spot. It was in this chapter that I encountered bacterial vaginosis (BV). According to Dr. Marie, this is responsible for more than 50% of all vaginal irritation.
The main cause of BV seems to be a disruption in the pH balance of the vaginal area. One cause is a woman’s sensitivity to a man’s seminal fluid, which is alkaline as opposed to the acidity of the vagina. Another is douching, which also upsets the natural pH balance of your sweet spot.
Equipped with this information, I’ll share the advice I gave to my friend (in addition to a copy of Ask Dr. Marie). The issue she’s experiencing with her husband is one that may be remedied quite simply by increasing her frequency of intimacy with him — even if it’s only a quickie. The reason seems to be that the vagina is not only self-cleaning, it’s self-adjusting too.
The other suggestion is for her to abandon douching for the more appropriate SweetSpot Labs bidet-in-a-bottle and some on-the-go-wipettes instead. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association concurs that, since so much happens in such a compact area (i.e. sexual activity and going to the bathroom), using wipes to clean the vaginal area encourages better overall health and wellness of your sweet spot.
With all that being said, I’d say this itchy business has been thoroughly scratched! 
by Amanda Paige
I’m talking about sleeping! If you do, then guess what that is the best sleeping position according to Health magazines May 2011 issue. That position kills my back and can make you snore. Maybe if we had a newer bed I could reap the benefits of it reducing acid reflux, minimizing wrinkles, and maintaining a perkier appearance. Sleeping on your side is the next best, but bad for your skin and breasts. It is however great for overall health. The third, yet not ideal position, is the fetal position. Uh-oh that is my favorite. Good when you are pregnant or in the womb, but not good for an arthritic back or joints. If you are pregnant try and sleep on your left side for ideal blood flow. However, this position can bring on premature wrinkles and sagging breast, just great! Consider straightening out a bit if this is your most go to position and use one big plump pillow to give your head and neck support. Lastly the worst position for your spine is the stomach sleeper. If you snore, this position is for you as long as you don’t suffer from neck or back pain. And the perfect pillow for this position is a thin one or none at all.
By Holly
To all our SweetTalk gals in the Los Angeles area: Tomorrow, Beauty Collection is having a grand opening celebration in honor of their new West Hollywood location, and the fabulous founder of SweetSpot Labs, Shari Creed, will be there!
Where: Beauty Collection West Hollywood: 8951 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. B When: Saturday, May 1 Time: 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.And, as if the event could get any sweeter, the first 50 customers through the door will get doorbuster product goody bags!
Many other beauty and personal care product founders will be there for meet and greets (in addition to Shari) and there will also be opportunities for you to get beauty tips, makeovers, and even free head shots!
Is West Hollywood ready for the hysteria of SweetSpot Labs fans—and outright addicts?:
“I’m already so excited that I had to write! . . . The wash is so effective . . . I never used any products like this before . . .I am so addicted! . . .this stuff is AMAZING. It really works . . .Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m absolutely hooked on it.”
Sounds like a perfect way to make this May Day all about you!
See you in West Hollywood at 3:00 on Saturday
Resident sweet spot Phitness expert, Dr. Lauri Romanzi, continues her answer of yesterday’s question:
Q: Dear Dr. Romanzi: What is vaginal prolapse and can Kegel phitness prevent it?
A: Yesterday, I answered part of this question by giving some background from my book on incontinence and prolapse, titled: “Plumbing and Renovations“. Today, I’ll finish with why it happens, as well as the importance of Kegel phitness.
First, let’s look at why prolapse happens:
In other areas of the body, people accept connective tissue defects as something that can happen to anyone, and if it happens to you, get it fixed!
Tear your knee ligaments, get it fixed and go to rehab. Develop and inguinal hernia, see the surgeon. Damage your rotator cuff, it’s either physical therapy or reconstructive surgery.
But for some reason, when it comes to connective tissue disorders in the female pelvis, the common response is … to do nothing. And to blame something. Women often live with severe prolapse for decades, believing nothing can be done. They blame themselves; “I never did those Kegel exercises”. Or they blame the medical system; “my last baby came out so fast right in the bed. That’s why my uterus dropped”, or “I had an episiotomy”, or “I didn’t have an episiotomy”.
Many are convinced that the prolapse “should not be happening to me; I eat right, exercise and stay healthy”. It’s none of those things, because prolapse is just the same as all other wear and tear conditions; a little bit of nature and a little bit of nurture. If your connective tissue is extra-elastic (are you double jointed or can do splits with no problem?), you birth children and live long enough, you are at risk for pelvic organ (vaginal) prolapse.
As with most hernias and ligament tears, vaginal prolapse is more likely to happen to you as you get older whether you stay in shape or never exercise at all, because all connective tissue regenerates more slowly and with less strength in older people than in younger people.
But when it comes to women and vaginal prolapse, a growing body of research yields some fascinating explanations as to why some women can birth many children with no prolapse whatsoever, while other women’s bladders drop after the very first baby is born.
Medical research shows that women with prolapse have different proportions of collagen (connective tissue) Type I vs Type III and biochemical differences in the enzymes that modify collagen regeneration compared to women without prolapse.
Another study showed women with prolapse are more likely to have a specific marker on chromosome 9, helping explain the tendency for family clusters of vaginal prolapse, with the second factor in this nature vs. nurture paradigm being childbirth. Big babies and long labors make a woman more prone to pelvic floor disorders. In other words, women who are super-elastic are prone to prolapse, particularly if they give birth to large babies after long labors.
Kegel Exercise and Prolapse:
It makes sense that Kegel exercise should prevent prolapse, but medical researchers have yet to answer that question.
There is plenty of data, by the way, showing that Kegels are great for bladder control and a few studies that show Kegels will give you a stronger orgasm, but these are completely different issues than whether or not Kegel exercising the muscles that lie at the bottom of the pelvis, perpendicular to all of the connective tissue supports holding up the uterus, bladder and rectum, will hold your vaginal parts in place, reduce your lifetime risk of prolapse, or pull prolapse back into position once it occurs.
Thus far, there is but one single study, published late in 2009 by the fabulous heroine of Kegel exercise – Dr. Kari Bo – that looks at Kegel muscle fitness and prolapse. This study compared the Kegel strength of 49 women with prolapse to that of 49 women with no prolapse, and the women without prolapse had measurably stronger Kegel muscles.
This single compelling study allows us to figure out whether women without prolapse have stronger muscles due to genetics, or whether having stronger Kegel muscles truly reduces life-time risk of prolapse.
That very important question remains unanswered. If you have severe prolapse, it is unlikely that Kegels will do much to pull your parts back into position, any more than sit-ups help a large groin hernia. On the other hand, when it comes to Kegels and prolapse, one can only apply a healthy dose of common sense; it is probably very helpful to keep your pelvic muscles in good shape with Kegel exercises.
With all this said, my recommendation would be to start your Kegel routine (if you don’t already have one) just to be safe. I invite you to obtain a free copy of a Kegel exercise DVD featuring the preeminent Dr. Bo (it’s like Moses handing down the tablet) by visiting her website today.
Our resident sweet spot Phitness expert, Dr. Lauri Romanzi, educates the SweetTalk community with answers to your most pressing, personal questions.
Q: Dear Dr. Romanzi: What is vaginal prolapse and can Kegel phitness prevent it?
A: I’d like to answer this in two parts and with an edited excerpt from my book on incontinence and prolapse, titled: “Plumbing and Renovations“.
Pelvic organ, or vaginal, prolapse is an umbrella term for the different components of vaginal prolapse, including uterine prolapse, dropped bladder (cystocele) vaginal laxity (perineal body atrophy), rectocele and enterocele. Some women have a bit of each, others have only one or two components, but which ever and to whatever degree, pelvic organ prolapse is “a woman’s hernia”.
Normal Anatomy
Normal pelvic anatomy (shown here) is a harmony of bodily functions buttressed by the Kegel muscles of the Levator ani. The uterus drapes gently over the top of the bladder, and the bladder, vagina and rectum are separated from each other by thin, sturdy fibromuscular walls composed of collagen, skin cells and smooth muscle. These walls hold the rectum and bladder in place, and tend to weaken with childbearing and age. At the vaginal opening, below the level of the muscles, is the perineum, a connective tissue separator of the anus and vagina which tends to thin out with childbearing and age. Above the muscles we find the uterus, held in place by the uterosacral ligaments much as a chandelier is held up by strong cables. The female pelvic support system is considered in compartments when doctors are figuring out what is out of place and how best to amend the condition. The anterior compartment contains the bladder and urethra; the posterior compartment contains the rectum and anus, the basement is the perineum and the ceiling contains the uterus.
Cystocele (dropped bladder)
A cystocele is a dropped bladder, often noticed during sex or toileting as a balloon like bulge at the vaginal opening. This happens when the connective tissue between bladder and vagina wears out or pulls off of the sidewall of the pelvis, leaving only the vaginal skin to hold up the bladder, which is too elastic to do the job well, and so the bladder bulges down toward the vaginal opening.
A similar thinning of connective tissue can occur between rectum and vagina causing a rectocele. In this next illustration, we see a rectocele along with an absence of perineum connective tissue between the anus and vagina with a bulging of the vaginal opening.
Rectocele Perineal Descent (Vaginal Laxity)
Rectocele and perineum atrophy are often seen together, with symptoms of vaginal laxity, looseness during sex , a bearing down pelvic pressure with strenuous activity, and difficult defecation. In fact, many women with rectocele will press up on the perineum or backward on the vaginal wall toward the rectum during bowel movements to compensate for the bulging and make defecation easier. Doctors call this “splinting”. If you are doing this, you may have a rectocele or a thin perineum.
When the uterosacral ligaments stretch out, the uterus descends inside the vagina, and is often reported by patients as a firm mass at the vaginal opening, coming down either on the toilet or during strenuous activities like jogging or heavy lifting. This is uterine prolapse.
Uterine Prolapse
It is very common for women with uterine prolapse to report that the uterine slippage waxes and wanes, not there some days and very low and bothersome on others. It usually pulls back in when you lie down, and is often “in in the morning and out by the evening”. It is sometimes associated with a low back ache in the area of the tailbone.
Join me tomorrow for the second part of this discussion on prolapse, when I discuss the possibilities of why this happens and what, if any, effect Kegel exercises have on any of these conditions.
By Holly
Have you heard the most recent uproar regarding curves?
Well, apparently, Lane Bryant has come out with a commercial that shows a little too much skin–at least according to ABC and Fox, who both initially refused to air it. (I believe Fox recently agreed to run the spot after an upcoming American Idol episode.)
Given that most Victoria Secret models seem to pop up everywhere in their underwear, I think it’s a bit hypocritical to start fussing about what curvy women look like in their underwear, don’t you agree?
This “controversy” brought to mind the fabulous plus size super model, Crystal Renn, and her incredible book: Hungry.
In it, Renn gives a riveting, personal account of her experience in the modeling industry. Her courage and strength to take charge of her life, health, and career is an inspiring and positive read, which I highly enjoyed and most certainly recommend.
I do have to say, though I do not begrudge any woman her body type, I would personally like to see the media embrace curves more.
After all, it’s not a full representation of real life when popular imagery doesn’t reflect all the beauty in the world around us. We need the sensuality of curves just as much as the delicate lines of the ultra petite. Otherwise, we risk losing our depth and our perception will be forced into unreality–which, in the end, can only leave us “hungry” for something more satisfying. 
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Dr. Lauri J. Romanzi is an advocate for core feminine fitness, based on years of data showing that keeping the feminine foundation in good shape is healthy, vital and sexy. As an expert in women's health, she encourages women to pay as much attention to their Sweet Spot fitness as they do general physical fitness.
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