Dr Craven Women’s Health

26/02/2026

Yesterday I took part in the event focusing on improving care for women affected by vaginitis invited to the roundtable expert discussion by Health Service Journal for the article they will publish soon .
It is such a common problem affecting women and girls during lifecourse yet we still dont have uniform approach to care and prevention and it greatly varies from area to area .
Vulvo -vaginal local oestrogen treatments help to maintain healthy acidity and the v***a which in turn promotes healthy vaginal microbiome and increases resilience to infections including urine infections .Despite excellent safety of these preparations and obvious benefits as well as availability of over the counter products like Gina they are still hugely underused .

30/01/2026

30/01/2026

It was a pleasure to chat all things perimenopause with Nish and Kerry this week .Spreading awareness and hopefully helping to make steps to improve health and wellbeing at this tricky time of life

Listen out now on BBC Radio Lancashire for Dr Craven and our patient Kerry talking about perimenopause. Or find later on BBC Sounds

10/01/2026

Join me at Best Practice London & Women's Health Professional Care 2026, taking place 25-26 February at Olympia London!

Find out more 👇

I've registered for this event, join me 25-26 February 2026 at Olympia London

19/12/2025

It was a pleasure to support this community project where Kay Johnson lead a course for women from different communities who came forward to complete the course for Women Health Community Champions .
The ladies who completed it gained and solidified the basic knowledge on health and welbeing ,nutrition ,exercise and how to run their own community groups so the information is spread to women who are less likely to reach out for help in the usual way and encourage them to do so .They were very creative in approach and already delivered sessions like ‘Mummy Power ‘,Journaling ,Yoga amongst the themes .
We are looking for any community /charity funding for champions to run their groups and to run more courses like this as the benefits are great ❤️

26/11/2025

It can be quite confusing to know when the first signs of hormonal changes start to occur .
Subtle hormone changes symptoms are noticeable to most women during their monthly cycle .Bloating ,joint and muscle aches ,brain fog ,libido changes ,skin changes are more prominent in the 2 weeks before period starts ,some women get more severe symptoms like mood changes ,irritability,rage ,anxiety as part of premenstrual tension,some can even suffer premenstrual dysphoria disorder which can seriously affect functioning and well being and need a discussion with in professional for advice .
Over the years these hormone changes deepen and often become less regular and more unpredictable .This can happen in late 30s or 40s but sometimes even earlier .This period is called PERIMENOPAUSE and lasts till 1 year after last period when MENOPAUSE is reached .
The hormon level blood tests are not very useful in perimenopause as they change quickly ,even within hours .
It is important however to have general health check including blood tests for diabetes and cholesterol .

If periods stopped without any medication before age of 40 it is called PREMATURE OVARIAN INSUFFICIENCY and the management of this is slightly different
and very important to be done correctly as can have significant future health consequences.

When hormonal preparations are used it can be difficult to know when perimenopause finishes and menopause starts but principles of approach are similar .

Everyone goes through it in a very different way and therefore it needs addressing individually .
Below is a useful summary about this period in life .

This factsheet is written by Dr Lucy Ward, Consultant in Pain Management, at the Royal Free Hospital in London with contributions from Dr Selina Dunn, GP, and Rowanne Eeles pain specialist physiotherapist.

18/11/2025

GENITOURINARY SYNDROME OF MENOPAUSE - GSM.
Previous terms - 'VAGINAL ATROPY', ‘UROGENITAL ATROPHY'

Often remains UNRECOGNISED and UNTREATED yet causing misery to so many women. 🙁

Can start early in perimenopause or late in menopause. Affects vaginal lining, v***al lining, cl****is, bladder neck, bladder sphincter.

Causes SYMPTOMS like:
-discomfort in the v***al area,
-irritation,
-dryness,
-urinary urgency,
-urinary frequency,
-continence issues,
-recurring urinary infections,
-recurring thrush,
-getting up at night to pass urine (some of my patients report getting up 4-5 times before starting treatment!),
-painful s*x,
-loss of s*xual satisfaction and difficulty with or**sm.

Often considered part of the AGING PROCESS by those affected and by some clinicians. 🙁

TREATMENT IS EASY and bears hardly any side effects 😀
-local (vaginal) oestrogen
-creams, gels, rings, tablets, pessaries
The oestrogen from these products works where it is applied with negligible absorption to the circulation, so usually safe when other forms of oestrogen therapy are contraindicated
There are other newer treatments available, too.

BRITISH MENOPAUSE SOCIETY (BMS) issued new consensus statement this month bringing it in line with internationally recognised name for the condition.

Hopefully the more recognition among women affected and their health professionals, the quicker access to help and improvement in symptoms. 😀

Dr Ewa Craven👩‍⚕️

17/11/2025

Some interesting facts about Menopause and Diabetes and how insulin resistance raises when oestrogen levels drop making it more difficult to maintain good sugar control and contributing to weight gain

09/11/2025

Musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause .
It is estimated that 71% of women suffer musculoskeletal pain during perimenopause .X-rays and scans often look normal but pain is limiting activity and affects quality of life .
Drop in natural oestrogen contributes to increase in inflammation and loss of bone density .
Very interesting article published in Climacteric by Dr Vonda Wright-orthopaedic consultant and menopause and longevity specialist .
She published a book titled ‘Unbreakable’ which presents strategies to maintain muscle and bone strength while getting older

https://www.waterstones.com/book/unbreakable/vonda-wright/9781785045653

31/10/2025

More evidence emerging about the role of adequately chosen transdermal HRT (transdermal oestrogen)helping with anxiety and low mood

Women who used transdermal hormone therapy to treat menopausal symptoms experienced lower rates of anxiety and depression than those who used oral hormone therapy, found a study presented at The Menopause Society 2025 Annual Meeting. http://ms.spr.ly/6182tE68r

19/10/2025

Midlife is a very good moment to rethink use of alcohol ,to***co and other substances .
It is now known that female body can be badly affected especially fine ,hormonal regulation.
Reduction or cessation will not only help to decrease menopause symptoms but also improve overall health and hormonal balance