“What is menopause?? and what can u do to stop it?”, asks a seemingly frantic Amie on Yahoo! Answers. As usual, the simplest answer turns out to be best, in the words of user Which Witch Is Which: “It’s when you stop your periods, it tends to happen from ages 45-55, and you can’t stop it.”

Well that certainly answers the question, but since Amie seems anxious about it, we’d love to offer some thoughts and suggestions on the matter:

Menopause is indeed an inevitable change in a woman’s body, most popularly marked by the cessation of menstruation (as another contributor said, “…who would want to stop menopause? I mean your periods will become a thing of the past”). “The Great Change” typically comes in two stages, and characteristics of menopause can include irregular periods (before they stop completely), hot flashes, and sleep disturbances. Because your body will have stopped releasing eggs, production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone decreases, and one of the effects of that is vaginal dryness.

Like any other time in your life, keeping your body healthy will be so important! A healthy diet, exercise, and drinking plenty of water will help, as will being mindful of what’s in the other products you’re using. Keeping the vagina moist can be simply a comfort issue if you’re not sexually active at that time, but especially if you are, having a lubricant that actually heals and nourishes your most delicate skin and doesn’t add harmful chemicals to your body is a MUST.

Of course, we recommend something organic…perhaps with a light lavender scent?