A handheld fan used for hot flashes. (Jonathan Mehring/Jonathan Mehring for The Washington Post)

You’re reading The Checkup With Dr. Wen, a newsletter on how to navigate medical and public health challenges. Click here to get the full newsletter in your inbox, including answers to reader questions and a summary of new scientific research.

I heard from many readers with questions about my column this week, which discussed underutilized hormone therapies for menopause, especially low-dose vaginal formulations that can treat a common condition, genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). This newsletter is focused on answering them.

A number of women shared that they didn’t know GSM existed; they just assumed symptoms like vaginal dryness and pain and bleeding during sex were an expected pa

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