783: Why Your Vaginal Health Changes After 40 (And What You’re Missing) with Wendy Strgar

October 20, 2026 in Podcast, Women’s Health 0

Listen to the Episode Here

Episode Summary

Recurring UTIs. Vaginal dryness. Burning. Painful sex. BV that comes back again and again.

So many women are dealing with these symptoms, especially during perimenopause and menopause, yet vaginal health remains one of the least discussed areas of women’s healthcare.

In this episode, Dr. Mariza sits down with Good Clean Love founder Wendy Stragar for a candid conversation about the vaginal microbiome, what can disrupt it, and why declining estrogen can leave vaginal and urinary tissues more vulnerable to dryness, irritation, pain, and recurrent symptoms.

Wendy shares how her own experience with painful sex and severe irritation after pelvic surgery led her to begin investigating the ingredients in common personal care products and eventually build Good Clean Love.

They unpack the importance of vaginal pH, protective bacteria, the vaginal epithelial barrier, and why simply treating every recurrence as another yeast infection or prescribing the same medication repeatedly may not address what is actually happening.

They also explore what happens as estrogen declines, why symptoms can become especially severe after cancer treatment or chemical menopause, and why women deserve better language, education, testing, treatment options, and clinicians willing to take vaginal pain seriously.

Because vaginal discomfort, recurrent infections, painful sex, and dryness should never simply be dismissed as the inevitable price of getting older.

WENDY STRAGAR

Wendy Stragar is the founder of Good Clean Love, a women’s intimate and vaginal health company that grew out of her own search for products she could comfortably use after experiencing significant pain and irritation following childbirth and pelvic surgery.

Over the years, Wendy has focused her work on vaginal microbiome health, product formulation, education, clinical research, and expanding access to vaginal healthcare.

In this conversation, she shares what she has learned from working with researchers, clinicians, and women struggling with chronic vaginal symptoms and why she believes vaginal microbiome health deserves a much larger role in women’s healthcare.

IN THIS EPISODE

How Wendy’s own experience with painful sex and irritation led to the creation of Good Clean Love
Why the vaginal microbiome deserves the same attention we increasingly give the gut microbiome
How declining estrogen can contribute to dryness, irritation, pain, and changes in vaginal and urinary health
Why recurrent BV, yeast symptoms, and UTIs may require a deeper look at what organisms are actually present
The role vaginal pH and the epithelial barrier play in maintaining a healthy vaginal environment
Why some personal lubricants and vaginal products may aggravate already-sensitive tissue
What women should know about vaginal changes during perimenopause, postpartum, and chemical menopause
Why recurrent symptoms deserve more than another round of the same treatment
How better language, testing, and access to knowledgeable clinicians could transform vaginal healthcare