High Street Pharmacists Selling HRT Medication Without Prescription For The First Time

High street retail pharmacies have started to sell hormone replacement therapy medication without requiring a prescription for the first time after regulatory bodies approved their sale in late July.

The Gina 10mg vaginal tablets were approved for sale by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as they have been clinically proven as a targeted treatment for several symptoms of menopause.

For the roughly 13m people who are menopausal or perimenopausal, this has provided a potential relief after a shortage of HRT medication earlier this year due to disruptions to manufacturing plants and the global supply chain affecting the home pharmacy.

It is also the culmination of years of campaigning to make medication to help with the effects of menopause more accessible, especially since many symptoms such as itching, soreness, vaginal dryness and discomfort during sex are chronic and progressive, needing treatment to resolve.

Gina, which will be sold in a pack of 24 tablets for £30 at a high street pharmacy as of October and is available on prescription through the NHS, is directly applied and releases gradually a low dose 

of oestrogen to help replenish moisture and improve elasticity in the area.

It is an over-the-counter pharmacy medication, so pharmacists will conduct a short consultation with any person looking to buy the medication without an appointment being necessary, which is a significant milestone for a medication that has helped millions of women over the years.

What Is The Menopause?

The menopause is when lower hormone levels cause periods to stop. They typically happen around middle age around the age of 55 but in some cases can happen earlier for natural reasons.

It can also be triggered early by a hysterectomy or oophorectomy, surgery where the uterus or the ovaries respectively are removed, and it can also be caused by genetic proclivity and some treatments for cancer.

The symptoms can be somewhat variably depending on each person but can include physical symptoms such as hot flushes, changes to the skin, joint pains, migraines, heart palpitations, struggles with sleeping, vaginal dryness, itching and discomfort.

As well as this, menopause can affect memory and concentration, often described as a form of brain fog, as well as cause rapid changes in mood, including increased anxiety, low self-esteem, depression and mood swings.

These symptoms can also appear in people who are still having regular or irregular periods, which is commonly known as perimenopause.

There is a lot of variability in symptoms, with some people not noticing any effects whilst others having their lives seriously impacted, which is why there is a range of treatments aimed directly at helping people with menopause.

The first is HRT, which comes in many different forms, from the vaginal tablets that are available over-the-counter to skin patches, gels, implants and tablets that replenish oestrogen, sometimes taken in combination with progesterone to protect the womb lining.

Alternatively, testosterone gel can sometimes be prescribed to help restore a person’s sexual drive and other treatments exist to handle specific symptoms such as medications for hot flushes and antidepressants for diagnosed anxiety or depression.