Doctors consulted after reading straight talking leaflet - September 2008

IT'S A condition that many women going through the menopause find hard to discuss but the simple truth is up to 3,000,000 women in the UK are suffering from vaginal dryness.

Symptoms can include frequent infections, bleeding and incontinence – and that can have a damaging effect on a woman's self-esteem and confidence at a difficult time in her life.

When Ed Hilton, national sales and marketing manager for HRT at Novo Nordisk, wanted to reach out and address those women suffering in silence from vaginal atrophy, one of the ways he chose to raise awareness was with a leaflet displayed in surgeries and pharmacies by IDS UK.

The straight talking leaflet is short and to the point – with a check list of symptoms – and it has proved popular with women in the target age range of 40 to 59.

“According to the research carried out by IDS, women found the leaflet easy to understand and informative – and 81 per cent were prompted to talk to their doctor about it,” said Mr Hilton.

His company manufactures a tablet that once placed in the vagina slowly releases oestrogen, helping to alleviate symptoms.

“We have seen our market growth go from six per cent at the beginning of 2007 to 10.6 per cent – and some of that has to be down to the success of the leaflet,” he said.

Explaining why he chose to distribute his leaflet via the IDS network, Mr Hilton said he wanted to be able to reach as many women as possible.

“We didn't just want to access women in doctors surgeries. We liked the idea of pharmacies and we will be going into dentist surgeries with IDS too. It's important to be able to reach out and communicate with as many women as possible,” he said.

Business Development Manager, Sarah O'Reilly said working with Mr Hilton was a great example of how taboo subjects can be approached in a sensitve manner.

“It's something that affects millions of women and yet it is never really talked about. It's important that conditions such as this are highlighted and women are shown that they don't need to suffer in silence. Our network of leaflet displays in surgeries, pharmacies and dentists are a great way of reaching out to the people who need help but may have been too embarrassed to ask,” she said.

For more information on how IDS UK can help you to get your message across, contact Sarah O'Reilly on: 01489 860006 or Email: Website: www.i-d-s-uk.com

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