Vaginally administered estrogens are estrogen

Estrogen

Estrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...

s that are delivered by intravaginal administration

Intravaginal administration

Intravaginal administration is a route of administration where the substance is applicated inside the vagina. Pharmacologically, it has the potential advantage to result in effects primarily in the vagina or nearby structures with limited systemic adverse effects compared to other routes of...

, thereby exerting their effects mainly in the nearby tissue, with more limited systemic effects compared to orally administered estrogens.

For menopausal hormone replacement therapy

When used for menopausal hormone replacement therapy

Hormone replacement therapy (menopause)

Hormone replacement therapy is a system of medical treatment for surgically menopausal, perimenopausal and to a lesser extent postmenopausal women...

, vaginally administered estrogens are intended to decrease the uncomfortable effects on the vagina, vulva

Vulva

The vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....

 and urethra

Urethra

In anatomy, the urethra is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the genitals for the removal of fluids out of the body. In males, the urethra travels through the penis, and carries semen as well as urine...

 that are caused by the decrease in estrogen production in the body after menopause, such as:

• Atrophic vaginitis
  Atrophic vaginitis
  Atrophic vaginitis is an inflammation of the vagina due to the thinning and shrinking of the tissues, as well as decreased lubrication...
  
  , with presentations such as dryness and soreness in the vagina and dyspareunia
  Dyspareunia
  Dyspareunia is painful sexual intercourse, due to medical or psychological causes. The symptom is reported almost exclusively by women, although the problem can also occur in men. The causes are often reversible, even when long-standing, but self-perpetuating pain is a factor after the original...
  
   (pain during sexual intercourse)
• Itching, redness, or soreness of the vulva
• Urinary urgency
  Urinary urgency
  Urinary urgency is a sudden, compelling urge to urinate. It is often, though not necessarily, associated with urinary incontinence, polyuria, nocturia, and interstitial cystitis. It tends to increase with age...
  
   (feeling an urge to urinate more often than is needed), or dysuria
  Dysuria
  In medicine, specifically urology, dysuria refers to painful urination.Difficult urination is also sometimes described as dysuria.It is one of a constellation of irritative bladder symptoms, which includes urinary frequency and haematuria....
  
   (experiencing pain while urinating)

Examples

• Vaginal tablets, including Vagifem which contains estradiol
  Estradiol
  Estradiol is a sex hormone. Estradiol is abbreviated E2 as it has 2 hydroxyl groups in its molecular structure. Estrone has 1 and estriol has 3 . Estradiol is about 10 times as potent as estrone and about 80 times as potent as estriol in its estrogenic effect...
  
  
• Vaginal cream, including Premarin
  Premarin
  Premarin is the commercial name for a compound cream of vaginally administered estrogens, consisting primarily of conjugated estrogens. Isolated from mares' urine , it is manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and has been marketed since 1942...
  
   which is a compound cream consisting primarily of conjugated estrogen
  Estrogen
  Estrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...
  
  s isolated from mare's
  Horse
  The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
  
   urine
  Urine
  Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
  
  . Another vaginal cream is Ovesterin, which contains estriol
  Estriol
  Estriol is one of the three main estrogens produced by the human body.-Synthesis:Estriol is only produced in significant amounts during pregnancy as it is made by the placenta from 16-Hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone sulfate , an androgen steroid made in the fetal liver and adrenal glands.The human...
  
  .
• Vaginal ring
  Vaginal ring
  Vaginal rings are polymeric drug delivery devices designed to provide controlled release of drugs for intravaginal administration over extended periods of time. The ring is inserted into the vagina and provides contraception protection...
  
  s, which are polymeric drug delivery
  Drug delivery
  Drug delivery is the method or process of administering a pharmaceutical compound to achieve a therapeutic effect in humans or animals. Drug delivery technologies modify drug release profile, absorption, distribution and elimination for the benefit of improving product efficacy and safety, as well...
  
   devices designed to provide controlled release of drugs to the vagina
  Vagina
  The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
  
  over extended periods of time.