Medical-Surgical Nursing 8th Edition by Donna Ignatavicius , Linda Workman

Exercise 2

The patient is a 49-year-old secretary who has just been diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) when her health care provider investigated possible causes for her sudden increase in dental caries (15 in 1 year). Upon hearing about the possible dry eyes and vaginal dryness that often accompany SS, she tells you that she has noticed the dry eyes and thought it was just "old age" catching up with her. She also says that she has noticed some vaginal dryness but is not concerned about it because she is not sexually active. She then tells you that she feels bad about this diagnosis because it means that she probably has a poor immune system and is at a greater risk for infections and cancer.
What should you tell her about the vaginal dryness even though she is not concerned?