Home Remedy For Yeast Infection

There is many a home remedy for yeast infection out there. Over-the-counter treatments are easy to buy and usually cheap. What works and what doesn't.

Products for Vaginal Itch

Yeast infection over the counter

Most of these creams for vaginal itch are not effective as a home remedy for yeast infection. To be fair, all of the responsible manufacturers state that. They're certainly not trying to deceive anyone, but because so often these products are found amongst or beside yeast infection treatment products, many women assume that they do treat vaginal thrush. They don't. They contain things to stop you from itching and to stop you from FEELING the itch even if you are still itching! These creams do not have any anti-fungal effect. They may mask symptoms such as the itchiness but they don't cure, and by alleviating the itch, a woman may take longer to seek the yeast infection treatment that she does need.¹

Most of them advise you to see a doctor if the symptoms continue for more than 7 days. Unfortunately, not all women read the fine print!

Some of these products are listed below. There are many, many more. They do have their use in giving some relief while you're waiting for a yeast infection treatment to kick in, but these guys are not a cure.

In the list of active ingredients they will have name such as benzocaine (an anesthetic), resorcinol (an external analgesic) and hydrocortisone (an anti-pruitic).

Brand Name	Active Ingredient	What It Does
Summers Eve Anti-Itch Gel	Pramoxine Hydrochloride 1%, glycerin 39%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Equate Vaginal Cream	Benzocaine 20%, resocinol 3%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Vagisil Original	Benzocaine 20%, resocinol 2%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Vagisil Extra Strength	Benzocaine 20%, resocinol 3%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Vagi-gard Sensitive	Benzocaine 5%, benzalkonium chloride	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Vagi-gard Extra Strength	Benzocaine 20%, benzalkonium chloride 0.13%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Gynecort Anti-Itch Cream Maximum Strength	Hydrocortisone Acetate 1%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Monistat Itch Relief Cream	Hydrocortisone 1%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal
Walgreens Feminine Anti-Itch Cream	Benzocaine 5% , Resorcinol 2%	Effective as an anti-itch only, not effective as an antifungal

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration have a 7-day limit on the use of over-the-counter external analgesic medications such as some of the ones above (20% benzocaine, 3% resorcinol).

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology says about those ingredients: "appears to be safe when used as directed; however, the results cannot be extrapolated to the very young. Nevertheless, lavish or frequent application over wide areas of excoriation might lead to toxic concentrations and methemoglobinemia. Therefore patients with serious vaginal disease should be advised against self-treatment beyond the 7-day limit imposed by the Food and Drug Administration for over-the-counter external analgesic medications. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;176:1006-8.)"

Homeopathic treatment for yeast infection

I'll state right up front that I am not an expert on homeopathic treatments. And I am unable to find any verifiable evidence that it works as a home remedy for yeast infection. Having said that, Lord knows but the medical/scientific community is reluctant to take some things seriously WHATEVER evidence is thrown at them. Homeopathy would not be my treatment of choice as a home remedy for yeast infection, but if anyone has had experience with this for vaginal thrush please do let me know how it worked out for you.

If you believe in homeopathy and wish to try this, then do see an experienced practitioner rather than trying over-the-counter-treatments. Homeopathy bases its treatments on what your symptoms are so that, as I understand it, depending on exactly what your discharge, itch, pain and swelling is, the suggested treatment will change. So it isn't a case of "one size fits all!"

You might find this link extraordinarily useful, or quite interesting, or a waste of time, or fun, depending upon the level of your belief in homeopathy! It's a homeopathic treatment finder for yeast infections, and will narrow things down for you if you can't see an expert in this field.Some commercial homeopathic remedies for yeast infection are listed below.

Brand Name	Main Ingredient	Other Ingredient	What It Does
Yeast-Away	Borax 14x HPUS	Calendula officinalis 1x HPUS, Candida albicans 30X HPUS	Unknown
Yeast Guard	Pulsatilla 28x	Candida parapoilosis, Candida albicans 28X HPUS	Unknown
Azo Yeast Tablets	Boneset and Mistletoe Leaf 6x	Lactobacillus sporogenes	Unknown

And I know all you homeopathy believers will be bristling indignantly when I say the effect is unknown but that is what the medical experts say.¹ I can not find any Random Controlled Trials on it as a home remedy for yeast infection and, believe me, I have looked.

Yeastaway claims only to provide "temporary relief of symptoms" and Azo "daily use can help avoid and relieve the symptoms".

Fungal Vaginal Creams

These include brand names such as Monistat 1, Monistat 7, Equate, Vagistat 1. These products all belong to the imidazole family of antifungals and all of them are effective as a home remedy for yeast infection. There is not much difference between the various brands and women should chose according to preference.¹

The ingredients are all listed on the CDC approved treatment list for Candida vaginitis.

What they DON'T do quite as effectively is KEEP you cured. Vaginal yeast has a bad reputation for coming back.

This is where probiotics such as Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 in products such as Fem Dophilus come into the picture. They recolonise your vagina with good bacteria - the bacteria that are supposed to be there - so that there isn't room for the yeast to reappear.



REFERENCES for Home Remedy for Yeast Infection

1. Lauren B. Angotti, Lara C. Lambert, David E. Soper. Vaginitis: Making Sense of Over-the-Counter Treatment Options. nfect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 2007: 97424.

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