Does this Home Treatment for Yeast Infection Work?Does Lactobacillus work as a home treatment for yeast infection? There are experts who claim it does. There are equally knowledgeable experts who claim it doesn't work. And then there's you and me stuck in the middle, listening to all these experts and wondering who we should believe. I study the research results and base my opinions on that. As medical science reveals more and more about a disease, the experts will often change their mind. That's okay. If the facts convince me, then I change with them. Up-to-date information that can give women real results - that's the important thing. So when I read a headline that says "Lactobacillus yogurt cures yeast infection", I just smile. It's a little like saying dogs can run fast. Some can and some can't - depends on the dog. You have your Greyhounds, Saint Bernards and Chihuahuas in the world of bacteria too! Research indicates that Lactobacillus acidophilus strains 61701 and 48101 could be candidates for use as probiotics for vaginal re-colonisation.4 Now you're unlikely to find these strains lurking in your yogurt, although I live in hope that one day we will! But some of these strains are begining to appear as tablets and vaginal pessaries and as such are very suitable as a home treatment for yeast infection, or indeed anytime when there is a need to recolonise the vagina. Research indicates that Femilac (a vaginal pessary containing L rhamnosus, L delbrueckii, L acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus does not prevent post-antibiotic vulvovaginal candidiasis.5 REFERENCES 1. J.P. Euzéby: List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature. 2. StrainInfo.net 3. Reid , G. and Bruce , A.W. ( 2001b ) Selection of Lactobacillus strains for urogenital probiotic applications . J Infect Dis 183 , S77 – S80 . 4. McLean NW, Rosenstein IJ. Characterisation and selection of a Lactobacillus species to re-colonise the vagina of women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis. J Med Microbiol. 2000 Jun;49(6):543-52. 5. Pirotta M, Gunn J, chondros P, Grover S, O'Malley P, Hurley S, Garland S. Effects of lactobacillus in preventing post-antibiotic vulvovaginal candidiasis:a randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2004;329:548 TOP of Does this Home Treatment for Yeast Infection work?
|
In any research, unless you're told what strain of probiotic is being studied, the results are not as helpful as they could be. There are at least 145 species listed as belonging to the Genus Lactobacillus¹ and over 117 strains within Lactobacillus acidophilus2. In fact, there are probably many more.
