Vaginal Yeast Infection
Tips For Preventing It
Vaginal yeast infection is often called vaginal thrush, yeast vaginitis, vaginal candidiasis or candida after the bacteria that causes most of the infection. These are all simply different names for the same vaginal infection. Two links to yeast infection pictures at bottom of page.
Knowledge is power and by the time you've checked out a few of the pages below you're going to have a much clearer idea of what caused your infection, what the best choices are to treat it, and how to avoid getting it again.
The urogenital microflora is made up of organisms from over fifty species.1 They exist in biofilms which adhere to cells and mucus in the vagina. It's a busy old place down there and it isn't surprising if every now and then, one or two species get a taste for power and upset the smooth running of the neighborhood for a while.
This is what happens when you get a vaginal yeast infection - there are simply too many yeast living in the vagina.
Yeast can also colonize the mouth and the skin, particularly places like armpits.
The symptoms of yeast are often similar to the symptoms for other types of vaginal infection. Check that you know what you're looking for. Two thirds of women that treat themselves for a vaginal yeast infection do not actually have it!2
Find out what causes vaginal yeast infection and discover what other lifestyle factors increase your risk of getting yeast vaginitis.
Remove the food source. Keep your sugar intake right down. Try some of the "candida diets" that abound on the net.
If you want to use conventional medicine, eliminate the out-of-control fungi with yeast infection treatment.
Replace immediately with probiotic bacteria. Fem Dophilus contains the two probiotics that most of the research has been conducted on. And most importantly - in the right strength. Not all probiotics do the same thing - these two are the best for vaginal health.
You can buy Fem Dophilus 60 capsules
or in a smaller amount of
30 capsules
.
Find out which active ingredient is preferred by medical authorities like the World Health Organization and The Centers for Disease Control for vaginal thrush.
Need relief fast? Check out how Diflucan stacks up against Gynazole as far as fast relief of symptoms goes.
Like to learn a little more about Diflucan side effects before you take it?
Does taking antibiotics give you yeast infection every time? Find out what you need to do after taking antibiotics to stop chronic vaginal thrush.
If you have recurrent vaginal yeast infection look outside the square for a possible reason. Inflamed, irritated skin in the vaginal area will make the site more appealing to Candida, so be sure you aren't reacting to any of the chemicals and other substances in your environment.
One cause of chronic infection that you might not have considered is sex. Yeast infection, or at least your chances of getting it, can be affected by what you do with your partner.
Boric acid for vaginal yeast infection
Want to learn how to make boric acid capsules for your vaginal yeast infection? Find out the facts about this controversial yeast infection cure.
Are you looking for a ready made boric acid capsule? There are several good products. Natren's Gy-na-tren kit contains both a vaginal capsule containing boric acid and an oral capsule containing a top probiotic.
Yeast Arrest is another excellent product which contains boric acid.
Probiotics for preventing yeast infections
Probiotics will work much more effectively if they have a clean playing field to start their good work. Most experts suggest that you eliminate the current infection with standard treatment and then use probiotic bacteria to quickly recolonize the vagina. This has given the best results.
Most of the strains of probiotic bacteria that you want are not yet being put into products like yogurt. A supplement such as Fem-Dophilus
really is the best way to tackle this.
The RIGHT STRAIN OF PROBIOTIC BACTERIA is critical for success when attempting to colonize the vagina with good bacteria to halt the return of vaginal thrush.
If you're looking to try yoghurt and have questions about how to get the yogurt IN there, check out the innovative answers that other women have come up with.
Yeast infection pictures
These vaginal yeast infection pictures are from a responsible and trustworthy medical site. I know that sometimes it can be helpful to see a picture of yeast infection just to help with your own diagnosis but remember that the best and most accurate diaganosis is by having a smear taken by your doctor.
Vaginal thrush in patient.
Candida yeast and pseudohyphae stained cells under microscope
Image links courtesy of the "path guy" - Ed Friedlander, M.D., Pathologist.
Check out just what HAS been discovered living in the healthy vaginal microflora. Despite popular opinion, research has shown that it isn't wall-to-wall Lactobacillus species down there!
Unfortunately, many women self-diagnose and get it wrong. This isn't really surprising when you see how often even doctors can't always tell what is a yeast infection and what isn't. If you use/take an anti-fungal and your vaginal infection is not caused by yeast, then anti-fungal treatments won't work.
Worse, you're possibly breeding those Candida fungi that were living quite peacefully into a resistant strain. Then treatment won't work if later you do get a vaginal yeast infection. So far, the Candida strains found in the vagina have shown very little sign of becoming resistant,3 but many of the strains found in oral yeast infections have3 so it is probably only a matter of time.
And if you find all the different names for yeast infection confusing, check out what is candida.
Vaginal infections cover several different infections, all of them annoying, irritating and sometimes difficult to treat. It is estimated that over one billion women around the world suffer from non-sexually transmitted urogenital infections such as vaginal yeast infection.4
REFERENCES
1. Reid G, Habash M. Urogenital microflora and urinary tract infections. In: Tannock GW,ed.Medical importance of the normal microfora. London,Kluwer, 1998: 423-40
2. Ferris DG, Nyirjesy P, Sobel JD, Soper D, Pavleti c A, Litaker MS. Over-the-counter antifungal drug misuse associated with patient-diagnosed vulvovaginal candidiasis. Obstet Gynecol 2002;99:419-25.
3. J. D. Sobel, M. Zervos, B. D. Reed, T. Hooton,4 D. Soper, P. Nyirjesy, M. W. Heine, J. Willems, and H. Panzer. Fluconazole Susceptibility of Vaginal Isolates Obtained from Women with Complicated Candida Vaginitis: Clinical Implications. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 2003, p. 34-38, Vol. 47, No. 1, 0066-4804/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.47.1.34-38.2003.
4. Reid G, Bruce AW. Could probiotics be an option for treating and preventing urogenital infections. Medscape General Medicine 3 (4),2001
Looking for info on probiotics?
