Chronic Yeast Infection help

Factual Questions
21

I’m 24 and I’ve been there - one, once a month for 2 years. Several doctors didn’t seem to take me very seriously so I started reading and doing everything I could.

Here are some tips I’ve read and tried:

Underclothes
-cotton! no dye is extra good.
-don’t wear any with skirts (don’t flash people though…)
-avoid pantyhose at all costs!
-don’t wear any to bed
-change them several times a day (changing into lounge wear - w/ no undies - when you get home is a great idea)
-wash in super hot water.
-IRON the crotch with steam! (this will kill anything.)

Personal Hygiene
-no soap at all inside the… lips. (sorry) only rinse with clear water.
-gently wash the outside areas with a gentle soap or a non-soap if you must.
-stay away from taking baths. clear, moving water is best.
-a little air drying down there never hurt anybody. don’t put undies back on right away.
-the less hair there the better… doesn’t hold in bacteria.

Diet
-avoid real sugar, wheats and yeast in food. they feed the yeast.
-avoid anything fermented (like beer, wine and pickles)
-avoid too much dairy (yogurt is fine of course. try Actimil too.)
-take acidophilus!! this is a must!! buy the REFRIGERATED kind only!!! it is much more potent!!! follow the instructions for the intensified treatment.
-taking garlic, flax seed oil and vitamin C will boost your immune system helping you to fight the yeast better.
-also vitamin C and cranberry keep urine acidic which kills bacteria/yeast when you pee. (not to mention bye-bye UTIs!)

Sex
-drink a heathy amount of water each day. you want to pee a good amount after sex.
-pop in for a quick rinse of shower if you can. (pin up your hair so it won’t get wet.) this works great for a lunchtime quickie… :slight_smile:
-do give your girl parts a breather… every other day at least should help.

Miscellaneous
-stay away from birth controls with too much estrogen which can promote more yeast! look for progesterone - like Depo.
-each time you treat it with an antibiotic you are creating a stronger, harder-to-kill yeast than you had before. try to be as preventative as you can.

I’m sorry for such a long posting, but I know what it is like to suffer from this. It’a absolutely emotionally draining and disheartening, especially when if feels like no one is helping. You sound like a very supportive husband and that is exactly what she needs. (A special thank you to my great and understanding husband.) Girls want to feel sexy for their husbands and yeast infections are the bane of our existence.

SO, I still get one every now and then, but things have really changed since I started practicing preventive medicine. GOOD LUCK! And I leave you with something a lady once told me, “I had tons for yeast infections in my 20s, but when I turned 30 they suddenly stopped. It was great!” Here’s to getting older! :slight_smile:

22

And here’s to going through menopause. I had recurrent infections for about 10 years. I was never so happy as when Monistat went over the counter. I tried everything from eating yogurt to boric acid capsules inserted in my vagina to cotton underpants to no sugar. Useless. The yeasties stopped when I went through menopause. I still think the infections were hormonally linked. Problem is, the cause probably differs for everyone so it’s a process of trial and error to see what works for you.

23

One thing I didn’t see mentioned in this thread:

When the ladybug and I first began relations, she would regularly come down with raging yeast and bacterial infections that defied all over the counter treatments. It was a puzzle until I realized what we were doing wrong.

We stopped using saliva as a lubricant. Saliva is teeming with little buggers that don’t belong in the birth canal. Everything is much better now.

Except for the occasional abrasions, but, well, you can only use so much astroglide before more becomes pointless. :wink:

24

RitzyRae has it right. AFAIK, Diet is the most important factor - but only because it effects your immune system so directly. Yeast (candida) is supposed to be in the body! Everyone ‘has’ candida, but it only gets out of control when your immune system is low. Strengthen your immune system, and your problems will go away. Avoiding sugar is one of the best things you can do - while they feed the yeast, they also denigrate your immune system. Stay away from any immune system destabilizing agents (mainly steroids). They ‘force’ your body to stop reacting, but further damage the immune system. I’d highly suggest visiting a holistic doctor, as they are basically the only kind of dr. that actually works with the immune system, and not against it.

25

About smearing yogurt down there to kill the infection: at the height of my desperation I tried this several times. It never worked. It did feel nice and cool and soothing, though–in fact, after the first time, that’s why I did it.

-Unfortunately- it then gave me a bacterial infection. So I don’t recommend yogurt.

Yogurt is a treatment for yeast because it contains acidophilus. Strange as it sounds, consuming the acidophilus–in yogurt or in capsules–works MUCH better, because then it colonizes your gut, and continually re-colonizes your down-under. Simply applying acidophilus to the area isn’t as good–if you’ve taken college-level biology labs, you know that bacteria take a long time to adhere to surfaces, that sudden temperature change shocks it, etc.

26

All advise I read is good. Haven’t seen this one, yet, though: might want to wear a condom during sex. This will keep [sperm] from altering the Ph of the vagina. If she’s on birth control pills, that is most likely the culprit.

No easy answers as each person is individual. Your MD should have more answers - he/she knows (or should know) the patient.

Good luck!