Preventing yeast infections (TMI)

Tea tree’s is a pretty good anti-fungal, anti-bacterial anti-pretty much everything else. It’s usually not too strong for most people’s skin in short term use, but if you’re talking about douching, you’re talking about a mucosal membrane, not skin. Make sure it’s well diluted - 3 or 4 drops in a douche should do you.

I’m not a fan of douches at all, they’re too easy to abuse. I’d rather sit in a bath with some tea tree and lavender and perhaps chamomile (I make my baths stronger than **Zabali **- about 10 drops of each for a full bath if we’re doing a medicinal bath and not a spa treatment) and some infused calendula and crushed garlic (A handful of calendula and a few smashed cloves of garlic tied in some cheesecloth and put under the tap as the water fills). Smells nasty as all get out, but will kill anything that shouldn’t be growing on you. Put your essential oils in a Tablespoon of milk first - it emulsifies the e.o, so you don’t have an oil slick on the top of the bath.

The only other prevention tip I have is not to use powder of any kind on your girly bits. It gives the yeast food, and you’ll suddenly have bread dough, or something disgustingly like it.

I haven’t tried this, so take it for what it’s worth. I have friends who swear by internal insertion of yogurt (as someone mentioned above). Recommended application is to use a plastic tampon applicator (like Playtex) filled with yogurt and squirt.

Make SURE it’s PLAIN yogurt! (You’d likely have to look by the sour cream, buttermilk, and cream area to find it, not by the rest of the flavors most likely. Some places do sell plain yogurt for cooking.) Don’t put sugary/fruity stuff up in there, yeast needs sugar to grow. :eek: I don’t know if it works or not, it might I suppose.

Yes, plain; I should have mentioned it. But I find it easily alongside the flavored varieties. I buy more plain than flavored, in the big ole containers.