How to get rid of a yeast infection!
🩺What? Commonly due to Candida albicans and can sometimes be found in the vagina of asymptomatic patients. Certain triggers such as stress, diet or medications can cause the yeast can grow abnormally.
🩺When? Seen more commonly in warmer climates, obese patients, pregnancy and after taking antibiotics.
🩺Where? Seen most of the time inside the vagina or vulvar symptoms such as itching, pain, swelling, redness and marks on skin from stratching. Typical discharge is cottage cheese-like.
💊Medication? For uncomplicated and non-recurrent infections, treatment that ends in -azole is appropriate. Remember these treatments are not antibiotics, they are in a class called anti-fungals! Common ones over the counter include Monistat which is Miconazole 2% or Clotrimazole 1%. A prescription treatment that is oral is called Diflucan or fluconazole.
🍷Lifestyle changes?
Limit certain foods such as:
❌Highly refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white bagels, pasta and flour tortillas
❌Alcohol. Yes, ladies limit alcohol. All types of alcohol contain yeast due to the foods used to create these drinks, so that can increase your risk as well as the high amounts of sugar in some forms of alcohol can also cause yeast infections.
❌Sugar. Such as in chocolate, candy, syrup, ice cream, iced tea, juice, sweetened sugar and other sugary foods.
✔️Always goes back to vaginal health: Wear cotton underwear and avoid wearing bathing suits and exercise undergarments for long periods of time since the moisture can cause a yeast infection.
✔️Probiotics? which are friendly bacteria which contribute to our gut flora which help keep us healthy. You can get these via foods such as yogurt with live cultures or in supplement form. These usually contain lactobacillus which can help reduce the growth of Candida by colonizing the vagina from the GI tract.
Recurrent infections?😔
For those recurrent yeast infection sufferers...if it is a Candida albicans yeast prolonged weekly fluconazole treatment may be necessary. But, did you know non-albicans types may need boric acid via the vagina? Ask your doc for a yeast-type culture if no improvement!
Dr. E💛