How I Treat Yeast Infections

Hey, Lovies!

Thanks for joining me!

Today, I want to share my story with you about something not so nice.

I personally battled with vaginal yeast for several years.

This inky infection can be so embarrassing.

At least that is how I felt about it.

I made a post earlier talking about how you can avoid this itchy bug.

You should check it out later, because, right now it’s time to see how we can treat that nasty little bugger.

This is my story and I will dish out all the treatment options available to you.

I have gone through all of them myself.

I can guarantee you that they work.

The first candid-a moment

My first yeast infection was my worst!

I remember like it was yesterday.

It was my first semester of my first year in college, back in 2012.

I was just getting familiar with all the new places and events going on around campus.

In my first few months, I was walking to everywhere!

If you guys have been to a university campus before, then you know how long a distance it can be to get to anywhere.

The medical faculty on my campus was in a discreet location at the time.

It was tucked neatly out of the space of most of the other faculties.

From what I can recall, the closest faculty near us was that of the Science and Technology faculty (previously called the Faculty of Pure & Applied science).

I really didn’t want to get technical. But I just wanted to give you guys a little context here.

I had so much moisture from walking in this tropical heat climate down in my rosy bed that it was not funny.

I would sweat like there was a dark cloud was pouring down the showers over my pubic area.

It was awful.

I would try to change after to keep dry but that didn’t work.

Then the yeast attacked!

It had a field day with the heavy moisture and before I knew it, I was having full blown vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) experience.

The symptoms

It started out with a mild itch. This quickly worsened.

I got chaffing.

I had pain, burning and tenderness over the vulvar region.

I took a mirror to look one day and my rosy petals were looking like a reddened, angry mess.

The next day, I was at the doctor at the Campus medical center.

The doctor prescribed me some antifungals – Candid V6 cream.

I took it and used it the same day.

By day 2, I was so relieved.

This antifungal placed the ball of the game in my hands again.

I used it for 6 days and I was clear after.

I was grateful for the relief.

How do I treat it?

I love quick fixes. So, I always get antibiotics.

I can self-diagnose but I like to involve my doctor.

Furthermore, over-the-counter antifungals are not readily available in my region.

So, either way, I don’t really have a choice.

My treatment regime is not only for the first few weeks but also for the long-term.

I do a lot of lifestyle changes and I usually just continue them.

But this is just my take on how I get through.

I hope you garner some good info from it.

Antifungals

If you had an experience like mine, the most likely thing your doctor will do is prescribe antifungals.

They are excellent options as they stop the growth of the yeast.

Unfortunately, yeast will come back in your vaginal flora, but just under very strict discipline next time.

Most antifungals prescribed will have either Clotrimazole or Miconazole.

These are mainly in the form of a topical cream or as inserts. They are to be applied to the lady bits (inner and outer).

However, your doctor may opt to give you the antifungal as a tablet. The oral course is super short. Most times for just one day with a topical cream or insert too.

Some oral antifungals are now in 3-days courses such as Sporasec ®.

Calm the Chafe

Many topical antifungals now come with steroids in them.

They are usually in mild (small) doses.

The addition of a steroid adds benefit of symptom relieve within the first 12 hours of treatment.

I personally prefer topicals with steroids as I love when drugs work fast.

These reduce the inflammation – redness and burning chafe quite promptly.

Mixed Infections

If your doctor sees signs of other bugs at play, they usually prescribe something to tackle those too.

I usually prescribe Gynatron®, Drez-V® Klion-D® or something from the Glenmark™ Candid stock.

These agents have anti-bacterial agents as well as the antifungals.

Having used these agents, and can attest to their efficiency, I am confident they will work for my patients too.

They are some newer inserts coming on stream and I have been going for some. One such is DAMPHOS®.

The only complaint about the DAMPHOS is that it melts quickly when applying.

Expensive or not?

I kid you not, these medications can be pricey. Depending on where you are, it can run up to $50 per course.

I cannot imagine having to bring up this amount on multiple occasions in a year. It will add up to a lot.

Furthermore, the time and discomfort lost to take care of it _ just too much.

Alternative Medicine

There have been a number of studies looking into alternate ways of treating yeast infection.

The Honey and yogurt pop up a lot during my research.

A random clinical trial in 2017 concluded that Honey was effective in the treatment of candidiasis symptoms.

They also reported that honey could be used as an alternative or adjuvant for other antifungal drugs in the treatment of vaginal candidiasis symptoms.

Another study done by Banaeian et al, had similar findings. They encourage the honey treatment especially as the honey is easily available, has no need for sterility, and is quite cost-effective.

Another study published in 2017 by Seifinadergoli et al, revealed that the mixture of bee-honey and yogurt produced a high clinical cure rate and a reasonable fungal cure rate.

This study also concluded that the bee-honey and yogurt mixture can be used as a complementary or an alternative to antifungal agents especially in patients with VVC during pregnancy.

Darvishi et al, also made a similar discovery with the honey-yogurt concoction in 2015.

I have never personally applied the honey-yogurt mixture to my coochie. I don’t like to put anything down there as a matter of fact.

But, I can tell you this. I had yogurt every day and the probiotics in these things really work.

I would have one in the morning and one in the evening.

It helped both my gut and my coochie.

Sitz Baths

This is something I discovered on my own.

When I have a yeast infection, the itch is always intense.

The chafe from all the itching would be embarrassing.

So, I found out that soaking in a bath gave me some relief.

I used the good ‘ole baking soda.

I add 3 table spoons to a basin wide enough for my bum to fit in.

Then I fill it half way with some warm water.

Then I sit in this and soak for about 15 to 20 minutes.

I am good to go after that.

Vajajay-friendly Diet

With every weight loss program comes healthier eating.

I think this largely contributed to the reduction of VVC episodes per year for me.

Yeast loves when your blood sugar levels are high.

When I slashed out those sugars, the yeast went into starvation mode.

Adding more foods with probiotics such as honey, yogurt, pickles, and probiotic-rich cheeses such as cheddar and mozzarella (small sizes only if trying to lose weight) helped too.

They definitely restored the balance for me.

Careful Personal Hygiene

I do this as a long-term measure.

I feel like I’m prone to VVC. I have gotten it too many times before.

Hence, I know it can easily return.

Hence, I just ensure that I keep the coochie clean and dry and at its best.

I change my undies if the cheesy, thick white discharge soils it a lot.

I do triple washes for the soiled undies and do sun exposure.

The UV rays from the sun kills any residue of the candida (if any) after washing.

If after all this I am not satisfied, I just toss that panty out.

It’s cheaper to buy new panties than to get a re-infection.

Go Commando

When I got the yeast, I would go commando at nights.

I would let the coochie breathe.

I was like this for at least 12 hours per day.

As soon as I get home, I would shower and let the rose out.

The ventilation eliminates the possibilities of moisture.

This gives my good Lactobacillus the opportunity to take charge of its territory and eliminate the candida threat.

The resolution of symptoms was quicker for me.

By day 3, things would be clearing up.

Flair skirts

These worked well. They helped with ventilation during school and work hours.

It creates more space for good ventilation.

Also, the less contact my genitals have on pants, and close-fitting undergarments, the better for me.

The less irritation and itch, the better for me.

My long term measures

Weight loss

Growing up, I was always overweight.

When I got to college, I tipped even further into obesity.

I was walking around with a BMI of 36.

If you know anything about body weight, you will figure out that I was quite hefty.

Each year, I would get a yeast infection for sure.

The heavy weight, warm climate and excess moisture build-up was working against me and I wasn’t doing much to help.

So, I decided to change up my lifestyle.

Of course, I had other reasons for this too.

In my final year of medical school, I finally started to lose the weight by changing my diet.

I am currently down to a BMI of 30.3 kg/m2. But, I still have a long way to go to get to my ideal of 25 kg/m2.

It’s been over 3 years and I have only had one episode of VVC which was after taking some antibiotics for a bad sinus infection.

In my estimation, that’s pretty decent.

What do you think?

Let me know in your comments below.

My tips

I also follow all the tips in my article on How to avoid yeast infections.

Other remedies out there

There are quite a lot of different methods women have used to treat their yeast problems.

I have not done some of these because I have not found the need to.

But, it’s always good to know what’s going on out there.

These are some other remedies women have shared that they used

A. Garlic Inserts

I am yet to see it work though.

Lots of women turn up to the health centers and hospital with vaginal swelling and pain due to the garlic. The inflammation caused is worse than the symptoms of the yeast infection itself.

Furthermore, those garlic peg always get stuck, especially if more than one was inserted.

I don’t think I would ever try this nor recommend any time soon.

If you have tried this, leave a comment and let me know what you did.

B. Tea Tree Oil inserts

This can have a similar effect like the garlic pegs. Essential oils can irritate the vajajay if not diluted to the right amount. There is no way to measure that, so I wouldn’t suggest using it.

The honey-yogurt mixture would do better if you want to do something organic.

C. Boric acid inserts

From what I read, boric acid can do more harm than good. I am looking for a quick fix. I have no time for a set-back when it comes to the chaffing yeast infection.

Its medicinal properties are good, but the risk of irritation is high.

Using this is purely up to the discretion of the user.

I don’t have anything further to say on that.

Let’s wrap this up!

Now, you get a view of how this chic deal with vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Some of it may be unconventional but it works for me.

I want to know if you have experienced a yeast infection and how you dealt with it.

Leave your comments below.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Happy reading, Lovies!

Have a yeast-free year!

XOXO

References

1. Banaeian, S., Sereshti, M., Rafieian, M., Farahbod, F., & Kheiri, S. (2017). Comparison of vaginal ointment of honey and clotrimazole for treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis: A random clinical trial [Abstract]. Journal De Mycologie Médicale,27(4), 494-500. doi:10.1016/j.mycmed.2017.07.003
2. Darvishi, M., Jahdi, F., Hamzegardeshi, Z., Goodarzi, S., & Vahedi, M. (2015). The Comparison of vaginal cream of mixing yogurt, honey and clotrimazole on symptoms of vaginal candidiasis. Global journal of health science, 7(6), 108-16. doi:10.5539/gjhs.v7n6p108
3. Seifinadergoli, Z., Nahidi, F., Safaiyan, A., Javadzadeh, Y., & Eteraf-Oskouei, T. (2017). Comparison of the efficacy of honey gel and clotrimazole cream in the treatment of vaginal candidiasis symptoms: a randomized clinical trial. Electronic physician, 10(6), 6904-6911. doi:10.19082/6904
4. Qin, F., Wang, Q., Zhang, C., Fang, C., Zhang, L., Chen, H., Zhang, M., … Cheng, F. (2018). Efficacy of antifungal drugs in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis: a Bayesian network meta-analysis. Infection and drug resistance, 11, 1893-1901. doi:10.2147/IDR.S175588
5. Wikipedia contributors. (2018, December 10). Boric acid. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:19, December 25, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boric_acid&oldid=873000323