Are you sure that you have a yeast infection? True, the condition is quite common. Some 75 percent of women develop at least one yeast infection in their lives. And 40 percent experience multiple infections.
Still, what you suspect is a yeast infection may not actually be one. After all, vaginal discharge-indicated by a whitish or yellowish stain in your underwear-is perfectly normal, says Christiane Northrup, M.D., founder of the Women to Women health center in Yarmouth, Maine, and past president of the American Holistic Medical Association. Your cervix and vagina shed cells constantly. These cells mix with cervical mucus, producing discharge.
But a yeast infection, or Candida vaginitis, is different. It produces a thick, cottagecheese-like discharge, along with redness in the vaginal area and mild to severe itching. There are no urinary symptoms, as you would have with a bladder infection.
If this is your first encounter with a suspected yeast infection, see your doctor for a proper diagnosis. You don’t want to start treating a condition that you may not have. But if your doctor confirms your suspicions, try blended medicine for fast, effective relief.
Yeast infections are caused by the common fungus Candida albicans. It isn’t an invading germ, like a cold virus, says Marjorie Crandall, Ph.D., a former yeast infection sufferer who now runs Yeast Consulting Services in Torrance, California. C albicans lives in your vagina, along with a host of other microorganisms. If something causes your vaginal environment to change, C albicans may reproduce rampantly, way beyond normal limits. That’s when you wind up with a yeast infection.
Many factors can alter your vaginal environment in ways that favor C albicans overgrowth. You’re more at risk shortly before menstruation. And you’re setting up a yeastfriendly situation if you have frequent intercourse, wear tight clothing (you need airflow), eat a high-sugar diet, or come under a lot of stress. Other factors that can cause yeast to multiply are vaginal irritants such as feminine hygiene sprays, antibiotics, corticosteroid drugs, and birth control pills. Your risk is also raised if you are pregnant or have diabetes that isn’t kept under control.
As uncomfortable and annoying as they can be, yeast infections are seldom serious. But they may cause problems if they keep coming back again and again, which is what happens in about 5 percent of women. According to William G. Crook, M.D., author of the groundbreaking book The Yeast Connection Handbook, recurrent yeast infections can move beyond the vagina into the digestive tract. This condition, which Dr. Crook called chronic candidiasis, can lead to headaches, fatigue, rashes, depression, food sensitivities, and a host of other ailments.
Chronic candidiasis is very controversial. While most alternative practitioners consider it a major health problem, many mainstream physicians doubt that it exists. For women, it certainly provides incentive for bringing a quick end to yeast infections-and keeping the infections from coming back. That’s where a blended approach can help.
Best Choices
Nutrition
Kiss sweets goodbye. You can’t avoid sugar completely. After all, your body converts carbohydrates into sugars-and you need carbohydrates as part of a healthful diet. But you can reduce your risk of yeast infection by avoiding sugary foods such as candies, cakes, cookies, and sodas. Joseph Pizzorno Jr., N.D., also suggests avoiding fruit juices, honey, maple syrup, dairy products, and foods high in molds such as cheeses, dried fruits, peanuts, and alcoholic beverages.
Go for yogurt. Some research has shown that yogurt helps prevent yeast infections. For one study, Eileen Hilton, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Biomedical Research Alliance of New York in Great Neck, recruited 11 women who had at least three yeast infections during the previous 6 months. Dr. Hilton instructed the women to eat a cup of live-culture yogurt a day. Live culture means that the yogurt contains the good bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus. During the next 6 months, the women averaged less than one yeast infection.
Supplements
Find friendly bacteria in a capsule. If you don’t care for yogurt, most health food stores carry supplements of L. acidophilus and other probiotic bacteria. Most of these supplements require refrigeration. Dr. Northrup recommends PBS, a brand that does not. Take according to the directions on the label.
Maximize your immunity with a multi. To keep your immune system in top infection-fighting form, Dr. Pizzorno recommends taking a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement.
Herbal Medicine
Get your garlic. Many medicinal herbs contain antifungal compounds, says James A. Duke, Ph.D. Chief among these herbs is garlic, which boasts a potent antifungal called allicin.
To treat a yeast infection, Paul Reilly, N.D., adjunct instructor at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, and a naturopathic doctor in Tacoma, recommends eating several cloves to a bulb of raw crushed or chopped garlic a day.
Can’t bear the pungent taste-or the heady aftertaste-of fresh garlic? Opt for garlic capsules. Taking 1 or 2 capsules a day that contains 4,000-5,000 micrograms of allicinalliin (the active ingredients) for 3 to 14 days of an acute infection may be the most effective. For chronic infections, taking 2 daily capsules for four weeks may help. Take enteric-coated capsules to prevent the active ingredients from breaking down in the stomach.
Be generous with berberine. A powerful antifungal compound found in goldenseal, barberry, and Oregon grape, berberine fights yeast infections in two ways. First, it revs up macrophages, special white blood cells that gobble yeast. Second, it stimulates other components of the immune system to defeat the infection.
To treat a yeast infection, Dr. Pizzomo recommends taking goldenseal or barberry-1 1/2 teaspoons of tincture or 1/2 teaspoon of extract three times a day. You can buy both forms of the herbs in most health food stores.
Benefit from echinacea. Echinacea is a daisylike plant native to the Great Plains. Its flower and root juice have powerful immune-stimulating effects, especially for treating yeast infections. In one study, German researchers tested echinacea extract that was given by injection or taken orally. Both were beneficial.
Look for echinacea tincture in health food stores. Take 1 teaspoon three times a day, mixed with water or juice.
Eat, drink, and be healed. The popular beverage herb chamomile and several common spices, including ginger, cinnamon, thyme, and rosemary, also contain antifungal compounds. If you’re bothered by recurrent yeast infections, Dr. Duke suggests drinking lots of chamomile tea and adding liberal amounts of the antifungal spices to your cooking. To make chamomile tea, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of the herb to 1 cup of boiled water. Steep for 10 minutes, then strain.
Home Remedies
Try a vinegar douche. At the first sign of a yeast infection, Anne Simons, M.D., suggests douching with a mild solution of 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 quart of water. Repeat the treatment three times a day for a week, then twice a day for another week. Vinegar is a weak acid that can restore your vaginal pH to a more normal level.
But don’t get in the habit of douching every day as a preventive measure. Done routinely, douching increases the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, a serious infection of the reproductive organs. And when you do douche as suggested above, don’t squirt the douche into your vagina. Let it just flow in, since squirting may also increase your risk of pelvic inflammatory disease.
Avoid irritants. “Any chemical that irritates sensitive vaginal tissue may trigger a yeast infection,” Dr. Crandall says. She suggests avoiding bath oils, bubble baths, and scented soaps and toilet paper.
“Tampons may also dry out vaginal tissue and cause irritation;” Dr. Simons says. “If recurrent yeast infections are a problem for you, consider switching to pads for a while. That may help.”
Wear white cotton underwear. White underwear has no dyes to irritate vaginal tissue. And cotton breathes, which helps maintain a healthy vaginal environment.
Wash it wisely. To kill yeast, Dr. Crandall suggests presoaking underwear in chlorine bleach and unscented detergent. Then machine-wash, using unscented detergent.
Take a break from sex. For most women, the discomfort caused by a yeast infection is enough to dampen any urge to engage in intercourse. But even if you can have sex comfortably, don’t, Dr. Crandall says. “Your partner may pick up your infection, then pass it back to you.”
For the same reason, don’t have oral-genital sex either.
Reconsider your contraception. Oral contraceptives and spermicides can change your vaginal pH in ways that promote C. albicans overgrowth. “You may experience fewer infections if you switch to condoms or a diaphragm,” Dr. Crandall says.
Over-The-Counter Drugs
Let cream be your cure. According to the American Pharmaceutical Association, over-the-counter antifungal vaginal creams effectively treat 85 to 90 percent of yeast infections. These creams contain one of four active ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration: clotrimazole (GyneLotrimin), miconazole (Monistat-7), butoconazole (Femstat), or tioconazole (Vagistat-1). Whichever of these products you choose, use it according to the package directions. Chances are you won’t experience any side effects, although itching and burning are possible.
Other Good Choices
Visualization
See and smell vanilla. To achieve deep relaxation, Gerald N. Epstein, M.D., director of the Academy of Integrative Medicine and Mental Imagery in New York City, recommends the following visualization exercise: Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Imagine yourself entering a beautiful orchid that smells of vanilla. Inhale the vanilla. See vanilla beans. Gather some of the beans in your hand and take them with you as you leave the orchid and enter your vagina.
Survey your vaginal wall, looking for areas of yeast overgrowth. Using a golden brush that you carry in your other hand, brush away the yeast until none is left. Plant the vanilla beans in the areas where the yeast grew. See beautiful white orchids growing from your vaginal wall. Watch the petals unfold and release the fragrance of vanilla as your vagina heals perfectly. Now leave your vagina, take three deep breaths, and open your eyes.
Dr. Epstein suggests practicing this visualization three times a day-in the morning, at twilight, and before bed-for 21 days.
Homeopathy
Try a symptom-specific prescription. To treat yeast infections, homeopaths rely on a number of medicines, including Arsenicum album, Chamomilla, Graphites, Sulfur, and Candida (the yeast organism itself). Which of these works best for you depends on your individual symptoms, says homeopath Dana Ullman. For a recommendation, consult a homeopath.
Chinese Medicine
Use herbs to cool Heat and dry Damp. Practitioners of Chinese medicine attribute yeast infections to the accumulation of Heat and Damp in the vagina. “The Heat and Damp cause stagnation of qi and make the area vulnerable to external attack,” explains Efrem Korngold, O.M.D., L.Ac.
To treat yeast infections, Dr. Korngold prescribes several herbal formulas. One such formula is Long Dan Xie Gan Wan, which contains a combination of Chinese angelica (dang gui), bupleurum root, rehmannia root, gardenia fruit, licorice root, and several other herbs. Flex your flngers. To treat a yeast infection, you may want to try acupressure. Michael Reed Gach, founder and director of the Acupressure Institute, suggests applying steady, penetrating finger pressure for 3 minutes to each of the following points.
- Spleen 6, located four finger-widths above your inner anklebone on the back inner border of your shinbone
- Liver 8, located on your inner leg at the end of your knee crease
Ayurvedic Medicine
Enhance your digestion. Ayurvedic physicians view yeast infection as a “weakness of digestive fire” caused by a high-sugar diet, antibiotics, poor immune function, and “the general toxic state of the environment,” says David Frawley, O.M.D. To treat a yeast infection, he recommends eating three to five cloves of garlic a day while avoiding sugar, dairy products, breads, and fruit. He also prescribes immune-boosting herbs such as ginseng, astragalus, bala, ashwagandha, and kapikacchu.
Medical Measures
Mainstream M.D.’s treat yeast infections with prescription-strength versions of the antifungal vaginal creams described earlier. If you experience recurrent yeast infections and need to take an antibiotic for a bacterial infection, Dr. Crandall advises asking your doctor for yeast-treating medication at the same time.
Red Flags
If you experience recurrent yeast infections, you may have high blood sugar and not know it. High blood sugar may mean diabetes or a prediabetic condition. “Women with recurrent yeast infections should be tested for diabetes,” Dr. Simons advises.