posted
A number of home remedies are suggested for yeast infections on the internet, and I'm wondering if any of them have merit.
1. Eating yogurt - probably the most widespread suggestion. But how would the helpful bacteria survive your digestive system and end up in your vagina where it is needed?
2. Applying yogurt to the affected area - a bit more realistic, but wouldn't the sugars in yogurt encourage yeast growth also?
3. Putting a clove of garlic up there - no clue
4. Using a couple of drops of tea tree oil on a tampon - supposedly how they cure yeast infections in Europe
5. Using apple cider vinegar on the affected area - seems this would kill the good bacteria as well as the bad. Also, wouldn't this sting a bit?
6. Drinking buttermilk every day - no clue how this one is supposed to work at all
There are also some preventative measures I have heard, such as eating yogurt daily, keeping sugar intake down (because sugary urine would promote yeast growth) and bathing instead of showering.
Posts: 439 | From: Redondo Beach, CA | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Plain yogurt shouldn't have much sugar in it.
It's a really bad idea to use a tampon if you aren't on your period, even if it has tea tree oil on it.
The preventative measure I've heard works well is to keep your genitals clean and dry and avoid wearing tight, synthetic-fiber pants and underwear. I've also heard that eating less sugar is good for not just preventing yeast infections but also UTIs. Don't know if that's true.
I've tried the clove of garlic thing on the beginning stages of a yeast infection and it worked. YMMV.
-------------------- Officially Heartless Posts: 3065 | From: The Montgomery County of the West Coast- Berkeley, CA | Registered: Nov 2005
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Rhiandmoi
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
Yeast infections I am told are a pH problem. I believe that eating the yogurt does something to your pH (makes it more acidic, I don't remember which way that is) to make your body less attractave for the little yeasties. The same thing would go for drinking buttermilk. If you applied yogurt to the affected area, it would probably be plain live cultured yogurt so there would be plenty of acid and not much sugar. Same thing with applying vinegar to the area. I have heard that taking cranberry supplements helps both urinary tract and vagina health. THe only thing I can think of for the garlic clove is that the sulfur compounds don't get along with yeast. I don't know how tea tree oil works if it is acidic or what, but I think that it would all be stuck in the tampon so it wouldn't do much good.
-------------------- I think that hyperbole is the single greatest factor contributing to the decline of society. - My friend Pat.
posted
I have a hippie TMI-giving friend who's done both the garlic and the (external) yogurt, and reports they work, though I doubt they work as well as conventional stuff. I'm very yeast-prone, so I eat a lot of active-culture yogurt, but it doesn't always seem to make a whole lot of difference.
-------------------- I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it. --Mitch Hedberg Posts: 37 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
I have medical problems which make me prone to candida (in both the mouth and the vajayjay). In my experience, a high-quality plain yogurt with plenty of active cultures (Stonybrook Farms is good) works every bit as well as Monistat et al.
Eating plenty of it is great, but nothing beats a couple tablespoons loaded into a tampon applicator (or one of those plungers from the monistat, if you happen to keep those sorts of things... I'm not judging ) and inserted before bed. The straight-from-the-fridge coolness of it is great for the itchies, too.
I've heard the garlic works well too, and provides the added benefit of repelling the sexual advances of vampires.
Posts: 54 | From: New Orleans | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I had recurrent vaginal yeast infections (I can say vaginal without chaning it to hoohoo, can't I?) for almost three years (RGGGGG!). I had to have some fancy tests done to determine that I do not host the normal "healthy" bacterial (lactobacillus vanginalis) - mine is less vigorous strain. That 'transplanting' healthier bacteria (such as from yogurt) only works if applied for hours a day (like six) and for weeks at a time (I've got a scholarly cite for this. I will look it up - PM me if you want it). Then, as if that wasn't fun enough, my body decided that it needed to make more of my mutant flora (not really mutant, just not a common variation) and so I ended up with bacterial vaginitis - looks like a yeast infection but isn't. Treating the vaginitis was complicated by the fact that I am alergic to the most common treatment - flagyl.
So, I mixed up all the home remedies I had heard of. I put them in a jar and prayed daily to the jar for relief from my discomfort and miracle of miracles - I haven't had but one in five years.
So I say go for it. What can science do that a garlic clove can't?
-------------------- I've been waiting here for like 20 minutes.
posted
Franny- I have gotten BV twice now. It sucks. Just wanted to commiserate.
-------------------- Officially Heartless Posts: 3065 | From: The Montgomery County of the West Coast- Berkeley, CA | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
My big sis kept on getting yeast infections, and she's allergic to the medications. She eats almost no sugar now; she treats herself like a diabetic. My family now makes splenda desserts and sauces for holiday meals so she can eat with us; she purchased a steamer for vegetables since most of the canned ones have sugar in them. She has learned what she can and can't have to prevent them; if she wants a glass of wine, she doesn't have a few bites of the cake. She went without any sugar the day of our cousin's wedding so she could have a few bites of wedding cake. It sucks a lot for her, but she is happier without sugar than with yeast infections.
-------------------- If the world were logical, men would ride sidesaddle. -Mama
I won't ask "Am I weird?" because that ship sailed long ago. -Kahuna Burger Posts: 394 | From: Memphis, TN | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Thrush Prevention 101: when on the toilet, wipe from front to back so that bugs don't get transferred forward from the anus.
Lots of women know this, but for those who don't and who wonder why they get repeated infections, it's worth saying. I've come to the conclusion that any article about thrush which doesn't make this point shouldn't be taken seriously.
-------------------- Yours, &c
Linden Posts: 190 | From: Australia | Registered: Mar 2004
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) and inserted before bed. The straight-from-the-fridge coolness of it is great for the itchies, too. 
