Here's why I think so many women are troubled by recurrent vaginal yeast infections:
- Candida yeasts thrive in a dark, warm, moist environment. The vagina and the intestinal tract serve as ideal places for these yeasts to live and multiply - especially when other factors encourage their growth.
- Broad-spectrum antibiotics. These drugs are often prescribed for children with ear infections and respiratory problems, teenagers with acne and women with cystitis, even for people with colds and flu, against which they have no effect. Many of these antibiotics are prescribed needlessly. While eradicating bacterial "enemies," they also knock out bacterial "friends," including Lactobacillus acidophilus and other naturally occurring friendly bacteria. They do nothing whatsoever to kill viruses that cause colds and flu. As a result, the usually benign Candida albicans multiplies and causes infection. Antibiotic-laden chickens and antibiotics in other animal products we eat also disturb the normal balance of bacteria in the intestinal tract.
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| What Is A Yeast Infection And What Causes It |
If you've had four or more vaginal yeast infections in a year, you have have recurrent vaginitis.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics kill the "good" and the "bad" bacteria indiscriminately. When the bacterial balance gets out of whack, yeast grows unchecked.
There is a connection between yeast in the digestive tract and vaginal yeast, according to a 1977 study carried out by Mary Ryan Miles, M.D., and two of her colleagues at Michigan State University on 98 young women who were troubled by recurrent vaginitis. Even though the study was conducted 25 years ago, the basic finding is still valid: All of these women showed yeast in the stool. Here's an excerpt from the abstract of this study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Ninety-eight young women who complained of recurrent vaginitis were selected in sequence. The results showed that if C. albicans was cultured from the vagina, it was always found in the stool.
Conversely, if it was not isolated from the stool, it was never found in the vagina. These data are presented as an explanation for the recurrent nature of candida vaginitis and thus a cure for vaginitis would not be possible without prior eradication of C. albicans from the gut ....
Many physicians prescribe oral nystatin for recurrent vaginal yeast infections. You may need to take it as much as four times a day for as long as three months. You may be able to taper off your dosage after you've been on it between one and three months.
Others prefer Diflucan for recurrent yeast-related vaginitis. Some patients will need to take it for several months. Diflucan is also commonly prescribed for an occasional bout with vaginitis.
Some physicians, like my colleague George Kroker, M.D., of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, have very different viewpoints on vaginitis. "In my opinion, the vagina, like the nose and sinuses, is an allergic organ," says Dr. Kroker. Over the years, he says he has noticed that many women complain of intense vaginal itching and burning, and they notice the same symptoms when they are exposed to airborne molds or allergenic foods.
Other physicians have suggested women may develop vaginal symptoms due to allergies to semen or latex like that found in condoms. "I wish that most physicians, particularly gynecologists, would think of the vaginal lining as an active immunologic organ rather than a reproductive receptacle occasionally prone to infection," Dr. Kroker concludes.
BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS (BV)
Bacterial vaginosis is caused by overgrowth of bacteria normally found in the vaginal area. The main symptom is an increase in vaginal discharge. While normal vaginal discharge is a milky white, discharge with this condition may be grayish white or yellow and be thin and watery with a strong fishy odor that is sometimes more noticeable after intercourse.
BV is usually treated with antibiotics, which then can give rise to yeast overgrowth and a vicious cycle of infection, and then the emergence of a different infection.
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| What Is A Yeast Infection And What Causes It |
Experts in the field warn that physicians should be concerned about the increase in the incidence of BV, which, in the past, was considered a nuisance condition and was treated to eliminate annoying symptoms. However, recent studies showed that BV may be associated with potentially serious infections, including upper genital tract infections, pregnancy complications and an increased risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases," according to the National Vaginitis Association's 2002 report. Among the recommendations in that report:
- Physicians should encourage women to talk about their vaginal health.
- Physicians should discuss with you what is normal. Many women think a fishy odor is normal. It is not.
- Women should not use chemical douches and perfumed sanitary pads.