Symptoms, causes of vaginal yeast infection — and how to treat it

Vaginal yeast infection is a female health condition caused by a fungus that breeds in the vagina.

What to know about vaginal yeast infection (VYI)

Medically known as fungus Candida, Vaginal yeast infection is associated with too many yeast cells growing in the vagina which results in intense itching, swelling, and irritation.

A healthy vagina has many bacteria and small amount of yeast cells while ‘Candida genus’ is a microorganism that grows naturally in the vaginal area.

Cause of vaginal yeast infection

Lactobacillus are bacteria in the vagina that keep the growth of every organism in check; however, the organisms multiply when there is an imbalance in the system.

Such imbalance could be caused by the rise in estrogen levels during pregnancy or health problems like diabetes, insomnia, poor eating habits and HIV.

Symptoms of VYI and medical treatments

Vaginal yeast infection could be detected when you start experiencing symptoms like itching, pain during sex, soreness, odourless vaginal discharge and rashes.

The treatment is dependent on the level of infection which could either be simple and complicated.

Simple yeast infection requires the patient to use anti-fungal cream, ointment, tablet and a single dose of oral medication.

Complicated cases of yeast infection are severe redness, swelling, and itching that leads to sores or tears in your vaginal tissue.

Treatments for complicated infection include 14-day cream, ointment, tablet, suppository vaginal treatment, long-term prescription of fluconazole (Diflucan) taken once a week for six weeks, or long-term use of a topical anti-fungal medication.

Your sexual partner can also undergo treatment or use of condoms when having sex until the infection is treated.

Natural treatments and prevention of VYI

Vaginal yeast infection can also be prevented and treated using natural solutions.

Natural treatments are tea tree oil cream, garlic or boric acid vaginal suppositories and plain yogurt taken orally or inserted into the vagina.

Yeast infection could be prevented when you avoid wearing tight pants, pantyhose, leggings, feminine deodorant or deodorant tampons or pads.

Avoid sitting around in wet clothing, especially bathing suits, sitting in hot tubs or taking frequent hot tub baths.

Ensure you eat a balanced diet, wear natural fibers such as cotton, linen, or silk, try washing underwear in hot water and replace old feminine products frequently.

Complete adherence to these preventive guidelines might seem impossible, however, some can be done without much ado; prevention, they say, is better than cure.