Is your vagina healthy?
You may think that you don’t need to worry about your lady parts because you don’t do anything to put your body at risk. However, yeast infections are more common than you may think, and some factors include poor eating habits, hormonal imbalance, stress and a lack of sleep, according to Healthline.
Vaginal yeast infections, also known as vaginal candidiasis, affect three out of four women at some point during their life, according to Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately, many women experience more than one episode.
What Is a Yeast Infection?
Most women develop yeast infections from a common type of fungus called candida albicans, according to Mayo Clinic. When this yeast is overproduced and there’s too much of it in your vagina, it can cause a variety of symptoms. What leads to the imbalance of yeast in your lady bits to begin with? Pregnancy, uncontrolled diabetes, and a variety of oral contraceptives are just a couple of potential causes.
These types of yeast infections are treatable. However, if you have reoccurring yeast infections or problems getting rid of the infection, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. This could be a different type of yeast infection, which can be more complicated to treat.
Symptoms
Yeast infection symptoms can be tricky because some of them can come and go—meaning they are not continuous. This can makes it easier for a symptom to be overlooked, unnoticed and untreated. In most cases, the length of an untreated infection can have a direct impact of how serve the symptoms are.
Symptoms to watch out for:
- Itching
- Rashes
- Soreness
- Burning
- Large or small amounts of discharge with an odd color or odor
How to Treat Yeast Infections
For simple infections, the most common type of infection, you will need to visit your doctor. He or she will usually prescribe you a medication for you to take over the next couple of weeks. In that case, be sure to follow up with your doctor within that time frame to let them know if it has worked or helped with your infection.
For more complicated infections, the typical medication may not always be affective. Your doctor may prescribe you a cream, ointment or tablet of a long-term prescription. Like always, keep your doctor in the loop if the medication is working.
How to Prevent Yeast Infections
If you’re educated about the causes yeast infections, you will be aware and know how to avoid those particular habits in the future—which is important.
Although it may be in style, avoid excessively wearing tight pants, pantyhose, tights and leggings. Avoid using feminine deodorant or scented tampons and pads. Avoid sitting in hot tubs or baths for long periods of time. Do not sit around in wet bathing suits. Eat a well-balanced diet including yogurt or foods including lactobacillus. Wash and wear clean underwear, and change feminine products frequently.
Yeast infections are not fun to deal with, but it’s not the end of the world if you get one either. See a doctor to get treated, and follow our tips to prevent future infections.
Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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