The Alternative Health Gazette

Herbal and Alternative Remedies for Vaginal Yeast Infections

Vaginal yeast infections are a problem for all women. In fact, at least 75% of women will experience at least one vaginal yeast infection during their life time. Now there are many ways to help prevent yeast infections from recurring often, and there are various home and herbal remedies which can help cure yeast infections once you have them. In this article we’ll explore both.

Vaginal yeast infections can be caused by a number of things. The most common cause is the use of broad spectrum antibiotics, because these kill the good bacteria in our bodies along with the bad. An allergy to latex condoms can also cause vaginal yeast infections though, and a spermicide often used in condoms known as nonoxynol 9 has also been linked to increased vaginal yeast infections.

Other things that can cause the chronic problems though, include wearing tight fitting clothing that restricts air flow; using products with perfumes, chemicals or dyes that you’re sensitive to; birth control pills or anything else that changes the natural balance of the body’s hormones; and anything that suppresses or weakens the immune system such as HIV or Diabetes. Sometimes even the types of foods you eat can contribute to chronic yeast infection problems.

Now there are many ways to help prevent vaginal yeast infections from occuring. Many of which include avoiding things that might be causing the problems of course. If you frequently use condoms which contain nonoxynol 9 in them for instance, try using condoms without and see if that helps. Wear loser, free flowing clothes, or wear clothes made of fabrics that breath better such as cotton.

Eliminating some of the sugars and simple starches from your diet can often help reduce the yeast infections drastically, as can eating natural yogurt every day. Yeast feed off simple sugars inside your body, so having too much of that circulating throughout your system can help them thrive and multiple. Yogurt contains natural “good” bacteria that helps kill or supress the yeast causing bacteria.

Once you have a yeast infection though, there are several natural and herbal ways to cure it. The most common and most effective is to douche with yogurt. If this is the first time you’ve heard of this, your reaction is probably “gross!” But trust me: It really does work. Alternatively, you can freeze a bit of yogurt in a tampon to make a vaginal suppository. Once frozen, remove the yogurt from the tampon, then insert the small yogurt stick into your vagina and leave it in place. It will dissolve on it’s own, killing the yeast growth as it does so.

If using a douche or vaginal suppository is an unpleasant thought, you’re in luck. The number one alternative is to eat Garlic, or take garlic pills. Garlic can also be used as a douche to kill the yeast infection, but taking the garlic by mouth will do the trick as well. It may take a little longer to cure the infection this way, but it will work just as well.

Be sure to eat real garlic, or buy garlic supplements which do not contain other additives and chemicals. And especially avoid “odor free” garlic, because when the odor is gone, so is the primary antifungal and antibiotic element.

(Sources)
http://www.msu.edu/~eisthen/yeast/causes.html
http://www.walnet.org/csis/groups/swav/healthcards/nonox.html

Statements made in this article may not be approved by the FDA, and should not be taken as professional medical advice.

Tags: Candida, Fungus, Yeast