Yeast Infections

Chronic yeast infections are no fun. After all, who wants to deal with persistent itching, burning, and pain? If you have chronic yeast infections, then you know how annoying they can be for one’s day to day life. However, all is not lost. Though you may have had a yeast infection for months or even for years, there are ways to cope.

First, it’s important to know what might be causing chronic yeast infections. For women, being on a birth control can bring on chronic yeast infections. Other causes include a lowered immune system, being on antibiotics, diabetes, steroid medications, poor hygiene, and a poor diet, among other causes. Additionally, diseases or illnesses that affect a person’s immune system can also cause a chronic yeast infection (i.e. cancer, AIDS, etc.).

It is important to know the symptoms to look for when it comes to a chronic yeast infection. This can help you treat it when it occurs. For women, vaginal itching, burning, and a white discharge can mean a yeast infection is in full swing. For men, if the genital area is inflamed, painful, and itchy, it can mean the same thing. Additionally, skin yeast infections and thrush (i.e. a yeast infection in the mouth) can become chronic too and have similar symptoms.

To treat a chronic yeast infection, you always want to consult with a doctor first. Usually, doctors will try to treat the causal factors before moving into medicine (i.e. doctors don’t want an individual to build up a tolerance to yeast infection medicine, so treating the underlying factors is a way around this). Thus, women may be asked to switch birth controls, and both men and women will be asked to change their hygiene routines and diets. Additionally, a person may be asked to avoid certain kinds of clothing (i.e. wet bathing suits) until the infection is gone. Tests will also be given to see if there is a risk of diabetes or other illnesses that may be undiagnosed and affecting the yeast infections.

Acidophilus may be given to help rid a person of a yeast infection. This is a friendly bacteria that exists in a person’s digestive tract and may help with dealing with an overgrowth of the yeast infection fungus Candida albicans.