Yeast Infection Remedies

Earlier, we talked about reverse engineering and how you can contract bacterial vaginosis. This week we’re going to start by looking at ways to clear up these types of infections after we get them.

Like with any type of infection, your body is able to handle any attack using its natural defense system and usually manages to keep thing okay. Your first line of defense is your skin. The skin is specialized in such a way that it has the ability to slough off slippery mucus most of the time, if not all the time, unless there is an opening in the skin.

The mucus located in the vagina does a few different things. First, it acts to wash away and keep the vaginal area free of anything that might be around. These cells continue to secrete the mucus which we see in our underwear at times as discharge.

Under normal circumstances, the discharge shouldn’t raise concern, but with bacterial vaginosis or yeast infections, it starts to smell fishy or foul. This occurs because the mucus contains the dead bacteria and if you have had sex, the semen will mix with the mucus and allow for an even stronger smelling discharge.

This offensive smelling discharge will typically not go away, no matter how often pads or underwear are changed. Now would be the time for an intervention. Medical douching is one more thing you can do besides wearing fresh underwear daily and bathing regularly.

Douching is not normally meant to be used everyday. The vagina is extremely sensitive and has been designed to take care of itself, without the help of soaps and other products. The mucus in the vagina does all the “rinsing and washing” on its own, even after regular sexual intercourse. But when situations like this occur, that being bacterial vaginosis, it is perfectly fine to douche for a short term treatment.

There are a number of several different douching solutions that can be used. One popular solution is to make goldenseal tea with garlic (can be crushed, steeped in the hot tea and strained). We generally think of garlic as being smelly all by itself, but it actually kills the bad bacteria. The bad bacteria and the foul smell will go away with a goldenseal tea and garlic douche.

One other douche solution can be made using a combination of colloidal silver and warm water. Some say that a mild blend of hydrogen peroxide with warm water helps also, but it should never be used more than once a day. Follow up one of these douching solutions with plain yogurt to bring some of the good bacteria back into the vagina.

Gently pat the vaginal area dry and be sure to allow it to dry really well before resuming your normal daily activities.

Douching with any of these methods, as well as other antibiotic solutions works in the very same way as the creams do that your doctor gives you, or those sold over the counter, to get rid of bacterial vaginosis. But do realize that this will only solve the topical problem of bacterial vaginosis. The real solution or cure is far more involved. We will be talking about permanent cures in the coming days.

Filed under: Yeast Infection Remedies on March 17th, 2010