Are there dangers in not treating a yeast infection?
It's a curious question: it presupposes that you know you have one. For the purposes of this article I will deal with vaginal yeast infections only.
So how do you know if you have a yeast infection? One way to know is if you have the same symptoms as before when you were correctly diagnosed by your doctor. However, other conditions can masquerade as a yeast infection, even in people who've had them previously. Urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and bacterial vaginosis are conditions often confused with infections due to yeast.
The most common symptoms of a yeast infection are vaginal itching (inside or outside) and vaginal discharge, which may be milky or have the consistency of cottage cheese. The most common reason women get these infections is from taking antibiotics for a different condition, such as a bladder or respiratory infection. Diabetes is also associated with frequent yeast infections: yeast likes sugar and grows especially well when your blood sugar is elevated.
If you've taken antibiotics and get a yeast infection, do you have to treat it?
Not necessarily. If you are otherwise healthy, your body can often heal itself. Antibiotics kill off bad germs and good germs as well. Once you discontinue the antibiotics and your normal "flora" (population of good germs) is re-established, the yeast lose their advantage, allowing your body to fight off the overgrowth of yeast. If you can tolerate the itch long enough for this to happen, that is perfectly acceptable.
However, if you must continue daily antibiotics for, say, a bad case of acne, your body may not have the chance to recuperate on its own. In that case, you may want to stop the antibiotics for awhile or forever, and ask your doctor about an alternate acne treatment.
Also, if you have a yeast infection that doesn't resolve on its own (or with treatment) you should be checked for diabetes. Occasionally, if your blood sugar is elevated, yeast can really take hold and make you so miserable that you couldn't possibly tolerate the symptoms.
Some people might not want to treat vaginal yeast due to concern about using chemicals in their bodies. This is a valid consideration. Pro-biotics may be useful in re-establishing the normal flora, which is really the essence of ridding your body of a yeast infection. There are always some yeast around - they normally inhabit the colon without bothering a person, along with billions of other germs. Our skin is covered with germs, our mouths are full of germs, and the vagina has its own set of normal germs. The key is keeping the right germs in the right place.
The danger of not treating a yeast infection lies primarily in having the wrong diagnosis. I've seen many patients who've assumed their symptoms are due to yeast, only to find they have a urinary infection or STD instead. Also, the irritation caused by vaginal yeast infections may predispose to acquiring an STD. Just like an open would on the hand is more likely to get infected than intact skin would be, so is the vagina more likely to get infected by a sexually transmitted disease if it is raw and sore.
STDs that may be confused with vaginal yeast infections include herpes, chlamydia, trichomonas, and gonorrhea. Bacterial vaginosis is not usually sexually transmitted, but may give similar symptoms.
Urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, and sexually transmitted diseases all require different treatments than vaginal yeast infections, so it is vital to have the correct diagnosis.
If you have vaginal itching or discharge that doesn't resolve on its own or with treatment (such as over-the-counter clotrimazole vaginal cream, used according to package directions) see your doctor. You don't want to be suffering an STD unaware, nor spread it to your partner.
Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.
It's a curious question: it presupposes that you know you have one. For the purposes of this article I will deal with vaginal yeast infections only.
So how do you know if you have a yeast infection? One way to know is if you have the same symptoms as before when you were correctly diagnosed by your doctor. However, other conditions can masquerade as a yeast infection, even in people who've had them previously. Urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and bacterial vaginosis are conditions often confused with infections due to yeast.
The most common symptoms of a yeast infection are vaginal itching (inside or outside) and vaginal discharge, which may be milky or have the consistency of cottage cheese. The most common reason women get these infections is from taking antibiotics for a different condition, such as a bladder or respiratory infection. Diabetes is also associated with frequent yeast infections: yeast likes sugar and grows especially well when your blood sugar is elevated.
If you've taken antibiotics and get a yeast infection, do you have to treat it?
Not necessarily. If you are otherwise healthy, your body can often heal itself. Antibiotics kill off bad germs and good germs as well. Once you discontinue the antibiotics and your normal "flora" (population of good germs) is re-established, the yeast lose their advantage, allowing your body to fight off the overgrowth of yeast. If you can tolerate the itch long enough for this to happen, that is perfectly acceptable.
However, if you must continue daily antibiotics for, say, a bad case of acne, your body may not have the chance to recuperate on its own. In that case, you may want to stop the antibiotics for awhile or forever, and ask your doctor about an alternate acne treatment.
Also, if you have a yeast infection that doesn't resolve on its own (or with treatment) you should be checked for diabetes. Occasionally, if your blood sugar is elevated, yeast can really take hold and make you so miserable that you couldn't possibly tolerate the symptoms.
Some people might not want to treat vaginal yeast due to concern about using chemicals in their bodies. This is a valid consideration. Pro-biotics may be useful in re-establishing the normal flora, which is really the essence of ridding your body of a yeast infection. There are always some yeast around - they normally inhabit the colon without bothering a person, along with billions of other germs. Our skin is covered with germs, our mouths are full of germs, and the vagina has its own set of normal germs. The key is keeping the right germs in the right place.
The danger of not treating a yeast infection lies primarily in having the wrong diagnosis. I've seen many patients who've assumed their symptoms are due to yeast, only to find they have a urinary infection or STD instead. Also, the irritation caused by vaginal yeast infections may predispose to acquiring an STD. Just like an open would on the hand is more likely to get infected than intact skin would be, so is the vagina more likely to get infected by a sexually transmitted disease if it is raw and sore.
STDs that may be confused with vaginal yeast infections include herpes, chlamydia, trichomonas, and gonorrhea. Bacterial vaginosis is not usually sexually transmitted, but may give similar symptoms.
Urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, and sexually transmitted diseases all require different treatments than vaginal yeast infections, so it is vital to have the correct diagnosis.
If you have vaginal itching or discharge that doesn't resolve on its own or with treatment (such as over-the-counter clotrimazole vaginal cream, used according to package directions) see your doctor. You don't want to be suffering an STD unaware, nor spread it to your partner.
Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D.
Is the itch from yeast or chiggers? Learn more at: http://101waystosavemoneyonhealthcare.info/?p=135
More ways to treat yourself at: http://armageddonmedicine.net/
Permission is hereby granted to publish this copyrighted article elsewhere on the web or in print media, in whole or in part, with the stipulation that Dr. Koelker be properly credited as author, and that the material be unaltered with regard to content.
Cynthia J. Koelker MD (Doc Cindy) is a family physician of over twenty years, and holds degrees from MIT, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the University of Akron. She is the author of 101 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare.
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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_KoelkerMore ways to treat yourself at: http://armageddonmedicine.net/
Permission is hereby granted to publish this copyrighted article elsewhere on the web or in print media, in whole or in part, with the stipulation that Dr. Koelker be properly credited as author, and that the material be unaltered with regard to content.
Cynthia J. Koelker MD (Doc Cindy) is a family physician of over twenty years, and holds degrees from MIT, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the University of Akron. She is the author of 101 Ways to Save Money on Healthcare.
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