Yeast Infections

[jenjt]

[QUOTE=makbike]
3. douche with buttermilk - you need to reculture your vaginal tract. I had up to this point been eating yogurt everyday along with taking oral acidiphilus. My gyno told me this was great for my digestive tract but the healthy bacteria stayed there it never makes it way to your vagina thus the buttermilk douche for it allows for a "direct route" to the problem area.

How often do you douche with buttermilk?

Thanks to everyone for your helpful advice. Am now on a course of diflucan but want to remain yeast free in the future so will be doing the vinegar baths as well as getting out of my shorts immediately.

Also, does DH stand for "Doting Husband" or Dumbass Husband"?

[Kitsune06]

It can mean either of those or 'Dear Hubby'... it all depends on the situation. =)

[makbike]

Jenjt:

My gyno recommended I used the buttermilk treatment every other night.

Good luck and I hope things clear up quickly for you for I feel your pain and discomfort.

[MomOnBike]

Also, does DH stand for "Doting Husband" or Dumbass Husband"?

Yes.

Also Dumb $Hit. Sometimes spelling is optional.

MomOnBike
(professional wordsmith)

[lauraelmore1033]

oh the helpful things you learn on this forum! I've definitely noticed an increase in YI and also bladder infections since I've taken up riding again. My husband will think I'm insane, but I think I'll be trying the garlic soon. (insan-er, anyway) I can't picture using the butter milk, though. Doesn't it leave a seeping mess?

[makbike]

Laura:

I can honestly say the buttermilk douche was not messy and during a nasty bout of the yeastie beasties it actually felt pretty darn good.

[jenjt]

Jenjt:

My gyno recommended I used the buttermilk treatment every other night.

Good luck and I hope things clear up quickly for you for I feel your pain and discomfort.

In perpetuity?? Or is this not a preventative treament and is rather a treatment treatment, so to speak.

Thanks.

[Dianyla]

I am very prone to the Yeasty Beasty, as well. For me, the vaginal yeast is always somewhat related to intestinal yeast overload and I'm just an itchy gassy mess at that point. What works for me:

1. Cut out the refined sugar and processed carbs for a while. Really, it's best for me to avoid the stuff in general, but I always end up eating more than I should. Some of the worst yeast infections (and UTIs, for that matter) have happened during the holidays with all of the candy and desserts and starchy foods. The only times I can get away with eating a lot of refined carbs is before, during, or immediately after an intense ride. It can also help to avoid fermented and pickled foods, as well.

2. Keep my intestines happy by making sure I consume a lot of good friendly flora. If I'm really yeasty I'll also take a supplement called caprylic acid which is a natural antifungal. No matter how careful you are with hygiene, the bottom line is that if your body's conditions favor yeast in one department, it will be favored in the other department as well.

3. Topical treatments: acidic rinses/douches with vinegar or lemon juice, topical application of live cultures such as plain unsweetened yogurt or buttermilk, etc. Boric acid capsules and garlic cloves for really full-blown cases. All good stuff. I often use an OTC anti-yeast cream as my chamois cream anytime that I'm cycling and feeling borderline itchy.

3. No soap, bodywash, etc. Period. The vagina is made of mucous membranes very similar to those that line your mouth and eyes. Would you wash your mouth or eyes out with soap?

4. Vaginal pH management - this is the most important part. A happy vagina should be nice and acidic (~3.5-4.5 pH) to discourage yeast and bad bacteria and to encourage good flora like acidophilus (acid loving). Some common alkaline invaders are soap (see previous) and semen. That's right, the ol' demon seed is an alkaline material designed to counteract the acidic environment in the vagina so that the little swimmers can penetrate our fortress. If you frequently come into direct contact with this material, it's a good idea to swish the stuff out with plain water or a slightly acidic solution postcoitus. If you do use a barrier method with spermicide, you might want to flush that out too as it can kill your friendly flora too.

BTW, your pH is more alkaline in the week before your period, which is why it is more common to have yeast infections right before or during your menses. It also changes during pregnancy which can lead to more frequent yeast infections to add to the discomfort.

[hellosunshine]

thats the second time in 2 weeks ive heard of caprylic acid supplments,what exactly is it?

[Tuckervill]

Here's an indelicate question.

If you don't use soap, how do you eliminate odor?

I don't want to smell like garlic OR buttermilk! I'd prefer not to have an odor at all.

Karen

[Dianyla]

thats the second time in 2 weeks ive heard of caprylic acid supplments,what exactly is it?

It's a fatty acid derived from coconuts that is a natural antifungal. Here's the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprylic_acid

If you don't use soap, how do you eliminate odor?

I find that I get far less odor by washing with water only all over my body, pits n' pubes included. Granted, I don't smell like flowers or vanilla or phthalates either for that matter, but I don't stink. By the end of the day I may have a light faint odor but it is not offensive to others (and yes, I have asked others for their unbiased opinions).

When I used soap, I'd smell great the first half of the day and then stink the last half. I think soap is just too disruptive to the natural oils and bodily secretions and it causes your body to just secrete more of them in response to being stripped squeaky clean.

Now, the garlic smell is one reason I don't usually use the garlic capsules remedy until it's progressed to a full-blown infections. By the time I do use garlic, it smells better than what was happening before, so at that point it is the lesser of evils. I do somewhat prefer a diluted lemon juice rinse to a vinegar rinse for that reason, as well. That leaves behind a light lemon scent and doesn't have my DBF asking me "Honey, where's the salad?"

[Margo1959]

HI. I know yeast infections are a big problems for riders and cyclists. My gyno just told me to stop wearing bike shorts. I tried that, but still get them. I decided to research this on my own a little more and found out that yeast infections can cause alot more harm to your body than just the burning and itching (which in itself, is enough to bear!!) It can also lead to pain in your joints, headaches, confusion, forgetfullness and respiratory problems. Anyway, if anyone is interested in learning more about it, I found a great report at http://infoaves.dmhmd.hop.clickbank.net. I read this and haven't had a YI in over a year. I'm sure not one to put garlic you know where, but I do believe in natural and healthy remedies!

[nuthatch]

Resurrecting this thread because I'm about to throw out a pair of PI shorts that I KNOW are starting the yeast infections. I don't wear them very often so I can pinpoint the infections to wearing them. I get that familiar feeling only after I've been wearing them on a good long ride or training session.

Should I just pitch them or is there some method of eliminating the fungus from the chamois? I think I've asked this question here before and it seems like the heat of an iron or bleach were the only sure killers of Candida.

Has anyone successfully eliminated yeast from their bike shorts with, say, a vinegar soak or something that won't ruin the chamois or fabric? Or should I just slather them with Monostat every time I wear them?

[anakiwa]

Resurrecting this thread because I'm about to throw out a pair of PI shorts that I KNOW are starting the yeast infections. I don't wear them very often so I can pinpoint the infections to wearing them. I get that familiar feeling only after I've been wearing them on a good long ride or training session.

Should I just pitch them or is there some method of eliminating the fungus from the chamois? I think I've asked this question here before and it seems like the heat of an iron or bleach were the only sure killers of Candida.

Has anyone successfully eliminated yeast from their bike shorts with, say, a vinegar soak or something that won't ruin the chamois or fabric? Or should I just slather them with Monostat every time I wear them?

I'm not so sure the problem is that the shorts are infected (it seems like a good machine washing with soap would largely take care of the problem). Are you sure it's not somthing else about the shorts- perhaps the fit is tighter, or they breathe less well than other shorts- or the chamois is more absorbant- that causes them to make for better breeding conditions for the yeast?

[nuthatch]

I'm not so sure the problem is that the shorts are infected (it seems like a good machine washing with soap would largely take care of the problem). Are you sure it's not somthing else about the shorts- perhaps the fit is tighter, or they breathe less well than other shorts- or the chamois is more absorbant- that causes them to make for better breeding conditions for the yeast?

The chamois is thick and I think that's what started the whole thing, but I understand that the candida yeast can live in clothing kind of suspended until the right circumstances let it grow.

Some people advocate killing it by ironing your panties, if they are cotton, or you will keep reinfecting yourself. That's why I'm so suspicious that the shorts are to blame. I can be yeast-free for weeks, then wear those shorts for a few hours and the next day - pow!