Scientists tell us that at least one woman out of every four the world over will have a yeast infection once in her lifetime. That could be a fairly conservative position as it could be that all women will have a yeast infection at lease once in their lifetime. A yeast infection is a bothersome itch in a woman’s genital area accompanied with a vaginal discharge that smells like yeast. Vaginal yeast infection’s trigger is an imbalance in the natural female environment. That imbalance creates a good environment for the excessive growth of the fungus candida, which resides naturally in the vagina in small amounts. Its increase subsequently causes the itching and general irritation.
A host of things can set off this imbalance among them a dose of antibiotics, a change in diet, pregnancy, birth control therapy, and menopause; and most occurrences that affect the woman’s normal hormonal balance. In some cases a change in detergent used to wash underwear or bathing soap and anything that changes the ph level of the vaginal area can trigger the imbalance. Yeast infection is a medical condition and one needs to get professional counsel. However, in some women it is such a recurrent condition that they are familiar with the causes and they therefore choose to use home remedies.
The other factor there is that one can only take so many doses of antibiotics to treat a medical condition and it is advisable to help your body develop its natural immunity. The most common home remedies for yeast infection are probiotics and boric acid. Probiotics reside naturally in the vagina and usually suppress the excessive multiplication of harmful microorganisms such as candida. Boric acid has both antiseptic and antifungal properties. Several studies have shown that this chemical substance when applied on the skin around the vaginal area is effective in controlling yeast infections.
Another troublesome infection in women is a urinary tract infection (UTI). This is not the same as yeast infection and therefore the UTI home remedy cannot be the same as that for yeast. UTI is a medical condition affecting the entire urinary system which includes the kidneys. It is highly recommended that one visits a medical doctor if they experience its symptoms which include a repeated urge to urinate only to pass a small quantity of urine, pain when urinating and passing stained urine. However, cranberry juice helps to both relieve the symptoms and works as a preventive measure against UTI.