Note: This article wanted to talk and spread about women's health and nothing more. Keep in mind that the words used are medical terms intended for understanding.

Hello, read.cash friends, how are you all? I pray that all of you are in the best of health and safety. How's your Tuesday so far?

I uploaded an article yesterday but then the tab crashed. I changed the title to "no not yet before the crash and did not notice it was not yet saved and the title of the published was"Last Saturday" the title of the article that I saved in the draft. It's funny, but I learned my lesson, I have to check about it before publishing next time.

So for today's article, let me share with you what I have been through these few days. It's very irritating and it hurts. This might be a little shameful on my part but I wanted to spread awareness of this disease.

(Vaginal) yeast infection, have you heard it yet? I'm no doctor but things like this is being shared all across google and I can say that am having one right now. I feel very irritated because it is itchy and it's very uncomfortable to have one especially when you don't stay at home.

For further understanding, let me share something that I found n the web. The link is below and I'll be using some of the words from that site so that you will not need to go to that site anymore

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/yeast-infection/symptoms-causes/syc-20378999

Overview

A vaginal yeast infection is a fungal infection that causes irritation, discharge and intense itchiness of the vagina and the vulva — the tissues at the vaginal opening.

Also called vaginal candidiasis, vaginal yeast infection affects up to 3 out of 4 women at some point in their lifetimes. Many women experience at least two episodes.

A vaginal yeast infection isn't considered a sexually transmitted infection. But, there's an increased risk of vaginal yeast infection at the time of first regular sexual activity. There's also some evidence that infections may be linked to mouth to genital contact (oral-genital sex).

Medications can effectively treat vaginal yeast infections. If you have recurrent yeast infections — four or more within a year — you may need a longer treatment course and a maintenance plan.

Symptoms

Yeast infection symptoms can range from mild to moderate, and include:

• Itching and irritation in the vagina and vulva

• A burning sensation, especially during intercourse or while urinating

• Redness and swelling of the vulva

• Vaginal pain and soreness

• Vaginal rash

• Thick, white, odor-free vaginal discharge with a cottage cheese appearance

• Watery vaginal discharge.

Risk factors

Factors that increase your risk of developing a yeast infection include:

• Antibiotic use. Yeast infections are common in women who take antibiotics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, which kill a range of bacteria, also kill healthy bacteria in your vagina, leading to overgrowth of yeast.

• Increased estrogen levels. Yeast infections are more common in women with higher estrogen levels — such as pregnant women or women taking high-dose estrogen birth control pills or estrogen hormone therapy.

• Uncontrolled diabetes. Women with poorly controlled blood sugar are at greater risk of yeast infections than women with well-controlled blood sugar.

• Impaired immune system. Women with lowered immunity — such as from corticosteroid therapy or HIV infection — are more likely to get yeast infections.

Prevention

To reduce your risk of vaginal yeast infections, wear underwear that has a cotton crotch and doesn't fit too tightly.

It might also help to avoid:

• Tight-fitting pantyhose

• Douching, which removes some of the normal bacteria in the vagina that protect you from infection

• Scented feminine products, including bubble bath, pads and tampons

• Hot tubs and very hot baths

• Unnecessary antibiotic use, such as for colds or other viral infections

• Staying in wet clothes, such as swimsuits and workout attire, for long periods of time

It was not my first time having this kind of infection, it also happened when I was still pregnant with my son way back in 2019, and it only lasted foe a few days and was gone with out medications.

image source: pristyncare.com

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8AaWHv5ySSsw58cVfT98AxxNlQsWkOo0GiQ&usqp=CAU

Most of the articles that I found on the web are talking about the same thing: Itchiness, swelling, irritation and that's what I felt. so I backtracked the thing that I had and did that can be the cause of the dilemma9 that I had. Here's a review of that things:

Have you experienced the same even once in your life? I hope you will not because even when how careful we are with our bodies, it's gonna happen just as they said.

Well, we women had different levels of taking care of our body, some might have extra care: feminine products for down there and some other thing, which some I do not even know because I am contented with just washing with antibacterial soap when washing. It has been this way for a long time so I concluded that it was not the cause.

I have been careful with the food that I eat too, I eat vegetables and limit myself from consuming a lot of sugar-contained food which causes a rise in blood sugar levels. Though I drink a few cups of coffee daily, I had minimal sugar in it so I feel safe from having uncontrolled diabetes.

But just after my monthly period, I ran out of my oral contraceptive and my husband asked for some in the barangay health center and he was given a different kind of pills. I told him I needed the old one because I have gotten used to it and I rarely have headaches before my monthly period but it took him too long to buy and was forced to drink what was available.

And the contraceptive was what I suspected caused my discomfort because teh content was different from what my body had gotten used to. As I have said, I am no doctor but I hope I am correct with my theory.

Yeast infection is also caused by the weakening of the immune system

And I have been having very little sleep and a lot of stress lately.

The Remedies

There are lots of remedies that I saw some other girls do on YouTube, including

• sitting on vinegar

• putting coconut oil down there

• putting yogurt

• pill medication

• and antifungal creams that are purposely made for vaginal yeast infections

But not all of what is mentioned above works and some of it were not even advised by the medical experts.

But the good thing is that it's almost gone now and I am feeling better. The remedy that I used? I just washed and washed, and ate healthy food including a heavy dose of pure Vitamin C from Kalamansi juice to help my body rebuild my immunity and cope up form infections. I planned to buy the cream but payday was only today and I am having second thoughts about buying some. But maybe I still need them, I hope they are not as expensive.

What about you, have you experienced this too? Let me know in the comment section .