How to Get Rid of Yeast Infection: Things Not To Do When You Have Vaginal Yeast Infection

Today, after we have discussed brief overview of yeast infection, our next topic will be things not to do when you have a vaginal yeast infection. Yeast infections are very, very common and I'm sure you have questions about this. Let's dive into it today.

Yeast infections are completely common. I would say most people, most females, as you're living throughout your entire life, you'll really have a yeast infection at some point in your life. When you do have a yeast infection, know that number one, it is not an STD, so this is not something that you got from someone else you had sex with. 

Yeast lives in the vagina. It loves being there. It is normally there on a regular basis. 

However, whenever the yeast grows more than it ought to, you get a yeast infection. 

Now, when you're treating a yeast infection, there are many different ways that you can go about this. You can get your own treatment in the pharmacy. 

You can get this at any kind of retail store. It really doesn't matter. Or you can get a prescription from your doctor to help you with this treatment.

Either way, you are probably going to be completely treated within seven days of starting the treatment. So we're going to talk about important things not to do when you have a yeast infection. That way you don't get another one and it feels like you're having this recurring issue. We'll help you out with that today. 

Don't Stop Your Medication Before its Due 

So the first thing that I always recommend to my patients is that you want to complete your medicine. Now, think about it as if you have a bacterial infection, for instance, whenever you are given antibiotics, it almost always says complete the entire amount of the medicines we give you before stopping. And the reason is sometimes we get treatments because we're feeling irritated, we're feeling symptoms, something doesn't feel right. 

Then once you start your medications, you start feeling better and you think in your mind, well, this infection must be over. It must be done. I can stop the medications early. 

But that is not the case. Whenever you start to feel like things are getting better, that your symptoms are getting better, that often means that the majority of the infectious problem is being resolved, but not all of it. 

Now, imagine this, if you have a yeast infection that has a thousand yeast, normal would be around hundred. If you start feeling better when your yeast level gets to about half of what it was to cause your problem initially, then you still have a majority of additional or extra yeast hanging around. With that, those yeast can continue to multiply and grow too much and cause a problem again.

What's important is that when you do take your medications the entire course, you're bringing that infectious agent or that yeast down to normal levels, decreasing the likelihood of it overgrowing again. And that's very, very important. And we're talking about yeast infections, but this applies to any infection, any bacterial problem, even with viruses. 

It's very important that you stay the course, finish your medications all the way. So your infection does not recur again. 

Don't Stay in Wet Underwear or Clothes 

It might sound really intuitive, like, why would I stay in wet clothing? But let's talk about a few scenarios where you might be in a wet environment, which is actually the incubating system for a yeast infection to occur.

Swimming

Many of us do this, especially in the summertime, you're on vacation, you're by the pool, you're at the beach, you're having a really, really good time. If you stay in wet swimwear throughout the day, you're subconsciously or not paying attention to the fact that you're in wet garment for a very long time. 

Yeast loves moisture, literally, you being in a wet swimsuit throughout the day may cause yeast to overgrow. 

Gymnastics 

Similarly, if you went to the gym and worked out, had a really, really good workout and you started sweating, which we almost always do when we're at the gym, what happens is that wet underwear, even your wet underpants, your leggings, shorts, whatever it is that you're wearing, if that has a lot of moisture, and we tend to sweat down there, right? If that happens, then that can cause your yeast to overgrow as well. 

So it's very important that you come out of that wet garment very, very quickly. It is okay for you to wear two or three swimsuits during the day, just to make sure that you're in a new pair, a dry pair when you're not in the water. Or when you finish at the gym, I recommend that you get out of that wet garment all like immediately. 

Sometimes we say, well, home is like five or 10 minutes away. Let me go ahead and just stay in this. I'll go home and I'll change right away. And so that's too long. That timeframe is enough for yeast to start overgrowing. So get out of that wet garment as soon as you can. 

Don't Skip a Shower 

This might seem like, why are you telling me this, but don't skip a shower. So it sounds very simple and silly, but oftentimes it doesn't quite go that way, right? We want to take daily showers. 

And on that note, don't over shower because sometimes patients will tell me that they're taking like three or four showers per day, completely not necessary. And definitely don't put anything inside the vagina when you're trying to wash it and when you're showering. 

Once a day showering is just perfect. Don't overdo it. Now on that note, as we're talking about showers, it is very important that you use the simplest items down there, especially when you have a yeast infection. 

Now the area might be inflamed. The area might be swollen. The vagina, the vulva is just, it doesn't feel really good. 

When you're washing the area down there, sometimes we think that we need to do a lot. We need to use a lot of soap. We need to use a lot of lotions and moisturizers and all these sweet smelling things. We need to wear like two or three pads, panty liners. You really don't need to do any of that. Simple and less is better. 

So when you're washing down there, wash with water only. Yes please, i mean it. Water only is the best way, especially when you're having a yeast infection. 

So you can use the water on your hand, warm, and just wash your vulva, you can get through there but not too much. 

You may be able to use a very, very light wash if you're just like someone that think water cannot be enough you need soap. And so that's completely fine. Just go with something that is a light liquid wash. 

Stay away from those hard soaps altogether. Light liquid washes are better for down there, especially if they are unscented or fragrance free.

But if you'd like to go with the best way that you can take care of your vagina and your vulva, water is the best way to go.

Now that we're talking about vaginal care, it's also very important for me to mention another tip. This tip is for you to air dry your vagina.

Don't Suffocate Your Vagina 

You don't need a lot of towels and different things rubbing there. Understand that the vulva, your vaginal lips, they're very sensitive. I like to think about it as like the inside part of your mouth. 

You don't use a toothbrush, scrubbing your cheeks on the inside. You wouldn't, right? It will be very abrasive. It can cause injury. You might start bleeding. You'll have cuts there. And we don't like cuts there. 

Now, if you think about your vagina and your vulva as being the same type of tissue with your mouth, the same type of space, that will tell you that you are trying to do too much and scrubbing the area too much. You can cause infections other than yeast infection happening there. You can cause cuts and bleeding.

These things can lead to you having pain with sexual intercourse. And sometimes even sitting can cause you a problem when you have these irritations and these cuts within your mucosa and your tissue lining down there. So let's prevent it and air dry your vagina.

Now I will say that sometimes when you have an infection and you are getting treatment that goes down there. And sometimes when you're walking around and you're moving, the treatment will start to leak out. 

And so you will get kind of more wet down there. And you may want to use a panty liner. It is okay when you're getting a treatment that has a suppository going inside the vagina. Completely okay, but only for the duration of the treatment. Outside of that, if you're living your life, you're not with an infection, the infection has been cured and treated. There's no need to wear a panty liner. And in fact, there's no reason to wear an underwear at all.  

Avoid Scratching Your Vulva and or Vagina 

I know it's itchy down there with a yeast infection. But whenever you're itching and you scratch the area, what happens is that you're causing more inflammation in that area. 

Again, can cause you to have cuts within the lining or the tissue of your vulva. And that we don't want to happen. If you're having a lot of itching and you're just trying to get some relief, one really good thing that you can try to do is apply cold in some forms. 

So some people will use like a cold pack. Some people might use a cold rag, just wet it. Some people will put it in the freezer. 

You can just use cold water, whatever makes it a little bit cooler than what would be normal room temperature and apply to the vulva down there. And sometimes you'll get so much relief by just having some cooler products against the area.

And if you try that, I would say, do that maybe two to three times a day, if you have that time allotment available, and that will bring you a lot of relief when it comes to itching. 

Avoid Wearing Nylon Underwears 

We want to avoid wearing nylon products and underwear because whenever we use material or wear material that tends to hold a lot of heat, it will cause the vaginal area to also overheat, sweat, and cause overgrowth of your yeast that is normally there. So good tip, try to go with cotton underwear. 

And if that doesn't work for you, I would say no underwear altogether. 

Should I Have Sex While I Have Yeast Infection?

Another question that I get a lot of times is that, patients want to know, well, should I have sex while I have a yeast infection? And my answer is no, you do want to avoid sexual activity while you're getting treatment. And the reason is semen provides more moisture in the vagina, especially if it's unprotected. 

Number one reason is that semen can cause yeast to overgrow as well. So if you're already having a problem with overgrowth, and especially in the process of you having treatment, it would almost be contraindicated, or it will be counterintuitive for you to go ahead and provide more moisture while you're being treated at the same time. 

So the best thing to do is to wait at least seven days, or if you must do, use condoms so that that moisture does not apply on the inside. 

Do not Put Anything Inside Your Vagina 

To wrap up today's conversation, let's talk about one final thing not to do when you have a yeast infection. This is do not put anything inside your vagina. And the reason for that is that, with yeast infection you are very inflamed. 

You're infected at that time. You don't want to cause more irritation in the area. So things to avoid include tampons and vaginal cups. 

So if you happen to be on your period and you have a yeast infection at the same time, it is best for you to use something outside of your body. So for instance, you can use a sanitary napkin or a pad. That would be perfect. 

That way it collects everything, but you don't want to place a tampon on the inside in the area where you're being treated. Or even if you didn't start treatment yet, you don't want to place it there because it can make your yeast infection worse. 

The second thing is that do not douche, I've probably said this a thousand times. If you're new to this blog, you might've not heard me say this before, but it's very important that we do not practice these things. So douching, if it's a new concept to you is where you get a bottle of liquid that is often sold in pharmacies, inside of this liquid are different chemicals. This liquid is forced inside of the vagina to kind of wash it out, to clear out things. And these were used historically for a very long time in a lot different cultures, but it proves to be very dangerous to our system and can cause more infections. 

So it might sound like maybe douching will help to wash out the yeast, but understand that yeast is not just in the space that you can see inside of the vagina or in your discharge or on your underwear. Yeast is also in your body, it's in your tissues, it's in your vagina, it's in vulva, it is inside cells where you can't necessarily see it. 

So if you're trying to wash it out, you won't be able to do that because it's inside of your body too deeply for you to be able to do that. In fact, douching can cause more infections. So all together, nothing in the vagina, complete your treatment, and you'll start to feel a thousand times better. 

Conclusion

That's all I have for you today, I hope you enjoyed reading this post and you gained a lot from it. Happy learning.

References 

1. Jean Abbott, Clinical and Microscopic Diagnosis of Vaginal Yeast Infection: A Prospective Analysis, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 25, Issue 5, 1995, Pages 587-591, ISSN 0196-0644.

2. Sobel JD, Barbieri RL, Eckler K. Patient education: Vaginal yeast infection (beyond the basics). UpToDate. Inc Updated February. 2019;7.

3. Moshfeghy Z, Tahari S, Janghorban R, Najib FS, Mani A, Sayadi M. Association of sexual function and psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety and stress in women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. Journal of the Turkish German Gynecological Association. 2020;21(2):90.