Thrush advice needed

[witsend]

Has anyone please got any advice about how to stop re-occurent attacks of thrush. I have had them on and off since the birth of my first child 7 years ago. Sometimes the attacks go for about 6 months and I usually get them, like now, just before I am due on. I have spoken to the gp who really wasn't very sympathetic and basically said it's one of those things. It is just making my life a misery and rather than keep buying stuff over the counter I want to eradicate it once and for all. I have had a coil for 4 years and am not sure if this is making the problem worse. I do drink those friendly bacteria drinks as well, tried live yoghurt etc. I really have had enough though as it is so uncomfortable.
Sorry about the name change but I am slightly embarrased

I used to get recurrent attacks of thrush and bought loads of canesten cream and had a few of the canesten pessaries too. You need to make sure that you dh/dp is not carrying it around with him iykwim so when you treat yourself make sure you treat him too. Also I found that using natural bio yoghurt is much more comforting (although a bit messy) and cooling!! Good luck

nothing to be emarrased about witsend. i read about it quite a bit in the past and the general consensus seems to be that a change in diet might help. Avoiding white bread and sugary things as i can remember. ONLY wear cotton underwear ALWAYS. Use a Johnson baby bar of soap for personal cleaning down there all the time. Do not use bath products (stick to a few drops of lavander oil for example if you want to have a fragrant bath)of any kind unless you're absolutely sure they contain no parfumes and have ph balanced. Although in this country the medical opinion is not to use a douche , where i come from, apart from a medicated pessaries or cream they also reccomend that during treatment you should douche once a day alternanting between an alcaline solution (1 tbs bicarbonate of soda dissolved in 1 l of previously boiled water so it's sterile) and a slightly acidic one (1tbs vinegar mixed with again 1 l of clean water). However i don't know wher you would buy a douche in this country and whether you should use one if doctors here don't reccomend it. Also a tampon soaked in live plain yoghurt applied now and then apparently helps but i really don't know how you'd go about it. And sterilize all your underwear. And when washing it normally do not use fragrant washing powders or softneres. best to wash your underwear sepparately, it's easier.I hope this helps. Good luck!
PS and yes, make absolutely certain dp gets treated as well.

Echinacea will both boost your immune system and kill the candida/thrush. 3 times a day while you have it, then once a day as a preventative.

Get some bacteria in capsules, they will be much stronger and much more effective than drinks/yoghurts, especially if you get a good brand such as Solgar Multi-billion Dophilus. again use both to get rid of thrush and use as a preventative.

add 7 drops of tea tree to bath. and again use both to get rid of thrush and use as a preventative.

some people who get so many recurrent bouts aslo find a yeast-free and sugar-free diet helps.

absolutely spot on gloworm. i just remember seing in the health food shop some homeopatic remedies called Candida so specifically for this kind of thing. Deffinetly worth trying but make sure you take them correctly ( i think there are some rules for homeopathic tablets like not eating beforehand or the other way around, not really sure now(

I know how you feel and am suffering a bout as I type! I try to keep on top of it though by taking the maximum dose of acidophilus capsules - available from any health shop or chemist. I keep taking them even when the thrush has cleared, for a long time after. I think the reason it has come back following a`long period of being clear is due to tirednedd and being run down and not eating 'proper' food, following the birth of ds2 (5mths). Things have not been easy since his arrival and the thrush has come back with a vengeance. Hopefully, though once things settle down, and the infection clears up, it won't come back for another long time (preferably never). Also, all other advice re cotton underwear, no soap products etc all go without saying. The capsules definately helped me though I had to take four a day for months, before relaxing a bit and not dreading another attack every 4-6wks! I do sympathise with you though and hope you get it cleared up (for good) soon!

Thanks everyone for your kind advice. My DH has actually caught it from me before as we don't always know that I have it as it usually comes on just before my period. This also causes havoc with your sex life as I like to leave it for 2 weeks afterwards to make sure and to be honest it's so uncomfortable that I wouldn't anyway. I really do sympathise Aero it is so awful. I feel quite run-down when I have it too, is this normal and can it affect you in general. For the past 2 smear tests I have had have shown candida as well even though I seriously at the time didn't realsie I had it. I am trying to stay away from conventional things as I am not sure if they work and the tablet can only be taken every 6 months and I had 1 a couple of months ago. I know this isn't going to be the last time I have it either

add a drop of tea tree to a tampon... works very well. make a solution of tea tree and warm water to wash with, very soothing actually. make a lotion using using tea tree in e-45 lotion. this is also very soothing.

i have a friend that swore by using a shower gel, with mint and tea tree, cant remember the make but she reckons it keeps it at bay and waked you up!

The acidophilus capsules are basically the friendly bacteria in a capsule form (I personally hate yoghurt etc and find it easier to take than stomaching something I don't like). They're quite expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as keeping buying thrush treatments which I find have little effect after a while anyway. The one thing I have done before though regarding my dh is to buy a treatment for myself and one for him (flucanozole tablet) and treat both of us simultaneously. The only thing is that I had to buy them from two chemists and say they were both for myself as they're not really happy to sell them to men - was told I would need a prescription. The doctor was happy enough though when I told her what I'd done - she had said to treat him too but he kept forgetting to use the cream, so this was easier. Once treated, then I kept on taking the acidophilus capsules to keep the yeast (candida) balanced. Do try them - they really should help keep it at bay once you've killed this particular infection in both you and your dh. It is horrid though and does mess with your mind as it's sooooo uncomfortable and esp when it keeps coming back - you just feel you'll never be rid of it. much sympathy to you and HTH.

Could I just pick all your brains - I think I have thrush (sorry to all those sufferers but I have never had it before) what are the symptoms? My bits are on fire, they are burning and really itchy. I have just returned from holiday where I have been mostly wearing a swimming costume and I suspect it is thrush - I need to get something on the way home from a chemist so what do you recommend that is easily available.

canaesten cream (not spellt right) but a cream that really stops the hotness, can buy at any pharmacist without doctor's signature.

sorry forgot to answer first bit, sounds very like thrush, particularly if you were wearing your swimming costume a lot and it wasn't cotton.

I had it recently; using one of those 'neurofen' syringes, I sent 5 mls of live natural yoghurt...urm....'upwards' before I went to bed one evening. Got up the next morning and had a bath with half a cup of vinegar and a cup of salt added. I stank like the local chippy, but the relief was heavenly! It totally obliterated it. Shame DH didn't do similar as he reinfested me shortly after !

(a handful of salt, not cup full!)

Just to let you know that thrush can be a real problem for many women especially if you don't get rid of it all with a first treatment. Taking a fluconazole (oral) tablet can be very effective but the effectiveness will wear off if you use this treatment frequently. At work (i am a sexual health nurse) we recommend a course of canesten pessaries used continuously over 5 nights. Obviously this is quite expensive, but if you go along to your local GUM (sexual health) clinic they will give you the treatment for free. It is also a good idea to get your partner treated, even via the clinic or by using canesten cream around the tip of the penis.

BTW I would really discourage anyone from using vaginal douches. Women's vaginas do a great job of cleaning themselves and do not like having anything put inside them! By doing this you wash away all the natural bacteria which is present to keep everything healthy and make you far more prone to thrush and other sore opportunistic bacterial infections such as bacterial vaginosis (BV). I know douching is commonplace in some cultures, but at the clinic where i work we do see a real high rate of vaginal problems in women who douche. You should avoid using any soap, tea-tree oil, fragranced or herbal products around the genitals. Always think, would I put this product in my mouth and if the answer is no, don't put it around the vagina!

"Always think, would I put this product in my mouth and if the answer is no, don't put it around the vagina!"

not that i am doubting you, but i wouldnt fancy putting canestan pessaries in my mouth 5 nights on the trot...

i disagree about the tea tree oil. it is natural and works. when i said about making up a wash, that was not a douche, just an outer wash and a very mild mix at that.

but its whatever works really.

best wishes
rosie

That made me laugh that did roises! I wouldn't put canesten pessaries in my mouth either, so I guess when you look at it that way...! Its just that so many women put alsorts of washes, perfumes and creams inside and around the vagina you wouldn't believe it. Lots then tend to end up with infections and soreness. Personal hygiene manufacturers really rely on women's insecurities about vaginal smells and secretions and really encourage the use of products, but in my opinion they tend to do more harm than good.

hello hellomama ,

glad you took that with the humour i intended! i do agree about perfumed products and marketing... i remember femfresh and elle!

some women are unluckily prone to thrush and i sympathise. its extremely annoying.