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Hello Aunt Vadge,
I’m sexually active and have slept with three people, sometimes without protection, though my STI tests have come back negative each time. I recently had a water [urinary tract] infection and got tablets from the doctor. After the tablets finished, I started getting an itchy feeling in my labia majora that’s got worse over the days. Now my whole clitoris has swollen up and is really sore when I move or sit, and I’ve had lots of discharge, some of it like cottage cheese. Please help.
Gemma, Liverpool
Dear Gemma,
You seem to have a very clear case of a post-antibiotic yeast infection. These are really common after a course of antibiotics, which kill off the good bacteria that keep the yeasts in your gut and vagina in check. Think of it like an ecosystem, where each bacteria or yeast keeps the others in balance. Antibiotics kill bacteria but not yeast, so the yeasts are left to have a small party. That gives you exactly the symptoms you’re describing, and you’re suffering this fate alongside just about every woman who’s ever had to take antibiotics.
It’s really uncomfortable, but luckily it’s easily fixed. You have a few options.
The first is to adjust your diet – often just removing carbs can have an impressive impact on vaginal yeast infections, since the gut and vagina are very closely linked in terms of bacterial colonies. Whatever’s going on in the gut is often going on in the vagina too.
The second step is critical anyway: repopulate your good bacteria, which you MUST ALWAYS do after antibiotics. Every single time. Your good bacterial colonies get killed off by the antibiotics along with the rest, and without them you’re left open to all sorts of bacteria, yeasts and viruses they’d normally protect you from. Good bacteria keep your whole body working properly.
The third is a tea tree oil douche with warm water, followed by a yoghurt douche. Do all of these things, in the steps below, and you’ll very likely feel completely fine in a day or two.
Here’s what to do
- Stop eating white carbohydrates – white bread, white pasta, white rice, potatoes – for a couple of days if you can. Yeasts love these foods because they’re full of sugar, and yeast feeds on sugar.
- Check your house, or ask family, for some tea tree oil. If there’s none and you can afford it, buy some Australian tea tree oil at the pharmacy (Step 4).
- Beg, borrow or steal about 5 to 10 quid and go to a health food store. Ask for live probiotic plain yoghurt to treat a yeast infection. It must be alive, with a high probiotic count and no added sugar, colours, flavours or preservatives – plain, sour yoghurt. We’re adding this back to your system to get the good germs back so they stop the yeast overpopulating, like introducing goats to keep the grass down. Buy a big tub, because you’re going to eat it and also put it in your vagina until the problem is solved. (If you have enough money, ask instead for a probiotic to treat a yeast infection – they’ll know what to give you – and take four capsules a day in four separate doses.)
- Go to your local pharmacy and ask for a syringe canister – you’ll want at least 20ml, but bigger is fine. They’re cheap, maybe 50 pence. They’re often in the baby section, so ask.
- If you have the tea tree oil, do a tea tree douche: a large cup of warm water with about five drops of tea tree oil, fill your syringe canister, lie back on a towel, and fill your vagina with the warm water and tea tree oil. Hold it in as long as you can, then squirt it out onto the towel (or do it in the bath). Repeat a few times. You may notice your symptoms ease. Repeat a couple of times a day until the symptoms disappear, then stop.
- Then put about 20ml of yoghurt into the syringe canister, lie back with a towel underneath, and very gently push the tip into your vagina. Squeeze the yoghurt as far in as you can, then remove the canister. A small tampon or a panty liner helps hold the yoghurt in, since it can get messy. Test it out at home first. Alternatively, make a yoghurt douche – after the tea tree douche, not at the same time – by mixing 20ml of yoghurt with 20ml of water, and repeat several times.
- Eat a few spoonfuls of yoghurt four times a day, keeping enough for both your vagina and your mouth.
Your problem should clear up quickly if you do this for a couple of days. When the itch and discharge stop, you’re done.
A few notes
- Don’t use pure essential oils like tea tree on your skin without diluting them a lot – undiluted, they’re very strong and can cause a bad reaction or burn.
- Don’t make a habit of douching – done regularly, it can leave you more prone to other infections.
- The reason you got the urinary tract infection in the first place may be that your bacteria need a bit of support – see our fermented foods page for cheap ways to keep your bacteria levels healthy at home.
- You need your good bacteria to keep your vagina healthy, and smelling and tasting delicious.
- Try to always use condoms, since they protect your vagina from a partner’s germs. If you’re not sure how, there are good demonstrations online from reputable sexual-health sources – don’t leave it up to the person you’re sleeping with.
- You also don’t want to fall pregnant before you’re ready, so it’s worth seeing your doctor about contraception – there are lots of options.
Your problem should quickly be solved if you do this for a couple of days. When the itch and discharge stop, you’re done.
Please write back any time – we’d love to hear from you.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
