Aunt Vadge: I think I have my first yeast infection

Dear Aunt Vadge,

I have been taking antibiotics for my sinus infection for about a week. I recently had food poisoning and lost a lot of hydration from it as well.

Around the same time, I had sex with my boyfriend. Today is the day 2 days after the stomach bug, and I’m fine, I just feel my clitoris cause it feels like something is like mushy on it and I feel lower and it’s hella Discharge… and I’m thinking it’s a yeast infection.

I just am very holistic so I wanna just use boric acid. I’m just scared – I’ve never had one and have been crying for an hour .

Yours,
S
Age: 20
Country: United States

Dear S,

It’s really common to get a yeast infection after using antibiotics – read more about why that happens. In a nutshell, you have likely depleted your healthy flora that keep yeasts in check, and the yeasts have then been allowed to overgrow in what’s known as a yeast bloom.

Using boric acid vaginally until your symptoms go away is a good idea, but remember that your digestive system is suffering the same fate. It can help to take a yeast-killing probiotic for a few days, so check the label of refrigerated probiotics for a probiotic yeast called Saccharomyces bouldardii.

Also try to avoid carbs for a few days – yeast loves carbs – and you’ll naturally reset. When you have antibiotics in future, just remember that this happens quite easily and it’s really common.

It isn’t very pleasant, but you’ve just got a yeast bloom rather than an infection per se. Yeast naturally inhabits our bodies and all that’s happened is the balance has been thrown off. Your body will naturally correct itself, but you can certainly hurry it along.

Avoid the use of drug antifungals if you can, as they create resistance in yeasts in the same way that bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

You can find many options for how to treat yeast blooms on our yeast infections page.

I know it might seem horrible, but vulvovaginal yeast infections are really common and after antibiotics more so. You don’t need to worry – your body is behaving in a normal way and you don’t have anything to be concerned about. You’ll recover in a few days.

If you don’t recover in a few days, then I would suggest going to your doctor and asking for a culture to be taken and go from there.

Best,
Aunt Vadge