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What are vaginal yeast infection symptoms? There are small numbers of fungus (also known as yeast) that live normally in the vagina. And the yeast infection will occur if the number of yeast cells is too many or growing too much in the vagina. But it is common problem in many women, which may bother a lot! Read also how to cure yeast infection!
Most vaginal yeast infections are generated or triggered by Candida albicans (a type of yeast). A normal condition of vagina (at the healthy level) should have a small number of yeast cells, and some bacteria such as; Lactobacillus acidophilus that has important function to control the number of some organisms in the vagina like the yeast cells.
But caused by a certain condition, the balance of organisms in the vagina may change and will make yeast grow too a lot, which eventually will generate some symptoms of vaginal yeast infection that may bother you a lot!
Some causes that can disturb the balance of these organisms are; health problems like HIV infection or diabetes that can cause imbalance hormones, pregnancy (it can cause a higher level of estrogen), poor cleanliness of the genital area or due to consuming a certain antibiotics that also can give contribution to this imbalance.
What are the symptoms or signs of vaginal yeast infections?
The symptoms may be different from one woman to another. A week before a menstrual period is the most common you will feel these symptoms. Some of the common vaginal yeast infection symptoms are:
- In the sexual intercourse, you may feel a certain pain in the vagina.
- You find irritated skin (red) around the opening to the labia.
- When urinating, you may also feel pain, especially if the irritated skin is touched by urine while urinating.
- You get vaginal discharge (odorless, thick, clumpy, or white are some common signs).
- Get feeling itchy in the vagina, and so on!
Prevention tips
So what you can do to prevent a vaginal yeast infection? There are several ideas that you can do, and below are some helpful tips for you:
- Avoid any things that can disturb the balance of organisms in the vagina such as; douching, using (perfumes, sprays, or talcs) in the vaginal area, or unnecessary antibiotics!
- Avoid wiping from back to front to prevent the spread of yeast from the anus, therefore don’t forget to always keep remember to wipe from “front to back” after using the toilet!
- Avoid using tight-clothing (because can increase the moisture in the genital area due to the increased body heat), and wear cotton is more recommended. Cotton underwear will be helpful enough to eliminate the developing of moisture in the genital area.
- Like mentioned before, diabetes can increase your risk of developing vaginal yeast infection. Therefore don’t be lazy to control well your blood sugar levels.
- Keep well the cleanliness of the genital area!
- And keep well the entire health of your body by eating a balanced diet rich in nonfat dairy products, vegetables, whole grains and fruits. Free-fat yogurt is also good idea for a healthy diet. Read also other prevention tips in here!
Contact your doctor to get more detailed information about vaginal yeast infection symptoms and what you should do for the prevention!
