A yeast infection during pregnancy is a fairly common occurrence. In fact, yeast infections (also known as Candida) happen more during pregnancy than at any other time in a women’s life.
But although they don’t pose any real threat to pregnancies, if you suspect you have a yeast infection during pregnancy, you should consult with your doctor as soon as possible.
You should do this because, the symptoms are very distressing, and during pregnancy, the conditions in your body are such that they encourage Candida, making it that much more difficult to eliminate.
So what are these conditions that they give rise to a yeast infection during pregnancy ?
Causes of Yeast Infections During Pregnancy
Firstly, you need to understand that a yeast infection needs certain conditions to be met before one can be triggered. In other words, there’s usually one or more underlying condition that has to exist in order for the yeast-like bacteria called Candida Albicans (that exists in our bodies), to ‘overgrow’ into an actual infection.
These conditions can be grouped under the general headings of; friendly bacteria reduction, lowered immune system, high blood sugar, drug therapy, and hormonal imbalance.
During pregnancy, your hormones are out of balance and your vaginal area has more sugar in its secretions than normal due to all the chemical changes taking place. And, as you’ve now seen above, these are just two of the underlying causes of yeast infections. This is why yeast infection during pregnancy is so prevalent, especially in and around the vaginal area.
So what symptoms should you be looking for if you have a yeast infection during pregnancy ?
Symptoms of a Yeast Infection
Typical vaginal yeast infection symptoms are:-
- itching in the vagina / vulvar area
- burning sensation
- soreness
- pain when urinating
- pain during intercourse
- cottage cheese-like whitish discharge
The signs of an infection in the mouth (oral yeast infection – often called thrush) are:-
- white / yellowish raised spots on the tongue and mucous membranes
- when scraped off the skin under these spots can bleed
- burning sensation in the mouth / throat
- sometimes difficulty in swallowing
You can also get a yeast infection on the skin, especially in those parts of the body that are warm and moist, e.g. in folds of skin, groin, underarms, under breasts, between fingers, under fingernails, etc. Typical symptoms are rashes, irritation, skin softening, lesions, etc.
Treating Yeast Infection During Pregnancy
If this is your first possible case of Candida (yeast infection) then you must attend your doctor for a proper diagnosis. This is important because the symptoms of yeast infections can also be the signs of problems other than Candida.
Once having been diagnosed with the infection, your doctor will prescribe anti-fungal drugs (normally creams or pessaries only for a yeast infection during pregnancy), or may even just advise on which over-the-counter anti-fungal medications to take. These should be perfectly safe to use during pregnancy.
If you have had yeast infections before, and are confident of the symptoms, then you can use over-the-counter creams or pessaries including Clotrimazole or Miconazole, etc. But talk to the pharmacist to ensure that what you take is perfectly safe for your condition. It is believed that a 7 day formula gives best results.
Natural Remedies for Yeast Infection During Pregnancy
Even although there are drug-based medications that are safe to use for a yeast infection during pregnancy, there are many expectant mothers who just don’t want to take any chance at all with the health of their unborn baby, and so they seek natural ways to treat their yeast infections.
If you do a search of the Internet, particularly in health forums and Yahoo Answers, you’ll discover that one of the most popular and effective according to users is natural yogurt.
But it must be unsweetened yogurt with no added color or fruit. This kind of yogurt contains active beneficial bacteria which help to supplement our natural body bacteria that may have become be depleted.
Users talk about eating natural yogurt everyday and also applying it directly to the vaginal area. They also describe how they can take care of infection inside the vagina by dipping a tampon in the yogurt and leaving in over night. This to be repeated until the symptoms vanish.
There are a whole host of natural remedies out there, too many to list here, but some important things that you can do during pregnancy are:-
- Reduce your sugar intake as high blood sugar ‘feeds’ the fungus.
- Stop using feminine sprays, deodorants, douches, perfumed toilet paper, bubble baths, etc., as these upset your vaginal pH balance, which helps the fungus.
- Always wipe from front to back after the toilet.
- Wear loose-fitting, breathable clothes, particularly cotton underwear, as the yeast fungus just loves a warm, moist environment.
But not just pregnant women are turning to natural remedies, because more and more sufferers in general are seeking these kinds of solutions to their recurring problem. And this is because mainstream treatments only attack the symptoms, not the root cause(s) of yeast infections. So there is nothing to prevent an infection returning.
However, one ‘complete’ natural method that many people around the world have used is the ‘Yeast Infection No More!’ 5-step holistic system that has had many recorded successes.
You can get more on yeast infection during pregnancy and the facts on this popular holistic system by clicking here.
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