yeast and bacteria infections...are they contagious?

[laydy.livejournal.com]

I am FINALLY getting yeast infection relief. Boric acid has saved my life. Not kidding. I went to the doctor and i had a bacterial infection and a yeast infection. I got clindess (sp?) for the bacterial infection and I felt 100% better after that then I started using the boric acid capsules a couple of nights later...i've only used it two nights now and i have no weird odor or discharge. I'm so happy, you have NO idea how. I will never take my happy yeast and bacteria free vagina for granted ever again.

QUESTION!! Are these sexually transmitted? I looked in the memories and didn't get exactly what I wanted. If so, is it common for men to get these and how should I go about treating my fiance for both bacteria and yeast? Does he need to visit a doctor or are there OVC or home remedies he can use? I do NOT want to get infected EVER again.

Comments

[cityofgods.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are. A male can get a yeast infection and its not pretty when they do, the process is rather painful to get rid of it. He would have to see the doctor. From what I've seen and maybe things have changed they have to stick this..tube like thing into his urethra to get rid of a yeast infection. They don't just give him antibiotics like a woman would get.

He needs to see a doctor to get tested for a YI and whatever bacterial infection you have.

[violet-tigress1.livejournal.com]

Iknow that yeast can be passed back & forth, but I always thought that most men weren't quite as susceptible to yeast.

[cityofgods.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how easy it is for them to get it, I just know when they do get it that getting rid of it is not a pleasant experience.

[kitleen.livejournal.com]

i'm quite sure that nowadays a cream is enough though. nothing scary being shoved in pee holes.

[jenn-possible.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you're thinking of some kind of urinary tract infection? I've never heard of what you're talking about for a yeast infection, and antibiotics aren't prescribed for yeast infections (although they can cause them).

Anyway, to the OP, my partner and I passed a yeast infection back and forth, and he just used the external Monistat cream for a few days to get rid of it. If it persists, he can get a prescription from his doctor for Diflucan just like a female-bodied person would.

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

I'm going to chime in that you may be thinking of some other type of urethral infection. Yeast infections in men are most often external, on the penis; although they're often asymptomatic, they can get pretty nasty, but they are usually easily cured by anything from plain yogurt to over-the-counter vaginal YI creams.

My partner and I have passed quite a few back and forth and had to treat him too (and a couple of them were quite awful for him), and neither of us have required medical attention to treat it successfully.

[laydy.livejournal.com]

thank you!! i'm glad i can just get some OTC stuff instead of having to send him to the doctor...

[candytease.livejournal.com]

Oh phew. Glad I saw this after I posted :)

[candytease.livejournal.com]

OMG REALLY!?
That is terrible news. Now I'm even more afraid to tell my bf that we may be passing it back and forth. I feel bad now, even though there really wasn't anything I could have done to prevent it.

[kitleen.livejournal.com]

i don't know about bacterial infections but i know for a fact that yeast infections are transmissible. wait to have sex til it's completely gone. i don't know much about remedies for your boyfriend, but can get a cream that he puts on for a few days.

[hiriel1804.livejournal.com]

Yes, you can pass it on to your fiance, who can give it back to you etc. My prof charmingly called it the ping pong effect :p
I'm sure the creams used for external yeast on vulvas can be used on penises as well?

As for BV I don't know, sorry.

[oopsiedaisies7.livejournal.com]

I think the first comment isn't entirely correct--

I passed a YI to my boyfriend this summer, and it was awful for him! It was a thousand times worse than my YI...he got itchy/sore pustules all over the head of his penis and his foreskin, white plaque covering the non-red parts, and it smelled horrible! I felt very bad for him. I'm assuming this was on the severe end of the continuum of male YIs, but all we had to do to get rid of it was let his penis "soak" in plain yogurt twice a day for a week, and then since that wasn't working as well as we had hoped, he soaked it in a 1:1 water/vinegar solution, which cleared it up in a day or two.

He didn't go to the doctor for it, but about a week later he had a physical. His doctor said that the way we treated it was fine, and suggested a YI cream (like, monistat) if it ever happened again.

To prevent this, I think the general rule of thumb is to wait until all of your symptoms are gone, but to be safe I now wait a week AFTER that. Merely "waiting until my symptoms cleared" resulted in my boyfriend getting the aforementioned YI, which we would like to avoid in the future =)

It's not terribly common for men to get YIs, but it's more common in uncircumcised men, as I understand it. I'm not sure about bacterial infections.

[laydy.livejournal.com]

bless his heart...that sounds painful. my fiance is circumcised which my doctor told me is good as far as infections go. he doesn't have any symptoms but i've heard the men sometimes don't show symptoms...i'm going to stop by and get some cream for him just to be on the safe side. and yes we are going to wait on sex until we are both treated and i'm for sure cleared up! thanks for the comment it was helpful!

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

I have heard that BV cannot be passed back and forth. It is sometimes weirdly and confusingly called a STI, but men can't get it...its just that for some women having sex can trigger it.

Yeast can be passed back and forth, and a dude can use monistat, yogurt, or lotrimin to cure it. I imagine he could soak in a boric acid solution as well, although I don't really know.

[laydy.livejournal.com]

sounds fairly easy to clear up if he actually has one. i'm going to pick him up some cream just in case! i don't want us to pass it, it's so annoying! thanks for the helpful comment!

[firesorceress.livejournal.com]

Agreed! I kept getting BV every so often, and not being sure how I got it. Finally, a doctor put both me AND my husband on the antibiotic for it, and poof! I haven't seen hide nor hair of it since. If you get it again, try to convince your doc to put your husband on it too. Likelihood is, you'll have to bring him in with you.

Agreed as well that yeast can be passed back and forth. My doctor told me to just use the Monistat cream on his whole penis in the morning and night. It seemed to work :-)

[firesorceress.livejournal.com]

Btw, how are you using the boric acid? I'm curious in case I get any future yeast infections, since it seemed to work so well for you :-)

[laydy.livejournal.com]

my doctor called me in some boric acid capsules to my pharmacy...they are just vaginal suppositories. very easy...i just put one in every night for one week then do it 3 times a week to prevent infections. it keeps the pH in the vagina balanced so icky stuff like yeast or bad bacteria can't grow. i have tried EVERYthing to get rid of it so the boric acid was a real blessing. i had even expected it to not work. haha.

[firesorceress.livejournal.com]

Huh... See, I found some at supersupplements, but they're only partially boric acid, and they didn't seem to work as well. They helped, but they were really really grainy. Perhaps I'll have to try to get a prescription next time :-)

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

I've had good luck making my own -- I had my pharmacy order some boric acid for me, and bought some empty capsules. There is an awesome photo-essay on how to make them here (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/8166938.html). :)

[malibu-blonde.livejournal.com]

you could always try balance activ :)
it does the same thing and it got rid of my BV straight away!