D:

[vierii.livejournal.com]

using a mule account because.. well, its embarrassing! D:

i am 99.9% i have a yeast infection. i'd go get myself some meds, but here's the problem - im currently in Japan for a while. So im here to ask, does anyone know of any over the counter treatments I can buy here? (preferably by name.) The more popular the better, since im in a small town.
I also did something really bad - i itched. I itched like crazy, pretty much subconsciously, and now my left inner labia is huge and inflamed. I cant go get any medicine until tomorrow night, so until then does anyone have any idea what I can do to bring the inflammation down? Besides not touching it, of course.
Right now, finding a cure for the inflammation is by biggest fear. every time i look down there I start to get really scared!
And since im only 99.9% sure and not 100%, what are the risks involved with taking a yeast infection medication? I mean, if I somehow don't have one. I'd go to a doctor, but I cant - I speak 0 japanese and have no coverage.

Ive gotten an answer to my first question! but now im really worried - its been a few hours, and ive iced it and while in the shower ran my swollen left inner labia under cold water, and the swelling has only gone down a little - i'd say about 1/4th of the way. It's late here in Japan and i'm going to go to bed, commando in hopes of letting things air out a bit. Fingers crossed its not like this in the morning, but just in case does anyone have any ideas other than the oil!?

Thanks so much guys!

Comments

[sabishii-kirito.livejournal.com]

I can't say anything about... Well most anything here, but this might help if you do need to go to a doctor--my dictionary has yeast infection listed as vaginal yeast infection: chitsu kanjida shou. You could go to a drug store and ask something like "chitsu kajida shou no kusuri ga arimasu ka?" If they have it, they'll drag you over to the section it's sold in.

I speak decent Japanese, but whenever I go to a doctor, I freeze and end up having to write a note explaining everything in case I forget something. If you need help with something like that and don't have anyone to ask in town, feel free to message me and I can write something (though it won't be fluent--it should be understandable though) and send it to you ASAP.

As far as medical coverage goes, I think doctors are required by law to treat anyone that goes in. You won't get the 70% health insurance coverage, but whenever I've gone to the doctor it's been pretty cheap before the deductable. The most I've ever paid was for an endoscopy, which was ~4500 (after deductable--including numbing meds, sleepy meds, the procedure, blood tests for hep C for equipment safety, and medicine). Most visits I've had have been much cheaper (dentist visit with two fillings for about 1500--3000 without coverage; flu testing for about 900; check up for stomach pain for about 1200, not to mention the insanely cheap prescription meds--when I had flu, I was literally given 5 kinds of pills and only paid about 1000) than anything I've had in the States.

I'm not trying to convince you to go in, especially if you're tight on cash and are extremely nervous (I'd be freaked out with someone I couldn't understand feeling my vag), but if you do decide to go and need some sort of explanatory note... Definitely send me a PM with what you want to say, and I can try to get it as close as possible for you.


Also, most doctors that I've talked to have known -very- basic English. They tend to know medical terms of their department, though conversation tends to be lacking.

Sorry for the ramblings. I've had to go to the doctor here way too many times, and I know how stressful it can be. Technical Japanglish is uber intimidating :x

[vierii.livejournal.com]

Whoa, thankyou so much! Saving this all for later use. Another thing thats keeping me away from the doctor is that Im here staying with a host family - so if i were to go to the doctor, i'd have to tell them.. and i really cant bring myself to tell someone i've know for a week about the possible yeastbeast D:

[sabishii-kirito.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee, yikes! Yea, that would definitely suck.

Good luck! Definitely let me know if you need help with language stuff. Like I said, I'm not fluent, but I've yet to have any disaster with any doctor I've visited, so... something is going right :p

And to correct myself from the first post, "chitsu KANJIDA shou no kusuri ga arimasuka." No idea what kajida is, but kanjida is just the japanified version of candida.

[sand-woman.livejournal.com]

One thing you may be able to get hold of is garlic. You can insert cloves of fresh garlic inside your vagina and they are good for curing yeast infections but won't cause a problem if it is not one. I do this all the time, and it works really well. But it does sound like the cream will help sooth everything, so good luck! I also use dilution of tea tree oil on the outside for soothing, if you happened to have that in but it's less likely I know.

[vierii.livejournal.com]

any idea where I can get a little more detailed info about the garlic thing? thanks!

[jarien.livejournal.com]

There's a link on the sidebar of the VP community page for the yeast infection FAQ, it includes a lot of home remedies. Plain greek yogurt, applied topically and internally. Tea tree oil. Garlic cloves, etc. Those might keep you going until you find a way to communicate with a pharmacy, etc.

But take a look through the pharmacy, you may find brands you recognize, even if the packages are different -- Monistat, Gynelotrimin, Vagisil... honestly, you never know until you take a look!

[sand-woman.livejournal.com]

Sure, are you wanting how-tos or how it works? There is an article here: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/garlic.asp and I think the VP FAQ for yeast infections and natural remedies mentions it, but I am not sure in how much detail. Basically I peel the clove and put it in, usually overnight because you can taste the garlic which is a little strange. Some people like to tie a string around the garlic first for easy removal but I usually don't bother. You can make the effect stronger by small cuts in the clove, but for some people that stings.

[wife-and-mom.livejournal.com]

After some google searching, I found a forum where someone asked this question and they were told the medicine is called Flady (fu-re-di) and here (http://flady.jp/index.htm) is a website in Japanese with a picture of it (it says vagina candida but may wanna ask someone who speaks Japanese to verify). Maybe print the picture to help you find it?

[kuradi8.livejournal.com]

Another home remedy is yogurt. Plain, *NO* sugar added and "with active cultures" (not pasteurized.)

[dark-deity.livejournal.com]

You can call "Himawari". They find a doctor for you based on location, and English speaking ability doctors. I highly suggest the yogurt thing. Stick a tampon in the yogurt and leave it in for an hour or 30 minutes. Then take out and wear a panty liner because it will come out. Do it at night.

I got antibiotics for it and cleared it up. Hope this helps! How far are you from Tokyo?

[vierii.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll have to write that name down for future reference. I think im gonna try for the yogurt one, I just.. have to try really hard to FIND some of the non-fancy yogurt.

Btw im... about 7 hours on bullet train from Tokyo, an hour and a half by airplane. D:

[dark-deity.livejournal.com]

get the bulgaria yogurt. it is plain yogurt or try lawson 100.