Natural Treatments for Yeast Infections - How Do I Know When They're Gone?

[lumiereauteur.livejournal.com]

Hi all,

After getting tired of spending $15 for a treatment each time I get a yeast infection, I decided to try some of the natural alternatives I've heard about instead. I started with a tea tree oil treatment on a pad, followed by an internal application of acidophilius powder w/ a q-tip (I was afraid to put the capsule in, it's cellulose and I worried that it might feed the yeast), another round of tea tree oil on a pad during the day, and then an internal application of tea tree oil on a q-tip at night, along with the insertion of a garlic clove over night. This is now the third day of treatment.

As far as I can tell, the majority of the discharge has stopped. However, when I went to remove the garlic clove this morning, it seemed like there was still 'stuff' in there. Is that perhaps yeast that I'm killing with the garlic and tea tree oil? Or do I still have an infection? Should I give it a few more days of treatment before I expect results? I guess I don't know how long I should expect the natural treatment to take. Besides this questionable 'discharge', it doesn't itch or burn at all (though it was a very mild case in that sense to begin with) and there's only slight reddness and inflammation, which might be partially caused by the tea tree oil.

So... any advice, personal experience anedotes, alternative things I could try, etc. would be very helpful. Also, it seems like I've been getting them more persistently since I started having sex regularly... any tips for avoiding them? [I'll also check the memories.]

Thanks!

Comments

[lumiereauteur.livejournal.com]

From the reading I did, it doesn't matter if you dilute it or not. Some people recommend diluting it because full-strength essential oils can be too strong - and it's true, it does have a bit of a burning sensation (more 'tingly' than burning) when applied. But yes, all I did was dip a q-tip into pure tea tree oil and swab it around inside. I also put a few drops on a moistened panty-liner, rubbed that on the external area, and then wore the pad overnight.

[kaonamai.livejournal.com]

I can't have the tea tree oil externally over a long period of time, i just put a couple drops on my finger and rubbed it around. It stings for a bit but goes away.