Monistat's Quest to End Unfair Stigma on Yeast Infections

Did you know 3 out of 4 women will experience a yeast infection in their lifetime?

Look around your school or workplace and I guarantee there is more than one woman that has already experienced a yeast infection.

Although many women are hush-hush about it, yeast infections are actually very common and completely normal!

Monistat reached out to me to help them with their campaign:


The Quest To End Unfair Stigma On Yeast Infections   In this blog post I'll tell you what exactly a yeast infection is, what causes yeast infections, how to avoid them and how to recognize when you have one.

What's a yeast infection?

A healthy amount of yeast normally lives in your vagina but an overgrowth or too much results in a yeast infection. Normally there is "good bacteria" regulating how much yeast lives in your vagina but when it can't regulate it, the yeast multiplies to an unhealthy amount.

A yeast infection can happen at any age but it's most common during your childbearing years, around ages 16 to 35 but it's possible to get a yeast infection at an earlier age.

Yeast infections are completely treatable.

What causes yeast infections?

Your vagina (the inside) has its own self-regulated environment. This means, your vagina has its own little system that can take care of itself, regulate it's own pH, temperature, moisture, and keep a healthy balance of bacteria, yeast, and whatever else naturally occurs in there. All this happens on its own!

But sometimes this system can be interrupted by external environmental factors such as:

• Douches that are meant to cleanse but also interfere with your vagina's natural environment
• Tight clothes that don't let your vagina breathe
• Hot tubs or hot baths
• Feminine hygiene products such as sprays, pads, and tampons that can interfere with your vagina's natural environment or don't let your vagina breathe.

There are even some factors that may make an individual more prone to yeast infections such as:

• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Taking antibiotics
• Taking birth control pills (BCP)
• Taking steroids
• a weak immune system

How can you avoid yeast infections?

You can avoid yeast infections by avoiding douches and super hot baths, wearing cotton panties and looser pants, and maintaining good feminine hygiene such as showering daily and changing your pad and tampon.

Certain drugs such as antibiotics, BCP, or steroids may make you more prone to yeast infections but DO NOT stop taking these drugs without first asking your doctor!

Click on Read More to learn how you can recognize symptoms of a yeast infection! PICTURES too!

Symptoms of a vaginal yeast infection

A vaginal yeast infection may include one or more of these symptoms:

• Vaginal itching
• Vaginal soreness, irritation, or burning sensation
• Rash or redness on the skin outside the vagina
• Burning sensation when you pee
• Painful vaginal intercourse
• Vaginal discharge that may be thick, white, and lumpy like cottage cheese. To save you the google search, cottage cheese looks like this:

 

These symptoms CAN occur during your period.. so YES, it is possible to have a yeast infection and your period at the same time. One of our readers even wrote in with her story that you can read here:  The Period Blog Diaries: Reader Submission on WORST Period Story Ever.

But not all vaginal infections are yeast infections!

Vaginal yeast infections do NOT cause:

• fevers
• chills
• lower abdominal, back, or shoulder pain
• foul smelling vaginal discharge
• missed period

These may be symptoms of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or pregnancy. If you have these symptoms, you should see your doctor right away!
 

In my next post, I'll show you your treatment options for yeast infections!

This blog post is a part of Monistat's campaign, The Quest To End Unfair Stigma of Yeast Infections. It is not a sponsored or paid blog post. Any compensation received will never influence the reviews, opinions, content, topics or posts made in this blog.