Yeast infection treatment is not a sexy subject and it’s not one you hear discussed at dinner parties, but a fast and effective remedy for yeast infections is something that millions of people seek on a daily basis. If you happen to have a yeast infection, it’s probably one of your most irritating problems. I know all about yeast infections because I suffered with them for 10 years before I finally found an effective yeast infection treatment. And, yes, I went to doctors and, yes, they prescribed yeast infection treatment medication for it. And, no, it never worked. I went to several different doctors and always got the same result – no satisfaction.

What is a Yeast Infection and What Causes It?

The technical term for yeast infection is Candidiasis or candidosis.

Of the more than 20 species of Candida, Candida albicans is the most common. This fungi lives on every surface of your body. Sometimes they grow to be so numerous that they cause infections, particularly in moist and warm areas – genitals, underarms, under belly fat, between thighs, etc. Yeast infections affect both men and women. Some examples of this type of infection are:It’s a very common cause of vaginitis, and it can also be found on male genitals, in the mouth and other parts of the body. Yeast infection in the mouth is referred to as Thrush and it affects the mucus membrane which lines your mouth and tongue. Candidemia is the term for a systemic yeast infection which can be life-threatening, though many people suffer from a milder version of it as I did. For the purpose of this article, we’re going to refer to all of them as “yeast infection”.

• vaginal yeast infection
• penile yeast infection
• thrush (mouth/tongue)
• nail bed infections
• skin and diaper rash

The most serious systemic yeast infections are commonly seen in immune-compromised persons, such as transplant, cancer, and AIDS patients.

There are many variations of yeast infections (Candidiasis) but the most common are genital, oral thrush and systemic (candidemia). Yeast infections can be caused by a variety of things such as:

• Sexual transmission
• Menstruation
• Pregnancy
• Diabetes
• Birth control pills
• Menopause
• The use of antibiotics
• The use of steroids
• Hormone replacement therapy
• High Estrogen levels
• Tight clothing
• Wet bathing suits
• Chemicals (clothing, douches, washing detergent, perfumed toilet paper, etc.)
• Condoms
• Diet high in Sugar or yeast
• Hormones
• Weakened immune system

Different Types of Yeast Infection Treatment

If you have a normal run-of-the-mill vaginal or penile yeast infection, you should go to the drug store and purchase one of the yeast infection treatment products such as Monistat. There’s several yeast infection treatment creams to choose from and they are typically very effective if you have a simple vaginal yeast infection. You no longer have to have a prescription for these types of medications.

If you don’t like the yeast infection treatment creams, your doctor can prescribe Diflucan (Fluconazole) which is a pill that both men and women can take for yeast infection treatment.

However, if you have tried those yeast infection treatment products and have gotten no results or if the yeast infection is recurring, you may have what is called a “systemic yeast infection”. This is much harder to get rid of with one of the over the counter yeast infection treatment creams, but don’t worry, I’m going to discuss in detail about systemic yeast infection treatment.

Systemic Yeast Infection Treatments

If you will do some research, you’ll find that most publications say that if you have a systemic yeast infection to go immediately to the doctor. That’s what I did and I still never got any help. They disagreed with my diagnosis – even though they never did any testing. They were not concerned in the least. Never once did they ask if I was having any other symptoms. I was forced to self diagnose and start experimenting with yeast infection treatment on my own.

In my opinion, there is a lack of aggressive treatment on the part of a lot of medical doctors when it comes to yeast infection treatment. Maybe because it’s considered more of a nuisance than a medical condition. I happen to disagree. It’s not just messy, uncomfortable, and embarrassing, it can be indicative of a more serious underlying condition and if left untreated, it can actually be detrimental to your overall health.

If you read most of the medical websites, they tend to associate systemic yeast infection with severely ill people who have cancer, AIDS, transplant patients, etc. The naturopathic and homeopathic sites recognize that many people suffer from systemic yeast who are in that category, but it’s also recognized that there are millions of us who suffer from systemic yeast infection who haven’t gotten that sick yet.

I was forced to turn to the internet to find the answers that I didn’t get from the doctors. I read anything and everything I could find on the subject, from what causes it to which yeast infection treatment would get rid of it.  It was eye opening.

From my research, I learned several things about it. First of all, I learned that I had a “systemic” yeast infection – it was not limited to a vaginal yeast infection. My vaginal yeast infection was just one of the ways the systemic yeast infection manifested. I learned that the following list of symptoms were classic symptoms of a systemic yeast infection:

• Vaginal
  • Itching
  • Burning
  • Pain during intercourse
  • Discharge
  • Rash
• Penile
  • Itching
  • Burning
  • Pain
  • Discharge
  • Rash
• Toenail fungus
• Fatigue (chronic fatigue syndrome)
• Immune disorders
• athletes foot
• stiffness/pain in joints and muscles
• trouble sleeping
• anemia
• irritability
• depression
• memory loss
• concentration problems
• loss of sex drive
• sensitivity to heat and cold
• and the list goes on and on…..

I had several of these symptoms including fatigue, immune problems, toenail fungus and the vaginal issues, as well.

I’ve heard it said that Medical doctors don’t have the drugs to effectively treat a systemic yeast infection. I’m not sure if that’s the case of not but I’m pretty sure that a lot of them are simply not knowledgeable about how to treat the root cause of the condition instead of just the symptoms. I was given Monistat or some other type of prescription medication for the vaginal yeast infection and was prescribed Lamisil by another doctor for the toenail infection. Then when I got bronchitis (6 times in one year), I was prescribed antibiotics for that. Antibiotics are well known to cause yeast infections and taking that only made my systemic yeast problem worse. In any case, all of the medications I took failed to fix the underlying problem of systemic yeast. I needed a yeast infection treatment that addressed the root cause of the problem.

After I was already well into my own yeast infection treatment, I finally found an M.D. who was also a Naturopath. He was an angel. He actually did the test to see if I had elevated yeast (candida) in my system. I did. I told him about my yeast infection treatment regimen and he agreed that was the correct course of action.

Yeast Infection Treatment – Steps You Should Take

So here’s my personal yeast infection treatment that I came up with and it’s the only one that actually worked for me.

1. Clean up your diet.

If you continue to feed the yeast, it will not go away.

This was the hardest thing to do but once you understand that a systemic yeast infection will only get worse if you continue to feed it then you’ll understand that this is the first thing you must do to get rid of it.

Sugar is one of its favorite things. The yeast loves sugar and this will allow it to continue to grow in your system. Cut sugar out of your diet. I didn’t touch sugar for 2 straight years, just to be sure. After a few months, I found I didn’t really want it anyway. These days, I can enjoy a dessert without the fear of waking up with a yeast infection in the morning.

Yeast was the second thing on the list of “do not eat”. To me, this was much harder than cutting out sugar because so many common foods contain yeast. That meant I had to cut out bread, bagels, beer, wine, cider, some fruits because the skins contain yeast (grapes, plums), many canned soups, cheese, many baked goods such as cakes, processed meats and fish, bacon, ham, canned tuna, salad dressings, some spices, sauces, gravies, and many other things. Did I mention I had to give up wine? Read the labels – you’ll be surprised how many foods contain yeast for flavoring.

The bottom line was that I had to shop on the outer perimeter aisles of the grocery store where the unprocessed, whole foods were. Fresh meats and vegetables and fruits seemed to be my only choices. I had to get creative because I was bored with these selections. I found a bread that didn’t contain yeast – it was called Ezekiel and at the time I could only buy it from the health food store. I now see that same bread at my normal grocery store. There are many ways to spice up your foods without using the processed spices containing yeast.

If you decide to shop at the health food store for food, don’t be fooled into thinking that everything there will be healthy. Read those labels, too.

Quit drinking until you get this under control. This is mentioned under yeast but I thought it was important to talk more about it. I love to have a glass of wine (or two) or a beer (or two) when I get together with my friends. I didn’t totally give up wine but I was extremely selective about when I drank it. I quickly learned that it was possible to attend a party and not drink. In fact, it made it a little more interesting at times

Skip the fast food. Fast food isn’t good for you anyway and it will perpetuate your yeast problem. Learn to fix your own meals at home. You’ll know exactly what’s in them.

As a side note, I lost weight and got pretty lean when I was on this diet. It was a nice side effect.

2. Take a Homeopathic Product to Help You Kill the Yeast.

Homeopathy centers around the belief that the human body has the power to heal itself. Homeopathic products are designed to give the body what it needs to do so. These products are not designed to treat only the symptoms, they get right to the root of the problem so your yeast infection treatment will actually get rid of the cause of the problem.

When I started my yeast infection treatment, I didn’t have the choices that are available today. I spend $100′s each month on various herbs and Homeopathic products to help kill the fungus. At one time I was taking about 6 different things so I’m not 100% what actually did the trick. I just know that the combination of everything I was doing worked.

Depending on what you read, you’ll probably get various tips on which herbs and supplements work best for your yeast infection treatment. There is more than one choice but there’s one supplement on the market that is getting really good results – Yeastrol.  You can read about it here to see if it’s right for you:  Yeastrol

3. Take a Pro-biotic to ensure you have healthy Flora.

Everyone has yeast in their bodies and it’s necessary for maintaining good health. It’s the overgrowth of yeast that causes problems. So when you’re trying to kill the yeast, the good bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus) that keeps the yeast under control gets killed in the process. In order to help balance this out, you’ll need to supplement with a good pro-biotic or Acidophilus (or some variation of it). This step should not be overlooked.  You can find a good selection at Amazon:  Click Here

Conclusion

There’s so much more to yeast infections, and we can go on and on, but what you’re really needing is to take the first step to find a good yeast infection treatment to get rid of this problem.

Stick with the program. Your yeast infection treatments cannot work overnight. Depending on how long you’ve had it and how severe it is, it could take weeks or a few months to see results. It took me several months to totally get rid of my systemic yeast infection but with today’s products and research, you should be able to do it faster than that. Remember, I didn’t have access to these products that laid out a blueprint to follow. Just don’t get discouraged and quit. Unfortunately, here is no magic pill that will do the work for you. You have to participate – especially by watching what you eat.

Your yeast infection treatment may take some time, especially if it’s real bad – give it a couple months to really work. The homeopathic products you’ll need to take will work to eliminate the root cause of the problem and this takes time to accomplish.

Another great resource for what to do is “Yeast Infection No More” – it’s a 5 step yeast infection treatment that gets rave reviews. This program goes into great detail and will be more of a blueprint for your overall yeast infection treatment.  This program contains everything you will need in order to beat your yeast problem.  You can read more about it here:  Yeast Infection No More

Of course, as with any other medical situation, we suggest you visit your doctor to determine if your yeast infection is due to a serious underlying condition such as diabetes. Your doctor may recommend a yeast infection treatment that you will choose to follow.

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