infection | Health And Wellness Tips

The Benefits of A Home Yeast Infection Kit

Can I Test Myself for a Yeast Infection?

Not everyone is able or willing to go see a doctor when they suspect a yeast infection; for these women, a yeast infection kit can be used at home with highly accurate results. If you think you have this kind of infection, a kit can save you both gas money and a possibly unnecessary doctor bill.

Why Test At Home?

The price of getting tested for a yeast infection begins when you get in the car and drive over to your doctors office. Todays gas prices are high enough to make a home test kit economical even if you spent money on nothing but gas. The costs continue to climb when you have your doctors visit and are charged for the physicians time. Your next cost occurs when the swab test is sent to the lab to be analyzed or studied under a microscope.

All these costs can be cut out if you buy a yeast infection test kit. You will have all the time you need to take the test on your own. Just performing the test in your home will save you the stress of a doctors visit. Many women willingly buy a home test kit just so they can administer the test in the privacy of their own bathroom.

Why Do I Need to Test At All?

Yeast infections come with a number of symptoms that are similar to symptoms of several STDs that are known to be serious diseases. These matching symptoms include redness, irritation, a burning sensation when urinating, and a thick white discharge. If you have never suffered a yeast infection before, you must find out for sure that it is, in fact, the cause of your symptoms. Do not risk your future health on a guess; some STDs with copycat symptoms have been known to cause infertility and other serious health problems.

You should also hold off on treating the infection until you know that it is a yeast infection and not something else, such as a viral or bacterial infection. Many of the medications that are used to treat bacterial infections will only make a yeast infection worse. If other medicines are used in the wrong way, they can cause future yeast infections to actually be harder to stop.

How Does a Test Kit Work?

Your yeast infection kit is very simple. You will have to draw blood in some way; one of the easiest and least painful ways to get blood is to prick one of your fingers. Place the blood on the provided lab paper strip and send the strip to the designated lab. In a couple of days, you will be informed of the results. The test is intended to measure the amounts of two antibodies in the blood. The amount of antibodies will be higher than average if you have a yeast infection.

If you believe you have a yeast infection, save yourself a bit of money and buy a yeast infection kit.

Symptoms of a Yeast Infection

What To Expect From a Yeast Infection

It is vital to know the symptoms of a yeast infection; most people will develop this condition at least once in their life. No matter where the yeast infection is located, the area will be red and inflamed. Pus may be present, especially if the infection is found in the mouth. The rash on the skin may have similarly affected patches of skin close by; these are called satellite lesions. The yeast infection rash often appears to have a lacy border.

Ear infections that are caused by improperly high amounts of yeast will lead to sharp pains in the affected ears, swelling of the ears, and possibly a whitish discharge that resembles cotton. If the webbed skin between your toes and fingers is dry, red, and itchy, it may be a symptom of a yeast infection caused by excessive sweating. Oral yeast infections often cause wide-ranging symptoms, from a flat, red rash topped with a milky white coating to pain when eating or drinking. Do not attempt to clean off the white areas; even when this is done gently, it is likely to cause bleeding.

Vaginal yeast infections may cause a burning sensation during urination. Often, it causes intercourse to be either uncomfortable or actually painful. Often, the typical redness and swelling will extend to the entire area surrounding the vagina. A thick discharge from the vagina is another telling symptom of this type of yeast infection. It will probably not have a bad odor, but it may be a different color than that of the womans normal discharge. The vaginal area will be itchy and irritated, and will be dry. In some cases, the yeast infection may make a woman feel the urge to urinate more often than she would in a normal situation.

When You Should See a Doctor

You should make time to visit a doctor as soon as you can after identifying the condition as a yeast infection. This is to confirm that you have only a yeast infection and not a more serious medical issue. Some STDs are known to have symptoms that mimic those of a yeast infection. Without treatment, these copycat diseases have been known to cause severe and lifelong health problems, including infertility.

Your doctor will be able to help you decide what medication should work best for your yeast infection. If you were to treat yourself for a yeast infection when you actually had some other type of malady, you could easily cause problems for yourself down the road. Yeast infections can become resistant to certain drugs if the drugs are used when they are not needed.

For children, you should visit the doctor at your first opportunity. Again, this is partly due to a need for guidance on which medication to use. If a child has been avoiding drinking due to the pain of an oral infection, he or she may be dehydrated and need further treatment.

In Summary

Knowledge of yeast infection symptoms is key to successful treatment; familiarize yourself with these indicators so you can keep yourself and your loved ones healthy.

What You Must Know About Yeast Infections in the Ears

What Causes this Infection?

A yeast infection in the ear can be very painful. We all have small amounts of yeast in our bodies at any given time. However, too much yeast leads to an infection that can become a major irritant. The ears are the perfect place for a yeast infection to form, because the yeast grows well in damp areas. The Eustachian tubes can support yeast infections at their openings; as anyone who has had an ear infection knows, this will be highly unpleasant.

Yeast and bacteria usually work in harmony with each other within the human body. The good type of bacteria that you have in ordinary circumstances kills yeast, keeping the yeast population under control. This system can get out of whack if you take antibiotics. Often, a person takes antibiotics to kill bacteria that are causing an infection in the sinuses or elsewhere. Unfortunately, the antibiotics kill the good bacteria, as well. This leaves a wide open door for the yeast to multiply and cause a raging yeast infection.

What Are the Symptoms?

If you suspect a yeast infection in either your ears or your childs ears, you must look for the right symptoms. Ear infections vary widely as to cause, so be sure that you know what you are treating before you start administering medication.

A yeast infection in the ear will cause an itchy feeling inside the ear and on any outside surface that is affected by the condition. There will most likely be a lingering soreness. Yeast infections often cause a white discharge, and the ears are not immune from this side effect. Some have said that the discharge is similar in appearance to the cotton you will find on the end of a swab.

If your child is too young to tell you what is wrong, you may notice him or her tugging at the ear. Often, children have difficulty sleeping when they have ear infections. Redness is a symptom that adults and children share. Children may cry or show other signs of distress, such as crankiness.

Yeast infections can also cause shooting pains in the affected ears.

How Can it Be Treated?

You should see a doctor to confirm that you or your child are indeed suffering from a yeast infection of the ear and not another type of ear infection. It is wise to seek medical help as soon as you suspect a yeast-based ear infection, as the condition can be quite painful if left untreated. Sometimes, a yeast infection can hitch a ride in the bloodstream and cause infections in other areas of the body.

Sometimes, it is hard for doctors to diagnose the ear infection correctly. This is due to the similarity of symptoms between a yeast infection and other ear infections. In most cases, children can get over an ear infection without having to take antibiotics. As already discussed, these medications can actually make a yeast infection worse.

What Risks Are Associated with an Untreated Yeast Infection?

Can My Yeast Infection Go Away Without Treatment?

A yeast infection can clear up eventually, but even so, the waiting time is extended and accompanied by all the usual pain. Most of the time, a yeast infection will cease when a womans period begins, because the blood causes much of the yeast to die.

Can I Become Infertile from an Untreated Yeast Infection?

No, the yeast infection has nothing to do with fertility. It is a fungal infection that affects tissues, but has no impact on the reproductive system. You cannot get cervical cancer from a yeast infection, either. These ideas are completely false, so dont spend any time worrying about them.

What Will Happen If I Leave My Yeast Infection Untreated?

You will have a much longer and more painful experience than if you had treated the infection. There are not very many occurrences of serious health issues arising from an untreated yeast infection. Some women who have repeated yeast infections suffer from this condition due to a pre-existing medical problem that is causing the infections to take place. If you have yeast infections very often (three times or more in one year), you would be wise to set an appointment with your doctor. It may be that just a few simple changes or a medication can help your life return to normal.

In some cases, an untreated yeast infection can lead to a blood condition known as sepsis, in which the blood is contaminated with bacteria. The bacteria then travel throughout the entire body; in effect, this is a form of blood poisoning. Although yeast infections rarely every lead to this disease, you should at least consider the possibility when deciding whether or not to treat your infection. Its really not worth the risk, especially when treatment is so simple and inexpensive. If you are unable to afford prescription medications, there are plenty of natural remedies that are proven to help fight the yeast infection.

If you find that you develop yeast infections three times or more each year, you may have a problem known as vulvovaginal candidiasis. This simply means that you are prone to have yeast infections and will probably continue to have them unless you seek medical assistance. Your doctor or a gynecologist can help you treat these recurring yeast infections.

So Should I Treat My Yeast Infection?

Yes, of course! There is no reason to let the yeast infection run its course, although it will likely die naturally during your next period. You have a choice between mainstream medicine, which will consist of prescription or over-the-counter medicines, and natural medicine, which will likely call for home remedies. Either way is effective. If you choose to make use of home remedies, make sure you do your research first. Some folk remedies are perfectly safe if they are applied in the correct manner, but can be quite hazardous if the user is unaware of the right way to use them.