Yeast Infection

FOODS TO EAT MORE OF

• Yogurt with live cultures (daily)
• Buttermilk
• Garlic (raw, if possible)
• Whole food diet

FOODS TO AVOID OR MINIMIZE

• Could be caused by food intolerance, an elimination diet​ could be helpful.
• Limit refined sugars, fruit, fruit juices, refined carbs, fermented foods and alcohol
• Coffee, tea

ESSENTIAL OILS

• Bergamot, cajeput, eucalyptus, geranium, German chamomile, lavender, marjoram, myrrh, patchouli, rosemary, tea tree, thyme, yarrow 
• Essential Oil Tampon: Push a tampon out of the tube slightly and moisten the top with water.  Mix 3 drops of tea tree oil with a few drops of a carrier oil and apply to the top of the tampon.  Insert into vagina and leave for up to 4 hours.  Repeat twice daily.

HERBAL

• Ingested (tea/tinctures/tablets/food): Bergamot, echinacea, garlic
• Creams (applied topically): Tea tree cream, marigold cream, slippery elm salve
  
• Drink yarrow, comfrey, rose, red clover or elder tea daily for ongoing preventative maintenance
• Herbal Bath: Pour 1 quart of boiling water over 2-3 teaspoons of oak bark.  Steep for 15 minutes and strain.  Pour the remaining liquid into a hip-level warm bath and soak for 10 minutes (1-2 times daily).
• Herbal Insertion: Make a suppository with equal parts Vitamin A and Calendula and insert into vagina every 12 hours for 5 days
• Herbal douche options (Douche 1-2 times daily for up to 7 days and use about 2 cups liquid each application): 
  • 2 teaspoons each of powdered acidophilus and bifidus in quart of warm water
  • Lukewarm pau d'arco tea
    
  • 4 teaspoons vinegar in pint of warm water (alternate daily with 1/2 Tablespoon salt in pint of warm water)
    
  • Calendula, cinnamon, dandelion, lavender, yarrow, comfrey, marshmallow root, or sage tea
    
  • Plain yogurt (2-3 Tablespoons to 1 quart water)
  • Boil 3 cups water, add 1 Tablespoon of myrrh and simmer 20 min.  Let it cool, strain, and add more water to make 1 quart. 
    
  • 1 Tablespoon aloe in 1 quart of water

NATURAL

• Wear un-dyed cotton underwear (not nylon!)
• Avoid tight-fitting clothing, and harsh perfumes in bubble baths or feminine hygiene products
• Insert a clove of garlic into vagina, leave it in a day, then replace.  Do this for 3 days.  After the 3rd day, use a vinegar douche (2 Tablespoons vinegar to 1 quart warm water)
• Add 2 cups baking soda to bath water and soak for 30 minutes (this will not cure a yeast infection, but will alleviate some of the symptoms, and may also prevent future infections from occurring)
• Vinegar bath: Add 1-2 cups of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup salt to a hip-level bath of warm water.  Soak for 10 minutes daily.

COMBINATION REMEDIES:

• Option 1 (for Women): 
  • Take 3 Acidophilus tablets daily.
  • Make a cream by adding 2 drops of any of the following essential oils with 1 teaspoon of vitamin E or KY jelly and apply topically for soreness/itching as needed: Bergamot, cajeput, eucalyptus, geranium, German chamomile, lavender, marjoram, myrrh, patchouli, rosemary, tea tree, thyme, or yarrow 
  • Yogurt Treatment (choose 1 of the following):
    • Yogurt insertion: Mix 4 ounces of plain organic yogurt with 5 drops German chamomile, 5 drops lavender, and 5 drops tea tree essential oil.  Insert into vagina using an applicator for inserting pessaries or a tampon tube (remove the tampon and insert yogurt into the applicator; You will need to seal the bottom of the applicator with tape or cotton). 
    • Yogurt douche: Mix 4 ounces of plain organic yogurt with 4 ounces spring water, 3 drops geranium, 2 drops marjoram, and 1 drop patchouli essential oil.  Place into a douche container and douche twice daily. 
• Option 2 (for Men): 
  • Take 3 Acidophilus tablets daily.
  • Add warm water to a small bowl and mix in 1 drop tea tree, and 1 drop patchouli essential oil.  Wash under foreskin twice daily (can also add the tea tree and patchouli oil to a teaspoon vegetable oil and apply under foreskin once daily). 
• Option 3 (for Women): 
  • Vinegar tampon or douche (daily for 3 days): Mix together 2.5 cups warm water, 2 Tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar, 2 drops lavender, 2 drops rosemary, and 2 drops tea tree essential oil.  Either soak a tampon in the mixture and insert into vagina in the morning (take out at night); or use entire solution as a douche.
• Option 4 (for Men or Women): 
  • Vinegar bath: Mix together 2 Tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon rock salt, 2 drops lavender, 2 drops rosemary, and 2 drops tea tree essential oil. Add to hip-level bath water and soak for 20-30 minutes.
• Option 5 (for Women, if vagina is inflamed and very sore): 
  • Mix together 2.5 cups warm water, 1/2 Tablespoon bicarbonate of soda, 2 drops lavender, and 2 drops yarrow.  Mix together as well as possible.  Soak a tampon in the solution and insert daily (take out at night).  Or use solution as a douche (daily for 3 days), or pour entire mixture into hip-level bath water and soak for 20-30 minutes.

SUPPLEMENTS & HOMEOPATHIC:

• Acidophilus: 1 pill 2-3 times daily orally or as a suppository (get 1-2 billion live organisms per pill.  Can insert oral pill into vagina, discontinue after 5 days)
• Bifidus: 1 pill twice daily (should contain 1-2 billion live organisms per pill)
• Echinacea: 200 mg 3 times daily (use in a cycle of 3 weeks on, 1 week off, for recurrent infections; should contain at least 3.5% echinacosides)
• Ferrum metallicum: for watery, milky discharge and heavy or frequent menstruation
• FOS: 2,000 mg twice daily (use in combination with acidophilus and bifidus)
• Garlic: as directed
• Kali bichromicum 6c
• Kreosotum: for white or yellow discharge, vaginal swelling and itching; also for diabetics
• Magnesium: 750mg daily
• Pau d'arco: as directed
• Pulsatilla 6c (for thick and milky discharge and light, late or irregular menstruation)
• Sulfur 6c
• Vitamin B Complex: as directed
• ​Vitamin C: 1,000 mg 3 times daily (reduce if it causes diarrhea)
• Vitamin D: 400 IU daily
• Zinc: 30 mg daily