Your vaginal itching may be candidiasis

Your vaginal itching may be candidiasis

Vaginal itching in women is one of the problems most frequently consulted by gynecologists, primary care physicians, hospital emergency departments and pharmacies.

In most cases, vaginal itching hides a vaginal candidiasis.

75% of women suffer from vaginal candidiasis at least once in their lives, and half of them will have reinfections. Vaginal candidiasis or candidal vulvovaginitis (VVC) is an inflammatory disease of the vagina and vulva caused by fungi, mainly Candida.

If you have these symptoms, you are probably suffering from a vaginal candidiasis or candidal vulvovaginitis (VVC)

• Increased vaginal discharge: whitish and clumpy, yogurt-like.
• Itching, stinging and burning in external genitalia.
• Small wounds in vulva and perineum.

Even if they do not suffer from vaginal candidiasis, 20% of women have Candida in their normal vaginal microbiota. Therefore, maintaining a balanced vaginal microbiota is essential, since an increase in certain microorganisms generates infections. The balance can be altered for different reasons, such as age, menstrual cycle phase, sexual activity, contraceptive method, pregnancy, poorly controlled diabetes, the use of antibiotics and corticosteroids, immunosuppressive diseases, or the use of certain non-specific intimate hygiene gels.

The vaginal microbiota keeps the ecosystem stable and free of vaginal itching:

• They compete with fungi for available food.
• They generate substances that attack fungi and bacteria.
• Maintain the vaginal pH in normal acidity ranges (between 3.5 – 4.5), which represents the main defense mechanism against colonization by pathogens.
• They boost the body’s immune response.

Due to the fact that conventional treatments have not changed in the last decades, resistances have increased , and it has become necessary to research and develop new products as preventive and adjuvant to the corresponding treatment.

The use of probiotics has shown great efficacy in recent years, especially as prevention in the development of this type of infections, avoiding proliferation, and as adjuvants to the treatments used to eradicate infections, especially to avoid recurrences.

If you have vaginal candidiasis or candidal vulvovaginitis (VVC) at this time, for your treatment should be taken into account:

• Oral or topical treatments with clotrimazole, miconazole, ketoconazole, etc.
• Actifemme® Optima composed of probiotics and Vitamin B2, is used as a preventive and adjuvant to pharmacological treatment and has shown a great reduction of reinfections, improvement of Bacterial Vaginosis and restoration of vaginal pH.
• In recurrent or recurrent vaginal candidiasis (4 or more infections per year), specific probiotics should be used for at least three months to stabilize the vaginal microbiota.
• Reinfections are due to contamination via the rectum or via sexual intercourse.

How to prevent candidiasis

There are some measures, very easy to incorporate into our routine, that can help us prevent candidiasis, especially if we are prone to suffer recurrent candidiasis. We will tell you about some of them below:

• It is recommended that we use underwear that is 100% cotton and not too tight.
• Do not place wet clothing in the vaginal area.
• If we like hot showers or hot tubs, we should not use them frequently.
• In the case of medications such as antibiotics, it is important to be careful not to use them unnecessarily, since they weaken the immune system.
• A good diet rich in probiotics considerably reduces the recurrence of candidiasis because they favor the balance of bacteria and fungi and improve the immune system.
• Pay special attention to intimate hygiene, during a candidiasis it is important to use a gel with alkaline pH to avoid its proliferation.