A 1996 Diflucan pharmaceutical survey shows 85 percent of all teenage and adult females in the United States are plagued with vaginitis and its itchy, messy, discharge at least once in their lives. Many of these women will continue to suffer with vaginal infections for a period of years. Although prescription drugs and over-the-counter preparations are on the market today to treat vaginitis, these products provide symptomatic relief, but seldom get to the cause of the problem. When prescription treatment ends for vaginitis, the organisms involved often develop drug resistance. This can bring a resurgence of germ colonies with greater strength than before treatment started.

Any number of situations can promote vaginitis: radiation therapy, hormonal changes, excessive use of antibiotics, characteristics of pregnancy and menopause, vitamin B deficiency, excessive douching, or poor hygiene in the vaginal area. Even intestinal worms, oral contraceptives, or deodorant sprays can cause vaginitis. Atrophic vaginitis is found in postmenopausal women and develops due to hormonal drops of estrogen in the vaginal canal.

Antibiotic usage is the “usual suspect” when vaginitis is the diagnosis in nonpregnant women under 45. When colonies of friendly bacteria are present in sufficient numbers within the vaginal lining, conditions are normal and balanced. However, when antibiotics deplete beneficial bacteria, yeast organisms have the opportunity to overgrow and produce inflammation because they are not killed off by antibiotics. Sugar consumption, either natural or refined, only feeds the fire of vaginal yeast infection. All too soon, yeast colonies will dominate in the vagina.

But do not despair. A growing number of medical doctors have found an effective, natural way to help their female patients get faster relief from vaginitis.

Today, we know that L. acidophilus bacteria are the normal, protective inhabitants of vaginal membranes. But it took the 1920s research of Dr. R. Schroder to realize how important the right acid/alkaline balance or “pH” is for vaginal health along with bacterially produced optimal amounts of a germ-killing liquid we’ve all heard of: hydrogen peroxide. Turns out bacterial organisms produce this too and help to maintain balance. His studies showed that low levels of hydrogen-producing bacteria in the vagina are associated with high levels of inflammation, itching, and discharge. Women not suffering with vaginitis had higher acidic levels in their vaginal secretions and large amounts of friendly L .acidophilus bacteria. These women had very few “bad” bacteria in the vaginal area.

Forty years later, a report in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology noted that when L. acidophilus supplements were introduced into the vagina, pathogenic bacteria such as staphylococcus, streptococcus, and diplococcus, were replaced by these beneficial bacteria. The pH of the vaginal area shifted from an alkaline level to a more acidic level. The symptoms of vaginitis were promptly relieved and did not reoccur as long as women continued to consume the probiotic supplements. More recent research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases emphasizes that L .acidophilus organisms play an important role in producing anti-microbial substances to keep the vagina healthy.

Dr. S.J. Klebanoff of the University of Washington School of Medicine found that hydrogen peroxide producing L. acidophilus bacteria help defeat unwanted bad bacteria in the vagina. Also, women who have low levels of these friendly bacteria in their genital tracts appear more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases. Researchers at Wayne State University School of Medicine found similar results and emphasized that lactobacilli play an important role in controlling yeast overgrowth.

Boosting friendly bacterial populations offers protection against vaginitis. Not only is its occurrence and recurrence reduced, women can avoid having to repeatedly rely on potentially dangerous medical drugs commonly used to treat this condition. In contrast to conventional therapy, simultaneous supplementation with probiotics can help to protect against reinfection.

We know that a decrease in women’s lactobacillus populations is associated with increased risk for vaginitis. In a study of 12 women with non-specific chronic vaginitis, it was found that women were most likely to be symptom-free when their populations of lactobacilli were highest. As the lactobacilli populations decreased, pathogenic bacteria were commonly detected, indicating a disturbed vaginal ecology.

In another study, samples of vaginal fluid from 60 women indicated that as the population of lactobacilli went down, the population of pathogenic bacteria went up. These findings were reconfirmed in another observational study when vaginal fluid from 53 women with nonspecific vaginitis and without the condition was analyzed and the populations of pathogenic bacteria were found to be elevated.

Supplementation with probiotics to boost the body’s overall populations of lactobacilli can help to reduce chronic vaginitis.

Indeed, such supplementation with probiotics may be preferable to a course of metronidazole (Flagyl), which may kill both trichomonas and gardnerella. Metronidazole is known by doctors and pharmacists alike as the ultimate “bowel sweeper,” taking everything—including friendly bacteria—with it.

Flagyl, made by G.D. Searle, is one of the most widely prescribed antibiotics. It was the first effective drug against vaginal infections (trichomonas), for which it is still widely used. By the mid-1970s, it was prescribed more than two million times annually.

“Noteworthy” incidence of breast cancer in rats has been found following dosing with metronidazole. The drug is characterized as having “considerable carcinogenic potential.”

A subsequent animal study also reported “significant” excesses of breast cancer. While two short-term and inadequate human studies found no excesses of breast cancer, the animal evidence raises a clear warning.

On the other hand, with probiotics we have a safe alternative or complement to antibiotic use. In one study of 94 patients with non-specific vaginitis, treatment with a supplement to increase the body’s populations of beneficial lactobacillus resulted in a decrease of pathogens and increase in the population of beneficial lactobacilli. Vaginal purity and vaginal pH also returned to normal. A cure or at least marked improvement in symptoms was documented in 80 percent of patients. Boosting the body’s own healing response by restoring its population of friendly bacteria protects against reinfection and has a decided advantage over antibiotic therapy alone.

In a second study, 444 women with trichomoniasis vaginalis were treated with a supplement to raise populations of friendly bacteria. One year later, 427 (96.2 percent) were followed up, and 92.5 percent of them were found to be cured of clinical symptoms, while the remaining 7.5 percent had a positive symptom.

In another clinical report, 20 patients reported that they cured their candida vulvovaginitis with preparations designed to enhance their populations of friendly bacteria.

Once yeast overgrowth has been controlled with a bioadaptable form of hydrogen peroxide produced by L. acidophilus bacteria, vaginal inflammation will subside over time. However, never douche with over the counter forms of hydrogen peroxide because these concentrations can damage human cells in the body.

How to Use Probiotics for Vaginitis

Be sure to choose a quality probiotic supplement containing lactobacillus and bifidus cultures and take it daily. Continue as long as the condition persists. Be sure to follow the recommended label instructions and work with your physician to determine the optimal dosage. It is important to maintain optimal levels of beneficial bacteria in the vaginal canal to maintain health and comfort.

To help rid yourself of vaginitis; it is also wise to support vaginal health through the digestive tract. Since yeast feeds on dietary sugar, slow down the spread of yeast and various fungal infections in the vagina by eliminating all refined and concentrated forms of sugar from the diet. Even fresh and dried fruit sugars should be avoided until the problem clears up. Nuts, seeds, cheese and some Indian and Chinese teas can also carry hidden mold and yeast spores. Avoid eating smoked meat, fish or smoked poultry and try not to buy meat products from animals raised on antibiotics. Check food labels for hidden sugars in salad dressings, canned soups and chips in cellophane bags.

Candidiasis

If you’re feeling “sick all over” and if you’ve been regularly using antibiotics, you could be suffering from complications of yeast syndrome. Fortunately, with use of holistic healing pathways, including use of probiotics, you can perhaps eliminate the condition.

An overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract of the usually benign yeast (or fungus) Candida albicans is now becoming recognized as a complex medical syndrome called chronic candidiasis or the yeast syndrome. Many women have yeast syndrome but don’t even know it is the reason they feel “sick all over.” Yet, even women who know they suffer from yeast syndrome often live with this debilitating condition for years, because their doctors are unable to provide them with an effective and safe healing program.

The typical patient with the yeast syndrome is young and female. Indeed, women are eight times more likely to experience the yeast syndrome than men. They have usually been on estrogen drugs such as birth-control pills and have been given a higher than normal number of prescriptions for antibiotics, most notably tetracycline and metronidazole, and topical creams such as erythromycin.

Indeed, prolonged antibiotic use is believed to be the most important factor in the development of chronic candidiasis. Antibiotics suppress the immune system and the friendly intestinal bacteria that prevent yeast overgrowth, strongly promoting the proliferation of candida.

That means that the gastrointestinal tract of candida sufferers often must be recultivated with friendly bacteria. Products that stimulate L. acidophilus or B. bifidum can help immensely as part of a comprehensive program that addresses the whole person. Probiotics are a natural supplement to aid in restoring such populations that can then enhance the healing response so that candida sufferers may get past the chronic infectious state.

How to Use Probiotics for Candidiasis

Be sure to follow the recommended label instructions of a good probiotic supplement containing   lactobacilli and bifidus and work with your knowledgeable health care provider to determine the optimal dosage.