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PERSONAL HEALTH
Yogurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, a bacterium that also happens to be found in healthy vaginas. Acidophilus kills yeast by producing hydrogen peroxide. Most women using yogurt to treat a yeast infection simply apply it directly to the vulva and gently inject some into the vagina by any means necessary.
But how to get in there? Here's a method suggested by one person: put the yogurt in plastic tampon applicators and freeze them, and then you've got little yogurt-sicles to use next time you get a yeast infection. She says "It is really cold, of course, inserting the tampon, but i find it actually soothing compared to the fires of a yeast infection." Another person fills the fingers of disposable gloves with yogurt and freezes them to make her yogurt -sicles. (Given that freeze-dried acidophilus tablets are available in health food stores, I'm guessing acidophilus can survive being made into a popsicle.) Other people use syringes (with no needle!) to squirt it up there.
However you do it, be sure to use plain, unflavored yogurt with no added sugar, and be double sure that it contains live acidophilus cultures (available in natural foods stores and many supermarkets). Apply once or twice a day until at least a day after your symptoms clear up.
Another possibility is to insert acidophilus pills from your local supermarket or health food store (look in the refrigerated section). Check and make sure the capsule is made of something soft enough to melt inside you.
Garlic contains natural antifungal substances that kill off yeast. To try it, find yourself a fresh clove of garlic and carefully peel all the papery skin off it. (Most sources say to be careful not to nick the clove as you are peeling it, maybe because the juice stings some people, but I don't know anyone who has had a problem with that. ) Next, make a little tampony thing by wrapping it in gauze or cheesecloth, tying the ends with unwaxed dental floss, and leaving a bit of string dangling so you'll be able to pull it out afterward. Now, believe it or not, insert it into your vagina. Don't worry about losing it up there, because of course it can't get through your cervix. Leave it in for several hours at a time, like overnight, and be sure to remove it in the morning. For early or mild infections, nighttime treatments may be enough; try several nights in a row, until one day after the symptoms disappear. If your infection is more severe, put a fresh clove in every morning and every night.
(I find the dry gauze painful to insert, and unnecessary. Most of my friends and I have found that an unwrapped clove shoved up there will eventually work its way out, and even if it doesn't just fall out, it can usually be expelled by bearing down and squeezing like you are trying to take a dump. But don't try this unless you are willing to face the possibility of asking a friend or doctor to retrieve it later!)
If this makes you nervous, you could also try the garlic capsules that are sold as a dietary supplement in many health food stores, but be sure to get the kind with a soft coating that will dissolve inside you. Either way, it's fun to try; it makes your crotch taste divine, and you can walk around all day smirking to yourself, thinking how shocked people would be if they knew why it is that you reek of garlic.
The downsides are that it's a fairly moderate treatment and won't work by itself for some really stubborn infections, and that a few people are allergic to garlic and can't go shoving it in their orifices without getting really sick.
Tea tree oil is available in the US at many natural foods stores. A terrifically helpful woman wrote to tell me that in Italy, tea tree oil is widely used for yeast infections. She said that her pharmacist told her to coat the top half of a non-applicator type tampon with a lubricant (such as KY jelly or even olive oil), then apply a few drops of pure tea tree oil and insert. The lubricant keeps the tea tree oil from absorbing into the tampon. She also said that she finds that the tea tree oil can sting if it comes in contact with the vulva. She uses an applicator tampon, by just lifting off the top part of the applicator to expose the tampon, applying the KY jelly and tea tree oil, and putting the tampon back into the applicator.
Boric acid is a great remedy for a cockroach-ridden apartment, and it turns out to kill yeasty pests, too. The idea is load up some size 00 capsules from a pharmacy or natural foods store with boric acid to use as suppositories*; the heat and moisture in your vagina will melt the capsules and release the boric acid. Insert 2 capsules filled with boric acid, about 600 mg total, into your vagina every night for a week. (To be extra sure, continue this treatment twice a week for the next 3 weeks.) This is a pretty strong treatment, and is capable of effectively treating even severe or persistent yeast infections. Some women find that the boric acid causes some superficial burning and discomfort for the first few days, and may cause large amounts of vaginal discharge. Discontinue use if the burning is severe.
(*note to readers in the UK: by "suppository" I mean "pessary"; don't put this in your arse!)
Potassium sorbate is a potent fungicide that is widely used in preserving foods, and is often used in brewing beer to stop the growth of the yeast at the correct time. Potassium sorbate is therefore available at places that sell home-brewing supplies, and at some natural foods stores.
To use it, make a 3% solution by adding 8 gm (about 1 tablespoon) potassium sorbate to a cup of water. The idea is to dip a cotton tampon in the solution, insert it at bedtime, remove it in the morning, and continue this treatment for a few days until the symptoms are gone. For the life of me, I can't figure out how you'd get a soaking-wet, expanded tampon into a vagina, so I've never tried it. Maybe if you used a tampon in one of those horrible plastic applicators you could manage it. Another idea, suggested to me by a doctor friend, is to insert a dry tampon and then squirt a bunch of the solution up afterward, so the tampon will absorb the fluid and hold it in place. Sounds like it should work...
Cranberries are often used in treating urinary tract infections, which apparently works because the berries contain substances that inhibit bacteria from clinging to the walls of your urinary tract. Cranberries also lower the pH of your urine, which may be useful in helping combat yeast infections, since the acidic urine passes over some of your infected parts on its way out. As such, it's a pretty mild remedy, which is great if you think you may be coming down with a yeast infection. For more serious infections, it can be used in combination with other remedies. Because I can't handle the extreme sourness of the unsweetened juice, I often take small handfuls of cranberry pills (available in natural foods stores) during the entire course of a yeast infection as a supplement to other home remedies.
Although douching is generally a bad idea when you are healthy, there are many effective home remedies for yeast infections that involve douching. Be careful when douching to keep the bag below your pelvis and to exert only slight pressure, as really strong pressure might drive the solution up through the cervix into the uterus. Also, be careful when inserting and removing the nozzle, as damage to the vaginal walls can lead to more serious yeast or bacterial infections.
Hydrogen peroxide is produced naturally by bacteria in your vagina, and kills yeast. If the bacteria aren't doing enough by themselves, try mixing 1 teaspoon of ordinary 3% hydrogen peroxide from your market or pharmacy with 1 cup of water. Use as a douche once a day until the day after your symptoms disappear.
Tea tree oil is an effective anti-yeast treatment and can be used straight (see above), but needs to be highly diluted to use as a douche. Make a stock solution by combining 1 teaspoon tea tree oil with 1 teaspoon isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, which should turn milky white. Store in a dropper bottle. Make a douche by adding 10 drops of the stock solution to a pint of water, and use once a day for a week.
This one's a little complicated, but apparently worth the trouble. Combine equal parts of sage, raspberry or comfrey leaf, and mullein (optional), with 1/4 part goldenseal. Then make a tea using 4 tablespoons of the herb mixture and a quart of boiling water. Steep for 15-20 minutes, remove the herbs, and let cool to at least body temperature. Then add 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, and if you want to really go all-out, add 1 tablespoon acidophilus powder or 1/4 cup yogurt. For milder infections, douche every other day until a day after symptoms disappear; for more severe infections, use daily.
Acidic douches restore the natural pH of the vagina, which is relatively inhospitable to yeast. Try making a solution with 2 tablespoons of white or cider vinegar, or the juice of half a lemon, or 1 teaspoon vitamin C, per quart of water. Use every day to treat mild infections, or in combination with other treatments for more severe infections.
To relieve vulva itching, try making a paste of slippery elm powder and a little water, and then apply as needed. Another option is to keep aloe vera juice in the fridge, and then soak a cotton pad in it and apply it to your vulva as needed. Slippery elm or aloe will only relieve itching, though, and won't kill yeast, so they must be combined with an antifungal treatment to really stop the problem.
Arthritic Joints Aromatherapy Blend
2 ounces carrier oil such as sweet almond
20 drops Roman Chamomile
5 drops Black Pepper
Blend all oils together well and store in an airtight dark-colored glass container. Gently massage into arthritic joints using a small amount of oil.
3 ounces vegetable carrier oil (such as sweet almond) or infused oil such as calendula
1 ounce grated beeswax
40 drops lavender oil
40 drops tea tree oil
4 ounce wide-mouth jar
Place the beeswax in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave using a reduced power setting if you have one. You can also melt the beeswax in a pan on the stove using a low heat setting. Beeswax is hard to remove from pans, so please keep that in mind. In a separate pan, slowly and gently heat your carrier or infused oil. Pour the warm carrier or infused oil into a bowl, add the melted beeswax and then stir very well. Add the lavender and tea tree essential oils and again stir well. Close the jar and wait until the ointment has cooled before using. Remember that all bowl, pans and utilensils that you use will be hard to clean afterwards.
Sometimes our little ones get a boo boo, and the fear from their injury is far greater than the boo boo itself. For these times when your little precious one is crying hard but the boo boo is minor, have him/her help you make this easy recipe. It gets them involved in learning first aid, helps take their mind off the boo boo, and the lavender blend helps calm them and kill a few germs. Note: This recipe isn't intended for serious cuts/scrapes or injuries.
1 Cotton Ball
Witch Hazel - enough to saturate the cotton ball
1-2 drops Lavender
Depending on the age and abilities of your little one, have him/her help you by saturating a cotton ball with witch hazel. Then, apply one drop of lavender to the saturated cotton ball. Have your little one smell the "boo boo juice." Since lavender helps bring calm, the aroma can be soothing. Then, apply the boo boo juice to the minor cut/scrape or allow your little one to take charge and do it. Apply a band aid if necessary.