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Only one in every four women who seeks treatment for persistent yeast
infections actually has one, a new study suggests.

Women will frequently treat suspected yeast infections themselves with
over-the-counter (OTC) products, but the findings show that most of
the time this won’t help. In fact, using such medications repeatedly
may even cause harm, Dr. Susan Hoffstetter, the co-director of the
SLUCare Vulvar and Vaginal Disease Clinic at Saint Louis University,
told Reuters Health.

“We treat ourselves because we want our problems to go away quickly,”
Hoffstetter pointed out, adding that this isn’t only the fault of
patients. “We in medicine also do a lot of treating over the phone
just to keep women from having to come in.”

Hoffstetter and her colleagues looked at the medical records for 150
women visiting the clinic for the first time who reported persistent
yeast infections.

Lab tests showed that only 26 percent of the women were infected with
Candida — the fungus responsible for yeast infections. Other causes
of vaginal itching can include sexually transmitted infections, dry
skin, or inflammation, Hoffstetter noted, which won’t respond to OTC
antifungals and could even be aggravated by these products.

Overuse of OTC yeast infection remedies can alter the normal flora of
the vagina, which can lead to other health problems, the researcher
pointed out. And, she added, drug-resistant strains of Candida are
becoming increasingly common.

If a woman experiences pain during sex, burning sensations in the
vaginal area, a thick white discharge, and pain during urination, she
may indeed have a yeast infection, Hoffstetter said. And it’s probably
okay for women to self-treat if they experience these symptoms rarely,
and they get better with OTC medication, she added.

But women who think they are suffering from yeast infections that
never go away are likely to have some other problem, Hoffstetter said.
In such cases, she advised, it’s important for a woman to actually see
a doctor or nurse practitioner and have a pelvic exam and lab tests,
if necessary, rather than just getting medical advice over the phone.