WWYD

[happynaturalmama]

I posted before about thinking I had some kind of vaginal infection, I assumed yeast because it was topical and I'm not really itchy internally (maybe slightly and the vaginal entrance).  I've been having a yellow/light green mucus like discharge (I almost want to say I had it in my past pregnancies but can't quite remember)  Anyway, every time I get close to calling a dr or mw, I just can't bring myself to do it :/  It just doesn't.....feel right.  Would you try treating it yourself to see if it goes away (like garlic cloves?) or would you just go and have it tested.  Sometimes I feel fine about it and don't worry but other times the worry seems to seep into my thoughts.

What was your discharge like during pregnancy?   I just entered the second trimester.  Thanks ladies!

[mommato5]

Get it tested. Untreated infections can cause problems.

[poorlittlefish]

Yes. My BF had bacterial vaginosis (sp?) and it cause her to go into preterm labor at 26 weeks.  Not something to mess with.

[ElizabethE]

*sigh*

I have had a little previous experience with this. In that experience of being treated for both conditions previously mentioned with multiple natural and medicinal remedies, it did not clear up, and the baby was fine. My midwives told me that this is very normal and I was lucky I had not experienced this unpleasantness before, and sometimes the pH on a pregnant woman is just funny like that, and will probably clear up on its own after pregnancy.

I was more concerned about it than they were. I had read that BV in particular was dangerous, and read lots of yeast horror stories as well. I was scared of passing things to the baby, getting things in my blood stream, etc. Nothing we were using worked! But they seemed confident that all was well, though, even though I thought it was very odd and felt pretty concerned. It was just a really yucky situation to be in, especially for someone who'd never experienced this before at all. I am of the belief that they must have been right, unless someone else here feels that was horrible advice on their parts.

If it'll make you feel any better, get it checked out, but there are no guarantees that anything will definitely "cure" it regardless, and in the end your caretakers (depending on who they are and what their philosophies are) could more or less throw their hands up and say not to worry about it and just deal with it. Or maybe you'll get lucky and they'll admit you to a hospital (j/k!!!).

One thing that occurs to me now and then when I think of these conditions and the paranoia surrounding them is that I learned that many women have BV or yeast overgrowth but don't even know it. Sometimes symptoms are so mild that it's not even recognized, and those women and their babies end up just fine. Anyway, I never went into preterm labor. Not to say it doesn't happen, I'm just saying.

[happynaturalmama]

Thanks for the input ladies! I know that untreated infections can cause problems but I don't think deep down that there's really anything wrong.  I just get randomly stressed about it :/

Elizabeth, that's what I was thinking, I treated it as yeast early on and while most of the symptoms went away (the external symptoms) I still have the tinted discharge occasionally, to be honest on most days I feel everything is completely fine and that it's normal, it's not an all day every day thing, ya know? I just notice more on some days.  Then there are the days that I let the fear creep in, I made an appt to be seen to get it checked out but it doesn't "feel" right.....which probably sounds weird lol but that's the feeling I get every time I try to make an appt with someone.  Nothing feels as right as just doing this with just my husband and I, but I suppose one appt can't hurt....

Edited by happynaturalmama - 3/10/11 at 6:10am

[dayiscoming2006]

Yeah, I so hate going to any doc for anything. I totally get how you feel. I too have had some issues with my skin around that area. Pretty sure it's ringworm and was diagnosed by my family doc with ringworm but he passed me on to a derm and the derm said it was eczema but I read about it online and I would have to strongly disagree with her and she prescribed a steroid cream and I don't want to use it. I know it is category C, which I am not comfortable with and also I read that it will only suppress the problem for a time then the problem will likely come back and possibly worse than ever. 

Also, the midwife prescribed me a class C vag yeast infection stuff even though I don't have symptoms and I don't think she actually checked. I think she just gave it to me just in case which I'm not cool with.

Anyway, docs suck, but you could go in and maybe they might be helpful, or they could be completely useless. Who knows. 

[GoBecGo]

If you aren't comfortable doing it with anyone but your husband can you find a lab that will culture a swab (you did yourself) for you?

I would do it mainly because it sounds like vaginal e coli which i have had several times, despite good hygiene, due i think to my very short perineum.  I'm not sure if it's dangerous or not, but it is annoying, and can develop into UTI's which i've also had due to it!  I guess because there is (to me) a general discomfort with pregnancy i would see if there was a way to stay in my comfort zone (no doctors in your case) but get the answers i need anyway.

[Banana731]

If I really was concerned about something (infection, etc)  I might go to see someone to have it diagnosed. Personally, I would try natural Tx first no matter what it was and being seen by a cp wouldn't change that. Honestly most of the time, if I prefer to just self diagnose mild things and treat it myself. The natrural Tx for things like BV and yeast overgrowth are harmless so I would feel pretty comfortable just going that route first.

[Mamatoabunch]

If I suspected something I would treat naturally at home.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/vagInfections.html

[happynaturalmama]

Thanks again, ladies.  I really do appreciate all of the input.

I was kind of just wanting to try treating it at home, maybe garlic suppositories?  If the tinted discharge doesn't go away would you just assume that it's not actually an infection and just my normal?  I can be tested by either an OB or a MW but I know the OB will just prescribe meds and I'm not really ok with that :/

[dayiscoming2006]

Originally Posted by happynaturalmama 

Thanks again, ladies.  I really do appreciate all of the input.

I was kind of just wanting to try treating it at home, maybe garlic suppositories?  If the tinted discharge doesn't go away would you just assume that it's not actually an infection and just my normal?  I can be tested by either an OB or a MW but I know the OB will just prescribe meds and I'm not really ok with that :/

I'd lean towards a midwife though if they are a hospital midwife, they'll probably just try to prescribe meds too. Nice thing is, you just either tell them you don't like those meds or in order to avoid conflict, you smile and nod and never fill the prescription and do whatever thing you would prefer to do.

[happynaturalmama]

It's not a hospital mw, my other "issue" is I feel bad for hurting peoples feelings, and I know a lady that she works with, and I'm like, if I go see them for this one test, how do I "break up" with them.  I KNOW they're not UC supportive.  I'm such a chicken :(

[GoBecGo]

Do you get walk-in STD clinics where you are (bear with me!).  Because those places are set up to dx and treat infections (including non-sexually transmitted things, that's where some of my ecoli UTI's have been treated!) and really this is probably nothing to do with pregnancy.  You could make up some story like "i'm staying with friends and only here a month" or "my FIL is an Ob and he's been looking after me but i'm just TOO embarrassed to see him about this" or whatever.  Really you just want it swabbed and cultured, you can decide whether or not to take the offered treatment if any is needed later on.

[LadyJennifer]

The good thing about getting dx is that if they rx you a drug, you don't have to take it, but at least you know what it is and you can research natural treatments for the problem specifically (rather than hit-or-miss treatment because you don't know what you have).

[MissMia]

I actually have a similar issue to you, happynaturalmama. I feel like I have a very mild yeast infection. Before pregnancy I always treated my mild yeast infections with a bulb of garlic up there. Worked really well for me. Been hesitant to try while pregnant.

Do you ladies think it is safe to stick garlic in my ho ho during pregnancy?

[Marissamom]

Originally Posted by MissMia 

I actually have a similar issue to you, happynaturalmama. I feel like I have a very mild yeast infection. Before pregnancy I always treated my mild yeast infections with a bulb of garlic up there. Worked really well for me. Been hesitant to try while pregnant.

Do you ladies think it is safe to stick garlic in my ho ho during pregnancy?

lots of people do it to get rid of GBS. as long as your membranes are intact I don't see a reason not to. 

[GoBecGo]

Garlic is definitely safe so long as your waters aren't ruptured and you don't crush it (the juice can burn).

I would be dubious about yellowish green discharge being a yeast infection.  Yeast is white, the cells i mean, it's hard for them to make green.  Plus most women treat for yeast at the first sign of any vaginosis, when actually something like 75% of abnormal discharges are BV, not yeast - that's often why people have "thrush" over and over, it isn't thrush.  The companies which make the OTC thrush treatments have a strangle hold on the markets and minds when it comes to vaginal symptoms i think.

Yellowish CAN be a normal variation (and i only know this because i just had an IUD check due to yellowish discharge having me freaked out) but greenish, especially if it tingles, itches or burns, isn't.  In fact given my history of ecoli BV the doctor said that the yellowishness is just the shift of bacteria in my vagina due to the copper, but that if it turns greenish i should come back even if it doesn't begin to itch or hurt at all.

[mommato5]

There are NO studies showing garlic to be effective for treating anything. I'm sure it is effective at making your vagina smell like an italian restaurant though!

[Plaid Leopard]

Originally Posted by mommato5 

There are NO studies showing garlic to be effective for treating anything. I'm sure it is effective at making your vagina smell like an italian restaurant though!

Perhaps there are no studies, but I have successfully treated yeast infections with garlic (if you leave the clove in overnight you wake up with a garlic taste in your mouth).

Obviously, there are some more serious conditions that should not be treated with garlic, and I personally would have a greenish discharge checked outjust to be sure. Then, as others have said, if it is something minor that can be taken care of with natural remedies, so much the better.

[Magali]

Originally Posted by LadyJennifer 

The good thing about getting dx is that if they rx you a drug, you don't have to take it, but at least you know what it is and you can research natural treatments for the problem specifically (rather than hit-or-miss treatment because you don't know what you have).

True.  I had BV with my first pregnancy.  My Dr. prescribed antibiotics for it, but I didn't get the prescription filled.  I tried garlic and that didn't work, so I just left it alone.  My Dr. asked me how I was doing and I told her I didn't want to take antibiotics while pg and she thought about it for a bit and eventually agreed with me.  Had a healthy full term baby.