Possible infection? I need some advice!

[lotusblossom9]

So yesterday morning after I took a bath, I started having some irritation, itchiness "down there", and a burning sensation when I pee. My first thought was that maybe I used too much soap or maybe the tub wasn't as clean as I thought and it got irritated from that. I also have some white discharge, but I've been having that since I got pregnant (and the OB said that that was normal at the time).

I woke up this morning and I'm still having the same symptoms. So now I'm wondering if it's possibly an infection of some sort? So I call my m/w group and they are closed on Wednesdays. I call my old OB/GYN to see if they could see me today (we are going on vacation tomorrow for 5 days) and they won't see me because it would be "inappropriate" to care for a patient that is no longer in their practice.

I called and left a message for a nurse to call me back at my primary care doctors office but no one has called me back yet. Ugh! I don't know what to do. I dont' want to go on vacation and this get worse. Any suggestions??

[Sunshine4004]

Did you try to rewash with just water in case it is from not rinsing the soap well enough? I don't know what it could be but I hope it gets better soon. Hopefully you will hear back from your doctor's office and they can get you an appointment for today.

[lorelei]

I'm no doc, but here's my take. (If you have a gen prac, they might be able to help you out. IMHO- I think your old ob is being kind of juvenile by not seeing you when your current practitioner is unavailable.)


If you're not having any pain other than the itchiness, and you are having normal color discharge, it might be Candida, ie yeast infection.

If you can whip out a mirror and check things, yeast looks like little white or pale bumps, and your tissues will likely be more reddish than normal as a result of the irritation.

You can try taking another bath, as hot as you can stand, with a cup of apple cider vinegar dumped in.
Also, eat some yogurt, and or smear some on your yoni. The good bac in it is supposed to combat the yucky yeasties. I'm sure you can search here on mdc and get lots more yi remedies. Stay away from food with sugar and white bread, etc. Eating stuff like that seems to only help the yeast in my experience.

Or if you want a more immediate solution, and don't mind otc stuff, go get yourself one of the drugstore treatments like monistat. I'd personally hold off on that though unless I was sure it was yeast. I think the inserts say not to use them unless you've been diagnosed w a y/i once already, but that may be just CYA for them.

Good luck mama, these are no fun!

[sunnymw]

Ick, sounds like a yeast infection.

I would go ahead and go on vacation, call the MWs tomorrow and explain that you're on vacation and have these symptoms, they'll likely be able to tell you for sure if that's what it is or not. without you coming in.

[Mom2Lex&Cay]

Sounds like yeast to me as well. DD1 has had slight problems off and on from the time she was an infant.

My understanding is that sometimes bathing can cause this and specifically bubble baths because it causes an imbalance of the "good bacteria" allowing the icky stuff to get out of control. As much as she loves the bubbles I find we have to be careful as DD seems to be sensitive to it. We just had a flare up this week following a bath.

For me, I would try some natural remedies, keep an eye on it, and enjoy my vacation.

[Mom2Lex&Cay]

Another note I thought of is that many women who may not usually have problems can be a bit more prone to yeast infection during pregnancy since our bodies are out of wack/ balance as a result.

[lotusblossom9]

Hi ladies,

I just got back from the doctor's office. They took a urine sample and no sign of any infection. However, they weren't able to test for a yeast infection. My m/w returned my call and said that it sounded like a yeast infection to her, and to start Monistat 3 day inserts plus Monistat cream.

I think what I'm going to do is buy some probiotics (I'm lactose intolerant so hopefully I can find dairy-free) and use for a couple days and if the irritation doesn't go away, then I'll do the OTC yeast stuff while away on vacation. I don't want to do the whole Monistat thing if it's just irritated from soap or something.

Thanks for your advice!!

[yvonnemlv]

you can stick them up your yoni too, you don't need to consume them in your mouth. and if you're lucky you can find some marketed specifically for the yoni.

[lorelei]

Azo makes a y/i treatment, I've gotten it at the supermarket and walgreens before. This is what it has in it-

Each Tablet Represents Boneset (Eupatorium Perfoliatum) 6x, Mistletoe Leaf (Viscum Album) 6x in a Natural Base Containing Lactobacillus Sporogenes, Cellulose, Lactose and Maltodextrin.

They're about the size of an asprin, so should be easy and not noticeable to insert one in your yoni. When I have a y/i I take them orally and one or two a day vaginally.

Good luck!

[catnap70]

Originally Posted by Mom2Lex&Cay

Another note I thought of is that many women who may not usually have problems can be a bit more prone to yeast infection during pregnancy since our bodies are out of wack/ balance as a result.

Yep. All of that extra discharge and moisture makes a great environment for yeasty beasties. I battled it my whole first pg. Try a probiotic at max dosage if you are lactose intolerant. You can also use grapefruit seed extract--although dose at different times of the day than the probiotic. You might also try drinking some kombucha--read the earlier thread in this forum about kombucha to decide if you are OK drinking it in pg since it is a raw food, but it should help with candida. You can also smear yogurt and insert it, since it won't be going in your tummy. It will help the itch and kill the beasties. Just use a natural yog. with no sugar added. And as a pp said definitely cut out sugar and yeasty foods (breads.) Good luck.

[lotusblossom9]

I'm back from vacation and went to my MW who did a urine test and a culture. The urine came back negative for anything. The other culture won't be ready until next week but my MW said she is 90% sure it's a yeast infection.
I tried taking probiotics and cutting back on sugar but it has only gotten worse. I ended up getting Monistat 7 (my MW said it was ok as long as I insterted the applicator half-way) and I finally have some relief!!
I don't like the idea of using Monistat but I was desperate!