How to Prevent Yeast Infections
Yeast infections are a bacterial infection that can start as a mild itch but can progress to an extremely painful infection. If you have never had a yeast infection, you can easily mistake it for another condition. If you frequently have them, however, you probably know the very first signs. Regardless, you should know how to prevent yeast infections before they start.
First: Clothing
Wear loose-fitting underwear and pants to help keep you cooler. Tight clothing can help bacteria to grow, which you want to avoid. Wear cotton underwear instead of wearing satin or other fabrics. If you are not willing to part with your fancy underwear, at least consider underwear with a cotton panel.
Second: Exercising
Change clothes as soon as possible after you work out. Your damp workout clothing can harbor bacteria that can lead to a yeast infection. Choose workout clothing that is made from cotton or that at least has a cotton panel in the crotch.
Third: Hygiene
Avoid using douches, fragrant feminine hygiene products and tampons that have scents added to them. These types of products change the pH of your vagina and can lead to a yeast infection. Douching can actually make a yeast infection far worse by sending the bacteria into your uterus.
Fourth: Antibiotics
When you take antibiotics, they kill off all sorts of organisms, even the ones that are beneficial. You are at a much greater risk of developing a yeast infection after you take antibiotics, because your body no longer has a defense against the bad bacteria. If you are prone to yeast infections, talk to your doctor about ways to prevent them before they happen when you need to take antibiotics.