AUDIO: Dr. Pukall, Can Yeast Infections Contribute To Vulvodynia?

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Dr. Caroline Pukall, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada discuses how yeast infections may contribute to vulvodynia.

Dr. Pukall and Todd Hartley:

Announcer:
Where do the nation’s leading doctors go to share the best health information? The same place you do: EmpowHer.com. From the EmpowHer.com studios, here is Todd Hartley.

Todd Hartley:
Dr. Caroline Pukall is with us right now. She is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Pukall, we’ve got to ask, do yeast infections contribute to vulvodynia?

Dr. Pukall:
Well, that’s a really good question. There is some evidence supporting the fact that repeated yeast infections can contribute to a higher risk of developing one particular type of vulvodynia called vestibulodynia. And so several studies have now emerged showing that women who have a history of repeated yeast infections or several yeast infections per year have an increased risk of developing vestibulodynia later in life. We are not sure what the relationship is so we do not know whether it is the yeast itself, treatments undertaken to treat the yeast infections, or some other physiological factor that is co-occurring with the yeast infections that causes it, But there seems to be some relationship between yeast infections and vestibulodynia. However, not all women with vestibulodynia have a history of repeated yeast infection so this in and of itself, these infections alone will not cause vestibulodynia later in life. There seems to be other factors that play into the etiology of vestibulodynia.

Todd Hartley:
Well, she is Dr. Caroline Pukall, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology in Kingston, Ontario, Queen’s University. Dr. Pukall, thank you for joining us.

Dr. Pukall:
Thank you.

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Your healthy podcast is brought to you by EmpowHer.com, that’s E-M-P-O-W-H-E-R.COM.

For more information on Dr. Caroline Pukall visit Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

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