Yeast Infections are unpleasant. There are many reasons that a yeast infection may occur, just some include pregnancy (due to hormone changes), taking antibiotics, and a weakened immune system.
I came across some comments and reviews from women in reference to specific treatment products as I was researching this topic. Information about yeast infections is not something that a woman will typically go looking for until they are looking for a cure. And even by that time, the information may come too late.
I feel this story is an important one to share. Remember this, just in case.
You have been so sick that you will do anything to get better. Your doctor prescribes a strong antibiotic with the warning, “more likely than not, you will develop a yeast infection after taking this medicine.” You feel so terrible, you don’t care. You gently tuck away the precious script in your purse and guard it with your life until you reach the pharmacy.
Finally, after a few days, you begin to feel relief and get on with your normal schedule. Then, before you know it, you start to feel the unmistakable symptoms of a yeast infection. Discomfort and itch. In places you don’t want to talk about. You scramble your brain to rewind the conversation that you had with your doctor. Finally, you remember. She said to use an over-the counter cure.
You make another trip to the pharmacy. Strategically placed somewhere between Always With Wings and Trojan Ribbed For Her Pleasure, you find the 7-Day, 3-Day and 1-Day Cure by various companies like Monistat. Confused by the options, you wonder why anyone would choose a 7-Day cure when they could have a 1-Day cure. Seems like an easy choice.
You grab the box and hurry to the check-out. The box says “Day or Night” use. It has been many years since this obnoxious itch has come around but from what you can remember, the cure is messy, uncomfortable and probably best used at night. Heal while you sleep. Sounds like a plan. So you insert the medicine, change into soft, comfy pajamas and climb into bed.
You only get an hour or two of peaceful slumber when you are awakened suddenly by a sensation that no person deserves to feel. Intense burning, irritation, and uncontrollable itching in an area that is impossible to scratch. You want to go back to sleep but you are unable. Your mind is fuzzy. “Am I having an allergic reaction to the medicine?” You race to the bathroom and grab the box off the top of the garbage. You scan the small print, looking for the ingredients in Monistat 1. Your eyes stop at the instructions that include a small passage that says, “may cause slight burning or mild itching.” SLIGHT? You have GOT to be JOKING! It should read, “will magnify your symptoms by 100 percent, making you feel like you want to jump right out of your own body.”
Unable to decide what to do, you suffer for the next couple of hours. You pace the floor, hoping the walking will cause enough friction to bring you some relief. You brainstorm about household gadgets that may help you get the medicine out. “Don’t I have a squirt bottle around here somewhere?” But mostly you pray that the sensation will let up so you can sleep and not feel like you have internal hives. Finally, your prayers are answered and you do fall back to sleep.
When you awake the next day, you still feel slight discomfort but are relieved that the worst seems to be over. How strange that you went to the doctor for an illness and were treated with a drug that caused another problem? Madness.
Later that day, you read reviews of this product and find that you are not alone in your reaction. If only you could have read those reviews prior to your purchase. But why would you? Yeast infections are not the type of thing that you think about until you need a cure. From the reviews I have seen, both the 1-Day and the 3-Day received poor reviews by other women that experienced painful side effects.
I wish that I could recommend a cure but I can only communicate what was not preferred. There may be women that have not had a bad reaction to these products but I wouldn’t want to chance it. Based on the experiences of other women, I personally am thankful for their opinions.