Chronic vaginal infections

All women secrete moisture and mucus from the membranes that line the vagina and cervix. This discharge is clear or slightly milky and may be somewhat slippery or clumpy. When dry, it may be yellowish. When a woman is sexually aroused, under stress, or at midcycle, this secretion increases.

It has been proposed that some women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis RVVC develop sensitization to Candida albicans and clinically improve in response to Candida immunotherapy. Here, we report a case series of 12 women diagnosed with chronic vulvovaginal Candida hypersensitivity subsequently treated with Candida immunotherapy and review potential systemic and localized host immune defense mechanisms involved in C. A retrospective review of vulvovaginal Candida hypersensitivity in women who were treated with C. Twelve women who qualified for a diagnosis of vulvovaginal Candida hypersensitivity were treated with Candida immunotherapy. The majority of these women were not sensitized to seasonal or perennial aeroallergens and clinically responded to lower concentrations of C. In general, Candida immunotherapy was well tolerated.

Frequently ignored by the medical community, chronic vulvovaginal symptoms are relatively common and can be frustrating for patients and physicians. Establishing a proper diagnosis will lay the foundation for an effective therapeutic plan. Fungal cultures are an important component of the work-up. The most common causes of chronic vaginal symptoms are recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis RVVC , vulvar vestibulitis syndrome and irritant dermatitis.

Some people may be susceptible to frequent yeast infections but there are steps you can take to prevent them — if you know what triggers them But there it is again — the maddening itch that signals another vaginal yeast infection. If you have 4 or more vaginal yeast infections a year, you have a chronic yeast infection problem, says Erin Nelson, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Chronic yeast infections can be frustrating for patients and doctors, says Linda Masini, a nurse practitioner at Advocate Medical Group in Chicago. Why do yeast infections keep coming back, no matter what you do?