Q & A: Herbs For Vaginitis

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I am a seventeen-year-old and am very interested in natural remedies. For a year, I have been seeing a gynecologist for what I thought at first was a yeast infection. Later she informed me that bacteria was producing itself in great quantities. I had taken some over-the-counter products such as Monistat 7 previously and I informed her about this. Now I take MetroGel-Vaginal 0.75 percent. I have been taking it for three months. It is only recently that I have quit drinking. I believe now that my adolescent partying on the weekends might be affecting my recovery.

I’ve had this illness for a year and my symptoms are inflammation of my inner vaginal lips, redness, irritation, discomfort, and sometimes when it gets bad I get a clear discharge, which appears yellowish when dried. I have been tested for HIV (it was negative) and I am not sexually active. The symptoms never go away. What do you suggest? Are allergies a possibility? And how would I tell if I’m allergic to a certain food? I’ve cut out caffeine, alcohol, candy, and I’m working on completely cutting out smoking. I have started to exercise also; so far it’s been at least three times a week. Thank you so much for the magazine and your time.
—S. K., Anchorage, Alaska 

Keville responds: Good for you for working on cutting out drinking, smoking, and sweets! It will certainly make you healthier, because all of these play a role in weakening the immune system. I’m assuming that you’ve talked with your gynecologist about why this infection is so persistent and haven’t come up with any clear leads. You are right that allergies can impair your health. Because you already suspect this is a reason you aren’t healing, try selectively eliminating foods from your diet for a couple of weeks to see if that makes any difference. Milk products, as well as other proteins, are the most notorious substances for causing allergic reactions, so that’s a good place to begin. You can also be tested for food allergies. The tests aren’t completely reliable, but they do give you an idea about what is the culprit.

You say the infection sometimes gets “bad,” so that means at other times it’s better. That’s a clue for you to pay attention to lifestyle, dietary, and seasonal changes that promote this change to help you determine what aids the infection and what dampens it. Whatever the source of your infection, it seems your immune system isn’t properly fighting off the invasion. Take herbs such as echinacea (Echinacea spp.) to strengthen it, as well as infection-fighters such as Oregon grape root (Mahonia aquifolium).

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