IC Disease

It is not unlikely for someone to be diagnosed with a vaginal yeast infection when they in fact may have other more serious conditions that have similar symptoms. 

Bacterial Vaginitis

Bacterial vaginitis can be mistaken for a common yeast infection. The main difference between the two is that the bacterial vaginitis discharge has a bad odor. In yeast infections, there should be no odor with the discharge. Women who left their bacterial vaginitis go untreated can end up with pelvic inflammatory disease which leads to further infertility.

STD

Gonorrhea and herpes are STD’s that can be mistaken for vaginal yeast infections because of the similarities in the symptoms - particularly the itching and the discharge.  This is why it is so important to not self-diagnose or to self treat without first seeing a physician.

Please read Part 1 & Part 2 of this series which cover the symptoms and causes of vaginal yeast infections. 

When it comes to getting treated for a vaginal yeast infection, you should always see your physician and not self-medicate by purchasing any over-the-counter products unless your doctor gives you permission to do so.  If a woman has had previous vaginal yeast infections, and her doctor determines that her current infection is due to yeast overgrowth, there are many over-the-counter products available your physician may recommend.  Some of these include Monistat, Gyne-Lotrimin, and Femstat.  These products are meant to be used for one to seven days depending on product and instructions.

Vagisil can be used during a vaginal yeast infection to help soothe the itching/burning that is common and annoying. 

On the prescription medication end, there is a one pill drug called Diflucan that will treat yeast infections.  For women who don’t like to use messy creams and would prefer a quick treatment, this one would be a good choice.  There are a few other oral prescription medications that can be taken but these will need to be taken for a week to 13 days. 

Part 2 of the vaginal yeast infection series will cover the causes.  Please go back and read yesterday’s post that covered the symptoms of yeast infections.

What causes vaginal yeast infections?

Canidida albicans is the main cause of vaginal yeast infections. Canidida is a normal fungi that lives in the mouth, intestines and vagina and is usually harmless. Canidida becomes an issue when there is an overgrowth.   So what causes the overgrowth that leads to the infections?

• Antibiotics - If a woman has recently been on antibiotics for another type of infection/illness. 
• Certain clothing materials - women who wear pantyhose, tight pants, underwear or any type of material that traps in the heat and moisture.
• Eating too many foods with sugar, yeast, and starch.
• Birth control pills
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Premenstrual Syndrome
• Pregnancy
• MS

Part 3 tomorrow will cover treatments available for vaginal yeast infections.

Approximately 75% of all women will experience a vaginal yeast infection at least one time in their lives.  Once a woman gets her first vaginal yeast infection, there is a greater chance that she will get one again.  One mistake that is common for women to make when it comes to treating yeast infections is many will try to self-medicate.  Another mistake women make is not knowing what the symptoms of a yeast infection are. 

Symptoms

The symptoms of a yeast infection include vaginal:

• itching
• burning
• irritation
• redness
• discharge

For women who develop serious yeast infections, or those who do not get treatment right away, they can have swelling of the vulva and painful, frequent urination.  The discharge that is seen in vaginal yeast infections is a thick, white, cottage cheese type discharge. 

Tomorrow Part 2 will cover the causes of vaginal yeast infections.

Treating Celiac Disease doesn’t require medication or surgery.  A patient who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease is treated by giving up all food items that contain gluten.  It may sound simple but it’s really not.  I have a relative who has Celiac Disease and there are so many foods that contain gluten and she has had trouble sticking to the diet.  Anything made with and that includes wheat, rye, barley and oats is off limits for someone with Celiac Disease.  That means no bread - unless you make your own gluten-free bread or buy gluten-free bread.  Most cereals would also be off limits to Celiac patients as well as many, many other foods.

This is what the Celiac Sprue Association has to say about gluten:

What is Gluten?

The term “gluten” is, in a sense, a generic term for the storage proteins that are found in grains. In reality, each type of protein - gliadin in wheat, hordein in barley, secalin in rye, avenin in oats, zein in corn and oryzenin in rice - is slightly different from the others. The “gluten” in wheat, barley, rye, and a much lower amount in oats* (WBRO), contain particular amino acid sequences that are harmful to persons with celiac disease. It is important to note that the gluten found in corn and rice does not cause harm to those with CD. (Note: In order to avoid confusion, the term “gluten” used in this web site refers to only that gluten found in WBRO, not that found in corn and rice.) Gluten-Free Defined.

* Inconclusive information exists concerning the inclusion of oats in the gluten-free diet. Some clinical studies indicate that uncontaminated oats may be tolerated by some people with CD. Other studies indicate that some people with CD have an immune response to oats (avenin). Currently, there is no way to identify which people with CD may tolerate oats. Therefore caution is advised when considering the use of un­contaminated oats in a gluten-free diet.

Please go back and read Part 1 (Celiac Disease:  Overview) and Part 2 (Celiac Disease:  Symptoms).

As I mentioned in Part 1, Celiac Disease can be difficult to diagnose and is often misdiagnosed because the symptoms are similar to several other chronic conditions.  Recently diagnosis rates have begun to increase because doctors are starting to learn more about this misunderstood illness and there are blood tests that can diagnose the illness. 

People with Celiac Disease have higher than normal levels of certain autoantibodies in their blood.  If a doctor suspects Celiac Disease, patients will be tested for high levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) or anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA). If test results are negative but celiac disease is still suspected, additional blood tests may be needed.

If both the blood test and symptoms point to Celiac Disease, the doctor will more than likely perform a biopsy of the small intestine to confirm the diagnosis.  During the biopsy, the doctor will check for damage to the villi in the small intestine which is what Celiac Disease does - damages the small intestine.  To obtain the tissue sample, the doctor inserts a long, thin tube (an endoscope) through the patient’s mouth and stomach into the small intestine. The doctor then takes the samples using instruments passed through the endoscope.

From what I’ve been told, it is possible for someone to have Celiac Disease but to not test positive for the autoantibodies.  I have talked to Celiac patients who have all of the symptoms but the blood test was negative, yet when they switched to a gluten-free diet their symptoms disappeared.

Please make sure you read Part 1 of this week’s Spotlight On Chronic Illness for Celiac Disease that I posted yesterday by clicking here.  Today’s post surrounding Celiac Disease is the symptoms of this little understood chronic illness.   Symptoms that may possibly affect those suffering from Celiac Disease include:

• Anemia
• Cramping and bloating in the stomach
• Appetite changes and increased cravings
• Back pain
• Constipation
• Dehydration
• Decreased ability to clot blood
• Gas
• Lack of coordination
• Mouth sores
• Muscle cramps
• Extremely dry skin
• Weight loss
• Weakness
• Changes in bowels/stools
• Depression
• Loss of interest in normal routine activities
• Mood changes and/or irritability
• Inability to concentrate

I have a sister-in-law who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease several years ago.  Celiac Disease is when someone has an intolerance to products that contain gluten (wheat, rye, barley & oats).  Eating any foods that contain gluten will result in damage to the small intestine and doesn’t allow the body to absorb nutrients properly.

People who have Celiac Disease are often misdiagnosed with having other chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammatory bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, intestinal infections and iron deficiency anemia. 

Approximately 1 out of every 133 people have Celiac Disease but 97% of those suffering have not been diagnosed.  The risks that come with having Celiac Disease may include cancer, thyroid disease, Type 1 Diabetes, malnutrition, anemia and infertility.

Tomorrow I will post the symptoms of Celiac Disease. 

I am starting to run out of information to post on strictly IC Disease and related conditions so I thought I would start a new series where I post information on other chronic illnesses that are affecting Americans.  There are so many illnesses out there and many that most of us have never heard of. 

Tomorrow I will start the series off with Celiac Disease and will focus on that illness for a few days.  If you have any requests of illnesses you would like me to post about just leave a comment and I will add it to my growing list of ideas!