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Manufacturers of douches, deodorants, scented tampons, soaps and perfumes would have us believe the vagina is dirty. In order to sell their products they must make us believe women's bodies are naturally unclean and have unpleasant odors. However, a healthy vagina has a pleasant, lightly musky odor and chemicals like these can mask changes in that odor which may signal an infection. These chemicals can also be harmful, by irritating the skin, mucous membrane, and Ph balance of the vagina. Unless it is used as a method for treating problems such as yeast overgrowth, douching is unnecessary and potentially harmful.

Although most vaginal infections in women are due to bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, or yeast, there may be other causes as well. These causes may include allergic and irritative factors or other STDs. Noninfectious allergic symptoms can be caused by spermicides, vaginal hygiene products, detergents, and fabric softeners. Cervical inflammation from these products often is associated with abnormal vaginal discharge, but can be distinguished from true vaginal infections by appropriate diagnostic tests.

Candida albicans is a yeast-like fungus that normally lives in healthy balance in the body and is found mostly in the intestines, genital tract, mouth and throat. When the balance is upset, infection results. This is known as Candidiasis and the fungus travels to all parts of the body through the bloodstream. In the mouth, it is called thrush; in the vagina, it is called a yeast infection. Candidiasis affects both women and men but is rarely transmitted sexually. Women with diabetes have more yeast infections because their vaginal environment is more conducive to the yeast growth.

Immune suppression has been linked to the causes of the overgrowth of yeast. Some factors of change such as change in diet or nutritional habits can cause and imbalanc of yeast. Even the use of broad spectrum antibiotics, such as tetracycline or penicillin which can suppress and even kill beneficial bacteria that are vital to the genital tract, can allow the yeast to multiply and go unchecked. There are other underlying factors, such as Diabetes, that are believed to possilbly be the root cause of Yeast Infections.

Yeast infection may follow a course of antibiotics (particularly tetracycline) that were prescribed for another purpose. The antibiotics change the normal balance between organisms in the vagina by suppressing the growth of protective bacteria that normally have an antifungal effect.

Vaginal yeast infection can be passed back and forth between sexual partners as it can reside under the foreskin of the male. It is for this reason both partners should be treated in order to stop the problem.

In clinical settings, candidiasis if commonly treated with antimycoticsthe antifungal drugs commonly used to treat candidiasis are topical clotrimazole, topical nystatin, fluconazole, and topical ketoconazole. In severe infections (generally in hospitalized patients), amphotericin B, caspofungin, or voriconazole may be used. Local treatment may include vaginal suppositories or medicated douches. Gentian violet can be used for breastfeeding thrush, but pediatrician William Sears recommends using it sparingly,since in large quantities it can cause mouth and throat ulcerations in nursing babies, and has been linked to mouth cancer in humans and to cancer in the digestive tract of other animals.