(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Many women who believe they are suffering from a
common vaginal infection may actually be misdiagnosing themselves. A recent
study reveals nearly three of every four women who think they have this
infection are wrong.
Susan Hoffstetter, Ph.D., a women's health researcher from Saint Louis
University School of Medicine, cautions against assuming the unpleasant symptoms
associated with yeast infections are always caused by a yeast infection.
Dr. Hoffstetter and her colleagues report only about a quarter of women who were
tested in her clinic for what the patients thought were yeast infections
actually had the condition. The study is based on 150 women who came to the
clinic seeking treatment for the condition.
While vaginal yeast infections are extremely common -- about three out of every
four women will suffer from one of these infections at least once in her
lifetime -- many other conditions can cause similar symptoms, and continuing to
treat symptoms with over-the-counter medications can just make the situation
worse, especially if the problem isn't really a yeast infection to begin with.
"If you treat yourself and it never goes away, you shouldn't continue to treat
yourself," Dr. Hoffstetter was quoted as saying. "You're making a situation
worse and you can get into cyclic episodes where you think you have a yeast
infection all of the time."
Dr. Hoffstetter, who is a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of
Vulvovaginal Disease, recommends making an appointment with your doctor or a
women's health clinic for a thorough evaluation instead. That's the only way to
tell whether the irritation and discharge are from a yeast infection or
something else, like inflammation, dry skin tissues, or a sexually transmitted
disease.
SOURCE: Saint Louis University press release, Sept. 10, 2007
