WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for July, 1998: Re: Antibiotics and yeast

Re: Antibiotics and yeast

From: anonymous@obgyn.net
Fri, 10 Jul 1998 17:26:16 -0500 (CDT)

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>-----------
>>I am on a 10-day course of Augmentin and I am starting to show some
>>signs of a yeast infection. Is there any point in trying to treat this
>>while I am still on the antibiotic or should I just suffer until I
>>finish the antibiotic before I try to treat the yeast? Will the yeast
>>come back while I am still on the antibiotic?
>>
>>Andrea
>>

General yeast principles, from someone who studies yeast in the lab:

1) Yeast covers a wide number of fungal organisms, fromthe harmless baker's yeast to the pathogenic variety. They are quite distinct and widely distributed in nature and in us.

2) Yeast are not bacteria; they are "eukaryotic" cells, like our own. That means that antibiotics do not affect them--antibiotics ONLY affect bacteria, not yeast, (and not viruses).

3) The common association of vaginal yeast infections with antibiotic treatment reflects our natural internal environment. Our bodies carry a distribution of microbes in various parts, including yeast and bacteria in the vaginal tract. The numbers are normally balanced so you may not realize that you even have them. When you take a course of antibiotics, you kill off not only the target bacteria that are causing the infection, but the benign bacteria throughout your body. Without the balance of numbers provided by the "good" bacteria, the naturally occuring yeast can multiply further, or overgrow, and thus cause a yeast infection.

4) Until your microbe populations balance each other again, you may be vulnerable to a yeast infection. Fortunately, you CAN treat this at the same time as you are on antibiotics, since anti-yeast drugs and antibiotics target different things. Hopefully by the time you finish treatment of your yeast infection, your course of antibiotics should be done!

5) Remember, ALWAYS finish the prescribed course of antibiotics and don't stop taking pills early. If you don't finish, you run the risk of developing an antibiotic- resistant infection, which the doctors on this site will tell you is a very bad thing.

6) Some women recommend consuming yogurt (contains live lactobacilli) and acidic drinks (such as cranberry juice) to help battle a yeast infection and get the microbial numbers back in synch. I have NO IDEA if this has any scientific basis, but I confess I do it when I have a yeast infection!

As always, *consult your physician* for diagnosis and treatment. This information is provided for reference only; I am not medical doctor.

--
Susan L Forsburg, PhD
forsburg@salk.edu
http://pingu.salk.edu/~forsburg/

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