www.fwhc.org Open in urlscan Pro
209.221.136.170  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

>  


INFECTIONS AND INSURRECTION:
WOMEN TREATING YEAST

The Great Yogurt Conspiracy

In September 1972, two founders of the Federation of Feminist Women's Health
Centers, Carol Downer and Colleen Wilson were arrested for allegedly practicing
medicine without a license. Their Los Angeles Self-Help Clinic was raided by the
California Department of Consumer Affairs and the Board of Medical Examiners.
The Self-Help Clinic presented the local medical establishment with competition.
Concerned with the potential loss of revenue for the local physicians, one
doctor, three uniformed police and several plainclothes investigators
confiscated four truckloads of supplies and equipment, in order to shut down
operations of the women-controlled clinic. The reason for the arrest? Downer had
inserted yogurt into the vagina of a women's center staff member.

The trial became known as the, "Great Yogurt Conspiracy" and was a crucial
turning point in the women's health movement. Downer was found not guilty by
arguing that applying yogurt as a home remedy for an ordinary yeast infection is
not practicing medicine. The verdict reinforced women's control over their own
bodies and established that at-home methods of self-care are, indeed, lawful.

What is Yeast?

Women have known for a long time how to recognize and treat an overgrowth of
vaginal yeast, or a "yeast infection." Technically a fungus, yeast is also
called "Candida" or "Monilia." It results from an upset of the vaginal Ph or an
imbalance of the vagina's acid and base elements. It is not a true "infection"
since there is no outside bacteria that enters the body to cause a problem;
rather, the "infection" is an overgrowth of monilia naturally found in the
vagina. To diagnose, a clinician takes a "wet mount" and looks at the vaginal
secretions under a microscope. Yeast is easy to identify without this test,
however, since it announces itself with itching (not burning, unless the area is
scratched raw) and a discharge. Typically, a yeast discharge will be white,
thick and lumpy (this is usually described as "cottage-cheese-like"). Yeast is
not dangerous and unless its symptoms, discharge and itching, are bothersome, it
is not necessary to treat.

Self-Help and Self-Care

The feminist movement fostered Consciousness Raising (CR) groups, small
friendship networks of women who gathered to share their life stories and create
change in their lives. Carol Downer brought a plastic speculum into her CR group
and the group began to focus on self-help, vaginal and cervical self exam.
Later, she and the others founded the LA Self-Help clinic to share what they'd
learned with other women.

These self-help groups flourished around the country as women investigated what
was, for them, new territory in women's health. They researched natural, home
remedies and discovered useful tools to self-care, such as yogurt to combat
yeast infections. These groups spread the knowledge to other women and together
they demanded simpler, easier, alternative treatments to common conditions such
as yeast.

Winning Over-the-Counter Treatments

"Self-helpers" used their knowledge to critically examine the medical
establishment. Why were women relying on healthcare providers for things they
could do themselves? Many of these women began political work, using their new
knowledge to advocate for women's healthcare more generally. These activists had
a decades-long battle with the Food and Drug Administration, pharmaceutical
companies and medical care providers preceding the FDA's approval of yeast
medications for over-the-counter (OTC) sale. For decades after the Great Yogurt
Conspiracy, women were still required to make and pay for an appointment at the
gynecologist, have a pelvic exam, and fill a prescription to cure this easily
recognized and easily treated condition. Women had been spending millions of
dollars a year for care of problems they can easily manage themselves.

Yet, when women's activism finally finally paid off with FDA approval for OTC
sale of yeast creams, the cost of a one time dose ranged from $13 to $20.
Further, there are even easier to use prescription methods available now,
created after the standard treatment became available OTC. In order to obtain
these simpler and easier methods, effective in just a fraction of the time the
older medications take to work, women must still see a doctor. Drug companies,
male-dominated healthcare institutions and federal health policy-makers control
women's healthcare: what medications are available, what the standard of care is
for women's health problems, what health conditions are investigated and who can
treat women. Yeast treatment is just one item on a long list of issues in
women's healthcare, such as HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and heart disease, that has
been overlooked and mishandled by those in control. The journey yeast
medications have taken shows us that evidently this control will not be easily
surrendered.

Non-Prescription Medication

The OTC medication manufacturers have been advertising aggressively since the
FDA approval. Today, it is as common to see TV ads for Monistat or Gyne-Lotrimin
as it is for breakfast cereal. These brands, as well as the three or four others
in the running, provide a chemical neutralization for the buildup of vaginal
yeast. They are creams inserted with an applicator, usually at bedtime, over the
course of 7 days. During the treatment, a woman is supposed to avoid baths and
sexual intercourse.

Easy At-Home Methods to Rebalance the Vaginal Ph

Many women use non-medical methods for treating yeast, because the cost of
over-the-counter methods is high, because they are unimpressed with OTC methods,
or simply because they prefer more natural methods. Following is a partial list
of at-home methods that may be helpful.

 * Insert unpasteurized, plain yogurt with a small spoon or spatula or vaginal
   cream applicator. Insert at night and wear a pad. Repeat for three to seven
   nights, until symptoms disappear. Douching with yogurt and water can help,
   too. It also helps to eat a lot of yogurt.
   * Katie recommends: Another option is to create a douche with water and
     yogurt and insert it via a squeeze bottle. Straight yogurt is painful for
     her.
     
 * "Paint" the vagina, cervix (you'll need a speculum) and vulva (outside area
   including the labia or "lips" of vagina) with gentian violet. It stains so
   you'll want to wear a pad. This usually works after one treatment.
 * Insert a garlic suppository. Carefully peel one clove of garlic. Wrap in
   gauze and insert into the vagina. Leave in for up to twelve hours. Repeat as
   necessary. It also helps to eat a lot of garlic.
 * Drink cranberry juice. Unsweetened is best.
 * Insert Potassium Sorbate. This is used in home beer-making and can be found
   at wine-making stores. Dip a cotton tampon into a 3% solution (15 grams of
   Potassium Sorbate in one pint of water) and insert into the vagina at night.
   Remove in the morning.
 * Drink or eat Acidophilus. It's available in powder or capsules in health food
   stores or found in some milk and yogurt products. (Read the label; some dairy
   products have added acidophilus.)
 * Douche with a vinegar/water solution. One tablespoon of vinegar to one quart
   of water, once a day. Especially effective when used with yogurt
   suppositories.
 * more ideas

Persistent and Systemic Yeast

Some women are prone to yeast conditions and get them frequently. These women
may want to pay attention to precipitating factors, which can vary from person
to person. Some things which commonly cause or worsen yeast overgrowth are
stress, sudden diet and weather changes, birth control pills, use of the
contraceptive sponge, and most commonly, a high sugar, carbohydrate, caffeine,
or yeast diet. Frequent douching can increase yeast problems. Some health
conditions, such as pregnancy and diabetes, can instigate an overgrowth.

Perhaps the biggest contributing factor in the creation of yeast overgrowth,
however, is the use, and overuse, of antibiotics. Although designed to kill
"bad" bacteria (those that make us ill) antibiotics, to varying degrees, kill
"beneficial" bacteria (those that keep us well, such as the digestive bacteria
in our intestines.) Any use of antibiotics will kill off some good bacteria and
prolonged and overly aggressive use of antibiotics can cause systemic problems
for both men and women. When the balance of good and bad bacteria is thrown off,
yeast can build up in the intestines and cause a whole host of health problems.
Whenever you take antibiotics, keep in mind this is strong medication. Ask your
provider: How does it work? Is there a topical antibiotic I could use instead?
Sometimes, antibiotics are needed but their overuse can cause serious problems.
Adding acidophilus and bifidus to your diet (in capsules) can re-balance the
intestinal bacteria, and build up resistance to future overgrowths.

Women experiencing persistent vaginal yeast overgrowth who are using a cervical
cap or diaphragm, need to wash and dry it well after use. Some women have found
relief from tenacious conditions with the "sucking air" method of douching. In a
bathtub, a woman can insert yogurt, vinegar or other remedy. Lying on her back,
hands at her side and palms down, she can bring her feet back over her head.
This action causes the vagina to balloon out and pulls the vinegar or yogurt all
the way in to fill the vagina and get every fold of skin.

Systemic yeast is a system-wide infection/overgrowth throughout the body. It
requires dramatic changes in diet and long-term attention to avoiding things
that encourage yeast to grow.

Yeast and HIV

Having a yeast condition can increase your susceptibility to contracting HIV,
since vaginal irritation may allow easier passage of the virus into the
bloodstream. For years women's health advocates worked to demonstrate that the
common perception of HIV and AIDS was based on men's experiences, and it is now
recognized that nearly-constant yeast overgrowth can be a marker of HIV
infection in women. The immune system suppression from HIV can cause an
imbalance in the vagina's chemistry, resulting in persistent yeast overgrowth.

If a woman experiences yeast that is chronic, severe, and resistant to
treatment, and she and her healthcare provider have ruled out other possible
causes such as systemic yeast or overuse of antibiotics, she may want to
consider being tested for HIV. Because there is a precedent of discrimination
against people who test for HIV (regardless of their results), the Feminist
Women's Health Centers recommend anonymous testing. We offer this service at
both our Renton and Yakima clinics.

Douching

The vagina is a self-cleaning organ, and as such, does not need "washing." In
fact, regular douching can be harmful because it creates an upset in the normal
vaginal Ph. In a healthy vagina, douching can actually cause a yeast infection!

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.

 Written by Lynne Vickery, a health worker at Cedar River Clinic, wrote this
article in the fall of 1993 at the end of her first year working in an abortion
clinic. Lynne has Bachelor Degrees in Human Sexuality Education and Counseling
and Women’s Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Lynne
worked at Cedar River Clinic for four years.

more resources on yeast :

 * http://www.sistersong1.org/yeastinfect.htm
 * natural yeast (Candida, Monila) treatments

more resources on the self-help movement:

 * For Women Only: Your Guide to Health Empowerment - book by Barbara Seaman and
   Gary Null - includes a long section on the history and revolutionary
   significance of self-help gynecology. Published in 1999.
 * see Self Care on our Health page

> 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> more about "self help"



Feminist Women's Health Center