Genital candidiasis medical therapy

Template:Genital candidiasis Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Antifungal drugs which are taken orally, applied directly to the affected area, or used vaginally are the drugs of choice for vaginal yeast infections. Although these drugs usually work to cure the infection (80%-90% success rate), infections that do not respond to treatment are becoming more common, especially in HIV-infected women receiving long-term antifungal therapy. Prolonged and frequent use of these treatments can lessen their effectiveness.

Medical Therapy

Over the counter drugs

Over-the-counter treatments for vulvo-vaginal candidiasis are becoming more available. As a result more women are diagnosing themselves with vulvo-vaginal candidiasis and using one of a family of drugs called "azoles" for therapy. However, misdiagnosis is common, and studies have shown that as many as two-thirds of all OTC drugs sold to treat vulvo-vaginal candidiasis were used by women without the disease. Using these drugs when they are not needed may lead to a resistant infection. Resistant infections are very difficult to treat with the currently available medications for vulvo-vaginal candidiasis.

Drug resistance

Overuse of these antifungal medications can increase the chance that they will eventually not work (the fungus develops resistance to medications). Therefore, it is important to be sure of the diagnosis before treating with over-the-counter or other antifungal medications.