chatwithketch

Q: Last year July I noticed some warts like stuff around my anus, thigh and labia (and it itches a little). I did series of tests. The first came back as candida albicans (treated but no result), did another candida again + E.coli, treated but the stuff didn’t disappear; so I went to another lab this year March. The result came back with candida + staph aureus. I was given fluconazole, mycoten insertion cream, sevedox and I took injection (certriaxone) for 5 days but it still didn’t disappear.

Just did another test last week and it shows the candida (moderate growth) is still there, but the staph is gone.

My questions are, was I given the wrong treatment? Why is candida so hard to get rid of? Can it affect my reproductive system and my period? Does it show warts-like symptoms? Any other test I can do aside the HVS (both swab and urine) that I have been doing?

A: This is one part of a long mail. I will address this part today and deal with the other part tomorrow. First, anything that looks like warts in the genitals should be checked out in the hospital. Please see your doctor for a proper medical examination.

I have addressed these issues before and will just pull from the posts I’d written before.

E.Coli is found in faeces and would usually cause infections in the vagina due to the proximity of the vagina to the anus. Good personal hygiene is helpful in preventing this. Doing things as simple as wiping your genital from the front to the back can stop the deposition of E.coli at the doorstep of your genitals and thus prevent E. coli infections.

Staphylococcus aureus is usually spread by direct contact with an infected sore or use of infected personal care items like shave sticks, plasters or bandages.

Technically, Staph infections are not considered Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI); however, because Staph is spread through skin to skin contact, it can cause an STI if there is contact between the genitals and the area with a Staph infection. Remember also, that these bacteria are found on the skin and so can show up in urine. Thus, if this was isolated in your urine, it does not mean that it is sexually transmitted. As part of the test carried out in isolating the organism in your urine, specific antibiotics would have been shown as being active against the organism. Be sure to use this and complete the dose.

Given that Staph infections are spread through person to person contact, practicing good hygiene is a great idea. Wash your hands often especially after contact with situations described above. Remember that you can also spread the infection from one part of your body to another, so it is important to keep wounds clean and properly covered. If a towel is used to clean the area, this should be done once and then the towel washed in hot water. Do not share items of personal care like towels and be sure to bath every day.

And for candidiasis: this is caused by an organism called Candida, a fungus (yeast). This infection can result in cheesy white (like ground melon/egusi seeds) vaginal discharge and vaginal itching. This itching can lead to irritation in the vagina which can become further infected by bacteria.

Candidiasis is very common in diabetics (the sugar in their urine makes the vagina a rich culture medium for them) and pregnant women who have altered glucose tolerance. This infection is also common in people people whose immune systems are compromised and people who wear tight panties that do not allow their delicate inner selves to ‘breath’. Preferred materials for undies would be cotton and should be loose (I see my fashionistas frowning :D). It also happens in people who take a lot of antibiotics. Normally, some bacteria and fungi (yeast) co-exist peacefully 😀 in the vagina. To encourage this peaceful co-existence, the bacteria produce some acid that hold the yeast in check and prevent their over-growth. When antibiotics are abused, this leads to a situation where the yeast takes over 😉 (almost like a coup, right?). Though this infection can be passed on through sexual intercourse…especially oral-genital contact, it’s not really called an STI because women who are not sexually active can be infected with this.

Treatment is with anti-fungal vaginal tablets and/or anti-fungal cream which can be used for between 1-3 days depending on drug of choice. A single course dose of Fluconazole can also be taken orally. Any of these regimen may be extended if the infection is complicated…let your doctor be the best judge of that 😀

Prevention is targeted at causes:

• Wear loose fitting cotton undies 😀
• Stay away from or limit time spent in hot tubs or saunas
• Stick strictly with the prescription for antibiotics in terms of quantity and duration
• Change out of wet clothes eg swim suits as soon as possible

And so answering your questions, you were given the right treatment but this treatment will not work if you keep exposing yourself the risk factors like wearing tight, nylon undies, taking antibiotics indiscriminately etc. Candida infections would usually occur about a week before a menstrual period (though it can and does occur at other times too) and it does not appear as warts. Your doctor, when doing a pelvic exam can decide to take a sample of discharge from the mouth of your womb, the cervix as opposed to the High Vaginal Swab, he had done. This is sent to the lab to confirm what type of yeast (fungal) infection that is present.

I hope I answered all the questions,,,and a lot, they were too! 😀

Good night people 😀