Natural Yeast Infection Remedies: Herbal Solutions & Lifestyle Tips

Yeast is very difficult to treat so I think it's important to use several remedies unless one particular one works for you. Luckily, my yeast infection isn't as bad as others report (my symptoms: cottage cheese like discharge, watery discharge, lower back pain and abdominal fullness/pain, some itching although it isn't terrible). Here's what worked, and didn't work, for me:

First, I tried using oral probiotics for 2 weeks, and although it seemed to help it didn't clear the yeast completely.

Next, I used a yogurt douche, and while that helped temporarily or about 24 hours I actually feel it made my yeast come back with a vengeance.

Next, I tried the ACV remedy, taking 1 tbsp 2-3x day orally in water, as well as soaking a tampon in a diluted ACV mixture and wearing for 15 minutes for a period of 3-4 days. That did help, and I did notice some lessening of yeast, but didn't clear the yeast completely.

Next, I tried storebought vaginal probiotic suppositories which, like the yogurt douche, seemed to help initially but then made the condition worse within a day or two. I think it's safe to say that adding other probiotics in the vaginal tract doesn't work, at least for me!

Desperate, I found some coconut oil in my cupboard and then realized I also have some tea tree/lavender essential oil from. The caprylic acid in coconut oil is reputed to kill yeast, and I have had great success using coconut oil for many things, including coconut oil suppositories for hemorrhoids, so I thought, why not? I used the blister pack that my vaginal suppositories came in for the mold (you can use any blister pack for pills that have a round, pill-like shape), put my coconut oil jar in a bowl of hot water to melt the oil into liquid, poured the liquid into the mold and added 4-5 drops of tea tree/lavender oil into the mold (any more will burn! ), popped the mold into the fridge and then waited for it to solidify (15 mins or so), then quickly took out the suppository and inserted vaginally right before bed (might be good to do while lying down IN bed because this melts quickly from your body heat and will drip out if you stand up! ) Just note that in the morning, this will come out and it can get messy, so wear pantyliners or pads to protect your clothing.

The first night ... INSTANT RELIEF! The coconut oil/tea tree combo is so cooling and soothing... the tea tree oil makes you feel fresh. The first day, I did not experience itching at all, and there was a large reduction of discharge. This is my third day doing it and my vaginal symptoms are almost completely gone, I will continue for a week until I am *sure* I am completely asymptomatic!

I still feel a bit foggy, bloated and tired (I assume I have candida overgrowth everywhere, not just vaginally) so I am drinking ACV 2-3x day, taking 1 tsp coconut oil 2-3x day, and also using Yeast Cleanse tablets from a popular brand. I am also drinking thyme tea as it is a strong antifungal (I make my own by putting a few strands of dried thyme in water, bringing water to a boil, covering it - this is important to save volatile oils - for about 5-10 minutes and drinking). I will also be cutting out as much sweets/bread and dairy as possible. Good luck and I hope this helps someone as much as it helped me :)

First night.. Instead of the douche I used a mini turkey baster (my douche).. Added 1 part water (boiled and cooled) to 3 parts ACV.. It BURRNNNEDD!!! ..... BUT! It was not unbearable and after about 2 mins, it stopped and the itching stopped... And when the ACV ran out, ewwwww, cottage cheese that did not smell like me.. I also soaked a tampon in the ACV mix and left it in for about 3 hours, took a cotton ball and patted some of the ACV outside which, u guessed it, burned! I then took a shower and was able to sleep itch free (oh glory).

In the morning, I itched again (arg! ) so I filled my douche (cleaned with warm water) and squirted it up there with the ACV mixture, added what remained to a clean spray bottle and sprayed the outside.. Burn again but bearable.... During the day I saw clumps of discharge that smelled yeasty (and turned slightly green at one point) but experienced less itching

Second night... Did not experince much itching during the day, so I did the douche but not the tampon insert and sprayed the outside.. Burnnned, but lasted less this time... After about 30 mins I took a shower and went to bed.. Less clumpy stuff

In the morning, my discharge was wayyyy less clumpy and almost looked normal (was a bit thick still), so I did a douche and spray again (this is when I found out that ACV makes u dry, yikes! )

Third night.. Small itch during the day.. Did a douche and spray... I was ok for the most part, no itch at all

In the morning, I did a douche & spray

Fourth night... had guests everywhere so I had to put if off..

in the morning, I was itching, so I soaked a tampon in ACV sprayed the outside and left it in for about 1 hour... I dont want to overdo it so I will stop here

The relief is amazing... no itch and frankly the ACV has worked wayyyy better and faster than most of the inserts out there..

Will let u know if I am cured!

Anyway I researched cures on earth clinic and came across oregano oil cures. I applied five drops of it mixed with 1 teaspoon coconut oil. I did this three to four times a day for 3 days although my symptoms were gone by the first day and on the thrid treatment! The first time I applied it stung and burned horribly. I persevered because I was desperate and because other creams made it worse and because diflucan takes five days to work and I wasn't willing to wait that long... Even though working as an RN with a doctor I can get it for free. The point is it worked!!! I haven't had recurrences since then and it has been about 6 months already. I strongly urge anyone that is suffering from yeast infections to try this remedy. Forget vagisil, or clotrimazole, or suppositories, try this... Use a tampon to apply if you need to but try it. It works. God bless earth clinic.

Anyways, on to the good news: I finally worked up the courage to try the ACV. I went by the closest pharmacy and bought disposable douches. I have heard in the past that douching is not great for you, so I was still real nervous. Anyhow I got home with 6 disposal douches and squirted the first one in the sink til it was empty. Then I meticulously refilled it with Apple Cider Vinegar and water, about half and half. (there may be other types of douches that refilling will be easier to do, I didnt realize this and bought the disposable because they were cheap) I rinsed off first before douching and douched in the tub. It was a tiny tingly type of burn, not a crazy hot burn, and just for a few seconds, probably not longer than 10. Then I refilled the douche with warm-ish water and rinsed. After I did this I considered waiting longer before rinsing. Maybe if you try it you will want to let the Apple Cider Vinegar set in there a minute before rinsing. So then I rinsed again to not smell of Apple Cider Vinegar and by that time I felt pretty good and positive about it. I had been testing what was in "there" with a tampon and after the douching, the tampon came out clean. I expected this after the douching but was still a little bit excited to see which way this was going to go. At this point I had alot of hope, the itching had subsided, I still had a little pain from inserting the tampon to check. So from here there were either two ways this could go: do the tampon test later and there will either be more weird goop that doesnt smell like me, OR there MIGHT be normal stuff. So of course, like you may have guessed, it was more weird goop, but it was a very tiny amount and this time around I felt confident this was going to work! I did it again the second day with the same results, I feel better, still positive, AND when I did the tampon test the second day I could tell I had less itchiness and less pain from the tampon test.

Today is the third day. I tried the tampon test again today before douching and I did NOT have pain from inserting the tampon( I was excited about this) and I ALMOST feel normal. I know from the tampon test that things are not back to normal yet, but I am confident they might get there if I keep trying. I am going to give it until I run out of douches. I will douche with my shower tonight again and update soon to let you all know if it worked or what recourse I took instead. Wish me luck and good luck with your own experimenting! P. S. Please dont hesitate to ask for more detailed explanations or anything, I just tried to keep it simple. TRIED. Lol. Sorry it is so long. I hope it is of some help.

So for the last two days, I was in horrible pain, and I had this crazy idea that seemed like it would work. Take the two most powerful antifungals - Coconut oil and acidophilus, and keep them in your vagina somehow.

Here it is ladies :

1. Take a tampon (I know this sounds excruciating but wait)
2. Soak the tampon in coconut oil. Don't need to go nuts, but just enough to coat the tampon.
3. Take a tablespoon of coconut oil and put it into a cup.
4. Next, get a good probiotic( acidophilus) in capsule form and take three to four capsules, open them up and add them to the coconut oil.
5. Stir together to make a paste. Not too thick though.
6. Then coat the tampon with the paste and insert.
7. Scrape up the rest of the paste and coat the labia and just the very outside of your vagina, to relieve any discomfort.

Sit back, relax, and wait :)

I woke up this morning and my infection was gone! No more pain, AT ALL!!!!

I would suggest doing this for a few nights though, just to be extra sure it's gone.

Hope this helps!

I have been suffering with some sort of vaginitis for the past 3 or 4 months. At first, I had itching and a fishy discharge and it seemed like Bacterial Vaginosis. I started taking P. Reuteri probiotic capsules and it seemed to go away but after sex it always came back. After that I tried taking folic acid. The smell went away but the itching was worse than ever and my vagina was red and irritated.I then tried golden seal suppositories at night while taking golden seal and garlic capsules orally. The itching and redness were worse than EVER. At this point, it was starting to look like I actually had a yeast infection, but I had no cottage cheese discharge. After reading the entries here on yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis I noticed that Apple Cider Vinegar was used to treat both, so I bought unfiltered apple cider vinegar (with the mother) and I folded 2 paper towels together to use them as a rag. I put warm water on them and poured about 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and put it on my vagina. I left it there for about 2 minutes but I noticed it wasn't burning or stinging so I thought it wasn't working. I added about 2 more tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and it still wasn't stinging, but I still kept the rag on for about 2 more minutes. It didn't help right away but about 5 minutes later, I'm sitting at my desk typing this up and I am finally ITCH FREE! The redness has also decreased. I am so happy to finally get rid of this! I'm also going to start taking the apple cider vinegar orally in a glass of water before bed. Just wanted to say that if your symptoms are ambiguous and you aren't really sure if you have a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis, it's a really good idea to try the apple cider vinegar, because people with both types of infections have seen results. You have nothing to lose !Good luck everyone! Don't give up!

I just wanted to add that I also had a recurring vaginal yeast infection (or thrush as it is known here) over the years. In Australia you can get an over the counter cream which you insert. However, I found this cream to be only a temporary fix, and the infection came back. Once, I had it twice within a two week period. Frustrated, I went to my local health food store and asked about an alternative...and yes...I was also told to insert 2 Acidophilus capsules directly into the vagina every night for 2 weeks. Major relief virtually overnight! This happened 2 years ago and I've never had an infection since!

The reason they don't tell you about it is because it's all way too simple, and if you knew about it, then you would stop having to go to the chemist for more of the other stuff which doesn't work in the long term.

ps. I discovered this site several months ago. Thank you to everyone responsible for making it work and getting the message out there. There are so many simple and cheap remedies you can use which work. Why poison yourself with pharmaceuticals which only make matters worse. All the best to everyone.

Ozone insufflation inserted vaginally at 42-65 gamma over 5-15 minutes works every single time I, or my patients have had either of these infections. This is entirely safe for all ages. I did every day when I was 8 months pregnant to enable me to have a vaginal birth at home (I swear all that oxygen to her developing brain is why my daughter is so smart:). Yin Care and ACV are great compliments to this treatment and help reduce symptoms until you get to a clinic that will administer ozone.

Start with a low dose/time and work your way up. You often only need one treatment to eliminate the infection. It is always good to balance pH and microbiome for long term defense.

Please be careful not to give yourself a UTI while using vaginally inserted probiotics. If you do acquire a UTI from this method, which I have done, be sure to use UT Vibrance crisis intervention to eliminate the urinary tract infection. This also works every time I or my family have ever had a UTI. UT vibrance, coupled with oral UT probiotics also cured my young niece of a kidney infection caused by a UTI.