So pitch those non-cotton underwear. Your vag will appreciate the chance to breathe. Aaaaah.
3. Avoid Antibacterial Soap
Do you use antibacterial soap on your vagina? This is a definite lose-lose situation when it comes to yeast infections.
Consider this story.
Jennifer Smith (name changed for privacy) continued to get yeast infections. No matter what she did, they would come back again and again. Finally, she went to a gynecological nurse practitioner for advice.
The first question the nurse practitioner asked her was what type of soap she used on her vagina. Her answer was a common one: antibacterial soap. The nurse practitioner told her to switch to a trusted oldie: plain old Dove. The infections have since ceased and never recurred.
You see, as we said earlier, our vaginas have both good and bad bacteria. And when we use antibacterial soaps, we risk killing off the good bacteria that the body needs to fight off infection.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has even started talking to consumers about the negative effects of antibacterial soap. "New data suggest that the risks associated with long-term, daily use of antibacterial soaps may outweigh the benefits," says Colleen Rogers, Ph.D., a lead microbiologist at the FDA in a Consumer Update. This statement was issued because research shows that certain ingredients in these soaps can contribute to antibiotic bacterial resistance and may cause hormonal effects.