Hi @Sophie01,
My wife & I have fewer issues with thrush now we’ve switched to Sliquid lubes (we use Sassy for just about everything).
Perhaps it was the Glycerin, perhaps it was another ingredient, and perhaps it‘s coincidence. Who knows?
She‘s also changed her diet a bit to cut down on Candida promoting foods, but again, we don‘t know for sure if there‘s a magic bullet there.
One piece of advice we both wish we‘d known earlier, is this:
The epithelium (layer between inside and outside the body) covers not only our whole body on the outside, it also lines the mouth, gut, colon, vagina, and so on. Each area has different pH and different microbes (some friendly, and some not) that form a sort of localised ecosystem, with a protective effect. And these are sensitive to changes in pH, salinity, and chemicals like soaps that strip dirt and oils away.
The vagina is self cleaning, they say. Even mild soap can weaken the body’s protective layer by changing things like pH, and the localised ecosystem of microbes. Plain water is generally all I’d recommend (or maybe even slightly saline water for bathing) for cleaning externally, while internal (vaginal) cleaning‘s really not recommended, because it‘s so easy to cause imbalances.
As to the other side of things: I was listening to a sex-positive podcast recently where they discussed recent studies on anal douching, which gave the conclusion that plain water (hypotonic) and strongly saline (hypertonic) douching both damage the epithelium. The implication was that folk have been causing themselves increased risk of harm (in the form of micro fissures) in their attempts to clean their rectums. Not that this is necessarily your situation. It’s just an example.
This finding has led to a new interest for isotonic douche solution. Specifically, this means 0.9% or 9 grams of salt per litre of water, to balance with the body’s own saline levels.
My point is that well meaning interventions like cleaning or lubing may introduce unintended risk of harm to our body‘s natural defences. In the case of douching, it appears to be safer not to clean than to clean incorrectly.
Make of this what you will. Each person has their own acceptable level of risk and need to feel clean. In your situation I’d personally push for all the best medical advice and treatments from the doctor, but do all I can at the same time to give my body the best chance to heal and bring things back into balance. Like drinking plenty of water, cleaning intimate areas gently, and sometimes, where it’s appropriate, leaving my body to do it‘s thing for a while without intervention.
Good luck. I hope you get better soon
