-IBIS-1.7.6-
tx
reproductive system
vaginitis/leukorrhea
Nutrition
dietary guidelines
eating principles:
» acute:
increase fluids
short fruit or vegetable juice fast
raw fruit and vegetable diet
» chronic:
elimination/rotation diet, rotation diet, rotation diet expanded
therapeutic foods:
garlic, onions
foods rich in Zinc, Vitamins A, C, E, and B-Complex
foods that soothe the Liver and invigorate the Qi
for Damp-Heat, foods that clear Dampness and Heat
for Damp-Cold, foods that warm and rid Dampness
for Yin Xu (Deficiency), foods that nourish and tonify the Yin
fresh juices:
carrot and spinach (Walker, p. 144)
lemon (Walker, p. 144)
specific remedies:
» Trichomoniasis: apply raw onion juice to affected parts (Chao-liang, Qing-rong, Bao-zhen, p. 22)
» Leukorrhea: 2 oz. fresh string beans cooked with 2 oz. raw brown sugar in a little water. Eat once daily for 7-10 days. (Butt and Bloomfield, p. 146)
douche with yogurt or insert acidophilus into vagina and eat acidophilus or live yogurt once daily for yeast infections
boil a bulb of garlic, cool to lukewarm then douche with liquid (Ni, p. 37)
boil 30 g Job's Tears in 750 ml water with 30 g seeded red dates and 60 g sweet rice over low heat. Drink as soup to relieve white discharge due to weakness (Lu, p. 151)
boil 2 cuttlefish with 250 g lean pork in water, season with salt. Eat once once daily for 5 days to relieve white discharge. (Lu, p. 151)
boil 60 g hyacinth beans in water, add sugar as seasoning and drink as tea (Lu, p.151)
simmer the crushed shell of a fresh coconut in water. Wash the affected areas with this liquid three times daily (Yin-fang and Cheng-jun, p. 87)
make a small hole in an egg and insert 7 white peppercorns. Wrap in damp paper and steam until cooked. Discard shell and eat once daily for 5-7 days (Chao-liang, Qing-rong, Bao-zhen, p. 89)
avoid:
food intolerances
meat, alcohol, fried foods, fatty foods, rich foods, salty foods, coffee, caffeine, sweet foods and sugar, cow's milk and other dairy products, white bread, refined foods, processed foods, catarrh-forming foods: tofu, ice cream
supplements
Lactobacillus acidophilus and other probiotc bacterial flora
Zinc 50-100 mg per day; DO NOT supplement if patient is using ciprofloxacin (see below) or norfloxacin
Vitamin A 25,000 IU per day.
Vitamin C up to 10 g per day.
Vitamin E 800-1200 IU per day.
Selenium 400 mcg per day.
Vitamin B6 250-1,000 mg per day.
Chromium 150-300 mcg per day. (NCNM)
» avoid:
Iron: DO NOT supplement if patient is using ciprofloxacin (see below) or norfloxacin (Infect Dis News, 1990; June: p. 17)
» drug interactions:
Zinc and ciprofloxacin (Cipro): Zinc (29 mg) has been reported to reduce absorption of ciprofloxacin by 29% (Infect Dis News, 1990; June: p. 17)
Iron and ciprofloxacin (Cipro): Iron (325 mg) has been reported to reduce absorption of ciprofloxacin by 65% (Infect Dis News, 1990; June: p. 17)
footnotes
Dolgushina VF. [The immunocorrective properties of bacterial preparations (lactobacterin, bifidumbacterin) and bemitil in pregnant women with a urogenital infection.] Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol 1991;4:56-58. [Article in Russian]
Eschenback H. Vaginal infection. Clin Obstet Gynecol 1983;26:186-202.
Fredricsson B, Englund K, Nord CE, Weintraub L. Could bacterial vaginosis be due to the competitive suppression of lactobacilli by aerobic microorganisms? Gynecol Obstet Invest 1992;33:119-123.
Heidrich F, Berg A, Gergman R, et al. Clotting factors and vaginitis. J Family Pract 1984;19:491-494.
Hillier SL, Krohn MA, Rabe LK, et al. The normal vaginal flora, H2O2 producing Lactobacilli and bacterial vaginosis in pregnant women. Clin Infect Dis 1993;16 Suppl 4:S273-S281.
Hilton E, Isenberg HD, Alperstein P, et al. Ingestion of Lactobacilli acidophilus as prophylaxis for candidal vaginitis. Ann Intern Med 1992;116:353-357.
Holzapfel WH, Haberer P, Snel J, Schillinger U, Huis in't Veld JH. Overview of gut flora and probiotics. Int J Food Microbiol 1998 May 26;41(2):85-101. (Review)
Abstract: Scientific developments in recent years have opened new frontiers and enable a better understanding of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) as a complex and delicately balanced ecosystem. This paper focuses on more recent information related to the microbial population of the GIT and its functional role in human physiology and health. Special attention is also given to modern approaches for improving or stabilising the intestinal system and its functioning by the deliberate application of viable microbial cultures, so-called 'probiotics', selected for special functional properties.
Horowitz BJ, Edelstein SW, Lippman L. Sugar chromatography studies in recurrent candida vulvovaginitis. J Reproduc Med 1984;29:441-443.
Jovanovic R, Congema E, Nguyen HT. Antifungal agents vs. boric acid for treating chronic mycotic vulvovaginitis. J Reprod Med 1977;36:593-597.
Kennedy M, Volz P. Ecology of Candida albicans gut colonization: Inhibition of Candida adhesion, colonization, and dissemination from the gastrointestinal tract by bacterial antagonism. Infection Immunology 49:654-663, 1985.
Abstract: Increased indigenous microflora reduced the mucosal association of C. albicans by forming a dense layer of bacteria in the mucus gut, out-competing yeast cells for adhesion sites, and producing inhibitor substances (possibly volatile fatty acids, secondary bile acids or both) that reduced C. albicans adhesion.
Korshunov VM, Kafarskaia LI, Volodin NN, Tarabrina NP. The correction of dysbiotic disorders of the vaginal microflora by using a preparation made from highly adhesive lactobacteria. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol 1990;7:17-19.[Article in Russian]
Larsen B. Vaginal flora in health and disease. Clin Obstet Gynecol 1993;36:107-121.
Litiaeva LA. The effect of a combination of immune and bacterial preparations on the microbial ecology of pregnant women in a risk group. Akush Ginekol (Mosk) 1993;1:19-22. [Article in Russian].
Masycheva VI, Danilenko ED, Pustoshilova NM, Beliavskaia VA. [Design of stimulating agents of non-specific resistance system]. Vestn Ross Akad Med Nauk 1998;4:13-17. [Article in Russian] (Review)
Abstract: The paper briefly reviews a study on the design of drugs enhancing the body's nonspecific resistance to pathogenic agents. To examine the potential regulatory effects on cytokine function was a main trend. The interferon inductor ridostin, dsRNA of microbiological origin, cytokines, as well as the recombinant probiotic strain yielding interferon alpha-2 synthesis were used as a pharmacological agent. This was shown by using a wide range of experimental models wherein these preparations activated the components of the non-specific resistance system resulting in the host's increased capacity to eliminate invasive agents and transformed cells.
McFarland LV, Elmer GW. Biotherapeutic agents: past, present and future. Microecology Ther 1995;23:46-73.
Neri A, Sabah G, Samra Z. Bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy treated with yogurt. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 1993;72:17-19.
Parent D, Bossens M, Bayot D, et al. Therapy of bacterial vaginosis using exogenously-applied Lactobacilli acidophili and a low dose of estriol: a placebo-controlled multicentric clinical trial. Arzneimittelforschung 1996;46:68-73.
Reid G, Bruce AW, Cook RL, Llano M. Effect on urogenital flora of antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infection. Scand J Infect Dis 1990;22:43-47.
Reid G, Bruce AW, McGroarty JA, et al. Is there a role for Lactobacilli in prevention of urogenital and intestinal infections? Clin Microbiol Rev 1990;3:335-344.
Reid, G, Bruce, AW, Taylor, M. Influence of three-day antimicrobial therapy and lactobacillus vaginal suppositories on recurrence of urinary tract infections. Clin Ther 1992;14:11-16.
Shirodkar NV, Sankholkar PC, Ghosh S, Nulkar SM. Multi-centre clinical assessment myconip vaginal tablets in non-specific vaginitis. Indian Pract 1980;33:207-210.
Tannock GW. Probiotic properties of lactic-acid bacteria: plenty of scope for fundamental R & D. Trends Biotechnol. 1997 Jul; 15(7): 270-274. (Review)
Thomason JL, Gelbart SM, Scaglione NJ. Bacterial vaginosis: current review with indications for asymptomatic therapy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1991;165:1210-1217.
Vincent J, Voomett R, Riley R. Antibacterial activity associated with Lactobaccillus acidophilus. J Bacteriol 1959;A78:477-484.
Note: Nystatin was discovered by 2 women scientists, Rachel Brown, an organic chemist, and Elizabeth Lee Hazen, a mold researcher working for the New York State Department of Health. Hazen found many antifungal substances in the soil, but many of them were toxic. Finally, while vacationing, Hazen dug up a mold which knocked out other yeasts and molds without harming animals. Squibb and Sons met with Hazen and Brown and patented the new yeast fighting mold. They named it NY-State-in in honor of the New York State Dept. of Health. It was also agreed that royalties were to be put in a special Brown-Hazen scientific and educational fund.