AROMATHERAPY

Thrush (Candida) Case History 

This is one of the most common, annoying and irritating infections that women have to deal with. Thrush is on the increase due to the use of antibiotics, the birth control pill, to stress and tension and various other ingredients of modern life. The constant irritation can cause depression and, one way or another, thrush can be a plague on sexuality. Indeed for some couples it puts a stop to all sexual activity. The fungus Candida Albicans is responsible for all the trouble and can be transmitted from partner to partner.

Some researchers men are the carriers, although they don't always carry the symptoms. If you have a partner it is important for him to get treatment, whether he has symptoms or not.

The real problem with thrush is that it can lead to more dangerous conditions such as non-specific urethritis (NSU) which may make urination very painful and can, in turn,  lead to Reitets disease, which is a form of crippling arthritis, and inflammation of the cervix. Thrush is no minor aggravation. It needs to be taken seriously and treated.

Thrush thrives on sugar, so the first thing to do is to change to a wholefood, sugar-free diet. Bicarbonate of soda also helps to clear the condition, as does garlic, yogurt and, of course natures essential oils.

Thrush can completely exhaust people - and their relationships. Judith was nineteen when she came to see me for thrush. This was the result of her experience with one lover, her current boyfriend peter, and yet she had already come to the conclusion that sex was more trouble than it is worth! Thrush had so worn her down that she was depressed, irritable and tired; sex was impossible because her vagina had become raw and her work was suffering because her ability to concentrate was being impaired. As a result of her troubles Judith could not sleep and had begun to eat all the wrong foods - purely for comfort.

It was very sad to see such an attractive young woman on the downward slope just because of a horrible little fungus. Judith and Peter had already been to the doctor together and had tried the usual treatment pessaries, creams and antibiotics, which had only made the condition worse. Judith was desperate.

First, I changed her diet to a wholefood one - the only sugar allowed was the natural sugar of fruits and fruit juices. She was advised to cut out all coffee and tea  and to take three tablets of acidophilus daily. These are freeze dried bacteria which enter the system and wage war on Candida Albicans (the only form of biological warfare we should be talking about). Wether  you have thrush or not, these acidophilus tablets are well worth knowing about because they encourage the growth of friendly bacteria' which means that the body can do a better job of elimination. Keeping the intestines clean, eliminating bad breath and flatulence, improving the complexion and reversing the damage caused by antibiotic treatment.

The mucous membrane of Judith's vaginal tract was completely raw and she could only hardly bear to urinate, so my first concern was to make an essential oil cream for her to apply to the delicate area to relieve the soreness and awful itch. You can do this yourself by adding two drops of any essential oils that appear on the list that follows to 1 teaspoon of either vitamin E ointment or KY jelly.

Judith's discharge was very thick and heavy and I treated this with yogurt and essential oil, first in a douche  and then in a thicker solution inserted into the vagina every day for two weeks.

When I saw Judith again after two weeks, she looked a different person. The scowl she had worn on her last visit  had gone . Peter had played his part too. Here is the treatment I advised him to use.

Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Wormwood/Raphael A Louisy.