Dr. Paul Summers (Medical School, Univ. of Utah) has reported three simple tests which can be used at home to detect a very high percentage of vaginal infections. Dr. Summers and his colleagues used these tests and correctly identified 41 out of 47 women (87%) who had been previously detected using microscopic laboratory examinations.

TEST #1 -- take ONE drop of hydrogen peroxide (3% solution, which is what is commonly sold) and mix it with fresh vaginal secretions. If the mixture foams, it indicates the presence of the enzyme catalase which is found in white blood cells which are present in fighting BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.

TEST #2 -- take a "whiff" of vaginal discharge. If it smells bad (which is to say "not normal"), it is a common symptom of BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS.

TEST #3 -- take an acidity test for YEAST INFECTIONS by touching a pH test strip to vaginal secretions. (You can obtain pH test strips at many, but not all, pharmacies). Yeast infections lower the pH (creating a more ascidic environment) to less than 7.0 on the pH scale. Yeast infections also sometimes result in a "curd-like" discharge.

Inexpensive Treatments for Vaginal Infections

There are a number of inexpensive treatments for vaginal infections. Here are only some of them:

CURE #1 -- Douch with ACTIVE yogurt. That's right. The kind you buy at the market -- but you must make sure it contains LIVE yogurt cultures. Much yogurt is sold with everything pasteurized, so the yogurt has been killed off, and this will NOT work. The beneficial, live bacteria in the yogurt re-establish a healthy bacterial environment in the vagina and help displace harmful bacteria.

CURE #2 -- A cure for treating yeast infections (and which is especially effective with the fugus Candida albicans) is to use use boric acid. Fill a large gelatin capsule with 600 mg. of powdered boric acid. (Both of these are readily available at good pharmacies). Insert one capsule per day inside the vagina for 14 days. Studies have shown this cure to be over 90% effective after only 7-10 days. This cure also has NO side effects.

CURE #3 -- Another 100% effective treatment for Candida was to douch twice a day with a solution of 1 part of iodine per 100 parts water until the infection was completely cured. (Measure 100 drops with your dropper first and see how much of a cup it is, then you can easily scale up to the amount of liquid that you need before adding the iodine).

NOTE -- Candida albicans is a fungus which is commonly associated with a yeast infection, but not all yeast infections are associated with Candida. Infections from bakers yeast are becoming increasingly common due to handling dough, bread, or yeast directly and not thoroughly washing your hands afterwards. Yeast is yeast, and even baking yeast can cause problems when transferred to the vagina.