Signs of chronic stress in women with recurrent candida vulvovaginitis
While we offhandedly use the phrase “stress kills” we don’t often think of how accurate that phrase is. Much like insulin resistance and lack of exercise, stress is always there underlying much of the pathology that we experience. In this case, women with recurrent vaginal yeast infections had a lowered morning cortisol level (levels should be highest in AM and taper to their lowest just before sleep), indicative of chronic stress. So, the best management for these patients would be stress management and probiotics to restore the normal, competitive flora that should be present in the vaginal vault. Without addressing the underlying causes, oral and topical anti-fungals will only act as a band aid.