Title: Are Your Medications Causing Yeast Infections? | Everyday Health
Headings: Are Your Medications Causing Yeast Infections?
Are Your Medications Causing Yeast Infections?
Oral Contraceptives
Antibiotics
Steroids
Chemotherapy
Talking to Your Doctor About Yeast Infection Risk
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Content: Are Your Medications Causing Yeast Infections? | Everyday Health
Yeast Infection
Are Your Medications Causing Yeast Infections? Some medications may increase your risk of developing a yeast infection. By Gina Roberts-Grey Medically Reviewed by Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD
Last Updated: April 5, 2011
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Medically Reviewed
Many medications have possible side effects that can be unpleasant and uncomfortable. For certain medications, a common side effect in women is a yeast infection. If you experience vaginal itching that lasts longer than 24 hours, a vaginal odor, or a white to yellow lumpy discharge that resembles cottage cheese, you may have a yeast infection, says Herbert L. DuPont, MD, chief of Internal Medicine/Infectious Disease Department at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston. Doctors say knowing whether a yeast infection is a possible side effect of your medications can help cut your chances of developing a vaginal infection. Oral Contraceptives
Birth control pills may lead to women developing yeast infections because they increase estrogen levels in a woman’s body. “ Those increased estrogen levels can increase a woman’s susceptibility to vaginal yeast,” says Saul Weinreb, MD, a gynecologist at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore.