Probiotics as an Option for Treating, Preventing Urogenital Infections?
It’s nice to see this question come up on the Medscape website. I’ve had many patients achieve near-miraculous results with yeast infections and other vaginal irritations using probiotics douches. The concept is so simple as to be almost laughable–growth of lactic acid bacteria such as lactobacillus create an environment that is not friendly to many other bugs and yeast. And lactobacillus is normal flora–does not cause any problems.
Medscape Women’s Health 6(5), 2001 Considering the enormity of the problem in terms of women infected per year, urogenital infections receive far too little attention from scientists, government funding agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry. A recent resurgence in interest among clinicians is a result of consumer demands for better therapies, problems resulting from drug resistance, and the prospect of new diagnostics and treatments on the horizon. It is now recognized that the intestinal and urogenital microflora are critical for the health and well-being of humans. The concept of replenishing these flora with probiotic organisms seems to be an option that has a growing scientific basis. Although few strains have been selected and targeted for urogenital applications, and none are currently available on the market, evidence shows that probiotic therapy has the potential to make an impact on women’s health.