Sex and Yeast

Posting Date: 12/19/2003

Dr. Dean's Comments; Don't be fooled by the title of this article. What they really mean is that men who carry yeast may not automatically transmit yeast during intercourse. But women who participated in cunnilingus with their partners were more likely to get yeast infections. In addition the use of saliva for self stimulation also increased risk.

Study: Men Don?t Cause Yeast Infections in Women

Women may blame their husbands or boyfriends for headaches, tears and stress. But they can?t be blamed for recurrent yeast infections. A new study finds that the presence of yeast in male sex partners does not make women more prone to recurrent yeast infections. But certain sex acts might.

Newswise ? Women may blame their husbands or boyfriends for headaches, tears and stress. But they can?t be blamed for those nasty recurrent yeast infections, contrary to popular belief.

A new study by University of Michigan Health System researchers finds that the presence of yeast in male sex partners does not make women more prone to recurrent yeast infections. Certain sexual activities, however, were linked to increased risk of recurrent yeast infections in women, according to the study.

?Many physicians, and many women, believe that women get recurrent yeast infections because their partner passes the yeast back to them during intercourse. This study refutes that belief,? says study author Barbara Reed, M.D., M.S.P.H., professor of Family Medicine at the U-M Medical School. ?This study suggests the risk for recurrent infections is related to something else ? perhaps the woman?s immune response to the yeast.?

Candida vulvovaginitis, or yeast infection, is one of the most common diagnoses in American women. About three-quarters of women will have at least one yeast infection in their lives, and 40 percent have recurrent infections. The Candida yeast are often found in both women and men in the genital area, rectum and mouth.

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