Maybe that’s what they should put on the gentian violet box? The easy over-the-counter fix for yeast infections doesn’t get marketed as a vagina fixer-upper, but that’s OK. Here’s betting it’s better than anything you’ve ever tried. And you’ve probably tried it all, haven’t you? About 75 percent of women will have at least one case of vaginal yeast in their lifetime, most will have more. Suddenly you’re itching between your legs so often that people are starting to wonder: if you’re really that obsessed with checking to see if it’s gone, have you had a sex change? Your sex life is already obliterated by the discomfort, so chances are you don’t even care. All you want is to make it stop itching. But the options at the pharmacy counter? They suck. You can smear creams on your lady parts until the cows come home, only to find that the itching in that general area makes you feel like you have to urinate every 10 minutes. So of course you get to shoot another pod of messy white stuff up your canal to make up for all the stuff you just wiped off along with the urine spray. And then 10 minutes later, you’re back in the bathroom peeing again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Blah, blah, ouch! Then again, you can take a pill that comes with a host of common side effects like “changes in taste; diarrhea; dizziness; headache; indigestion; mild stomach pain; nausea; vomiting.” It’s better if you’re getting your period and know you won’t be able to do that whole “cream up the vag” thing. But then again, you can’t use it if you’re breastfeeding or asthmatic. Or under 18. And the list goes on. This purple vagina option is sounding better every minute, isn’t it? Now what if your doctor would do it for you OR you could do it at home? Keep talking, huh? An over-the-counter antifungal, gentian violet is usually used to treat thrush in mouths of babies or on the breasts they’re nursing from. But thrush is really a yeast infection; it’s just on a different part of the body. So it’s no wonder both doctors and the Federation of Feminist Women’s Health Centers (FFWHC) come together on this one: a generous painting with this purple stuff on the vagina, vulva, and cervix will effectively kill the fungus that’s making you itch. Advises the FFWHC: Don’t have a speculum and worried about hitting all the spots? Call your OB/GYN or midwife and see if they’ll do it in-office. Just wear your crappiest undies (because when we say it turns things purple, it turns EVERYTHING purple … watch out toilet seat!) and bring pads along with you, but then it’s all “lay back and let it happen.” It doesn’t hurt, and it starts working immediately to kill the infection. Have you tried this alternative treatment? What’s your go-to when you have a yeast infection? Image via dbking/Flickr
