Chronic Yeast Infections: 9 Common Causes & Solutions

“Patients keep calling and saying, ‘My treatment isn’t working,’” she says.

Why do yeast infections keep coming back, no matter what you do? According to experts, it might be a cause you’d never suspect. Read on for common triggers of chronic vaginal yeast infections.

1. Your DNA might be working against you.
Two genetic mutations might make some women more susceptible to Candida albicans, the fungus most responsible for chronic vaginal yeast infections, according to a 2011 French study conducted by the National Institutes of Health and Medical Research and the University Paris Descartes. A healthy immune system will recognize excess Candida growth and launch a defense — but immune systems in women with these genetic defects can’t create key proteins to make that defense possible. The genetic link might explain why frequent yeast infections seem more common in some families than in others. In a 2011 study, researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands examined the genetic profiles of 11 patients from 5 families who had chronic yeast infections and identified an inherited genetic mutation that made members of those families more susceptible.

2. Your boyfriend might be part of the chronic yeast infection problem.
Yes, men can get yeast infections, which are called balanitis, according to the US National Library of Medicine. It makes the head of the penis red, sore and itchy. Uncircumcised men are more susceptible to balanitis. Twelve percent to 15% of men report getting an itchy rash on their penis after having sex with a woman with a yeast infection, reports the US Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. Even after a woman’s yeast infection clears up, her partner can re-infect her. Vaginal yeast infections aren’t considered sexually transmitted diseases because the Candida fungus is naturally present in the vagina, and even celibate women can get infections. “Treating the sexual partner is not generally part of our protocol,” Nelson says. But Candida can be passed between sexual partners, according to the Mayo Clinic.

• Condoms: The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) lists spermicide — including the kind found on condoms — as a leading cause of vaginal irritation, which can lead to vaginal yeast infections. Also, beware of using condoms if you’re already treating a yeast infection: Some medications make condoms more likely to break, ruining their effectiveness at preventing disease and pregnancy, according to Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that runs sexual health and family planning clinics. 

• Oral sex: A 2003 study by the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor showed that a woman’s risk of contracting yeast infections increased after receiving oral sex. Candida albicans is found in the mouths of one-third to one-half of all adults, researchers say. 

• Lubricant: In her column on the Stanford School of Medicine Women’s Health site, Leah Millheiser, MD, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, writes that glycerin can contribute to chronic yeast infections. “If you are prone to developing yeast infections, switch to the glycerin-free version of your favorite lubricant,” she writes.

If you’re sexually active and think you might have a yeast infection, “see a gynecologist and have a proper exam,” Nelson advises. The symptoms of yeast infection are similar to those of trichomoniasis, the most common, curable, sexually transmitted disease in young, sexually active women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal agency estimates 7.4 million men and women get it every year. Trichomoniasis is caused by a parasite and must be treated with an antibiotic — not an anti-yeast medication. Left untreated, the parasite can cause problems in pregnancy and can make a woman more susceptible to infection with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center, an independent, nonprofit women’s health education organization funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Even if you don’t have diabetes, bingeing on carbohydrates can set up conditions that yeast thrive in, according to Michael T. Murray, ND, author of Chronic Candidiasis: Your Natural Guide to Healing with Diet, Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, Exercise, and Other Natural Methods (Three Rivers Press).“If you’re eating high-glycemic foods, it’s feeding this organism and can cause an overgrowth,” he says.

Many of the same conditions that cause vaginal yeast infections can also cause yeast to flourish in your intestines, Murray says. If you have low energy, depression, irritability, worsening PMS, and heightened sensitivity to foods, chemicals, and other allergens — in addition to chronic vaginal yeast infections — ask your doctor whether you might have an overgrowth of Candida albicans in your intestines.