Antifungal resistance in yeast vaginitis

The increased number of vaginal yeast infections in the past few years has been a disturbing trend, and the scientific community has been searching fo r its etiology. Several theories have been put forth to explain the apparen t increase. First, the; recent widespread availability of low-dosage, azole -based, over-the-counter antifungal medications for vaginal yeast infection s encourages women to self-diagnose and treat, and women may be misdiagnosi ng themselves. Their vaginitis may be caused by bacteria, parasites or may be a symptom of another underlying health condition. As a result, they may be unnecessarily and chronically expose themselves to antifungal medication s and encourage fungal resistance. Second, medical technology has increased the life span of seriously immune compromised individuals, yet these indiv iduals are frequently plagued by opportunistic fungal infections. Long-term and intense azole-based antifungal treatment has been linked to an increas e in resistant Candida and non-Candida species. Thus, the future of limitin g antifungal resistance lies in identifying the factors promoting resistanc e and implementing policies to prevent it.