“Things Teenage Girls Always Wanted to Know About Gynecology”
Episode 2: Yeast Infections
Growing into the woman I am today has come with unexpected surprises, in addition to a few scares about how my body has developed throughout my teenage years. The first example of this is really simple – it was having my first menstrual cycle at 15, along with everything that came with it. Following this, I felt like there were a million other body changes and concerns that came with puberty and transforming into a woman. I believe no girl is truly fully prepared, without proper guidance, for what is to come with puberty and what can happen to her body as she grows during her adolescent years.
For example, something so simple as a yeast infection to a young teenage girl can be extremely difficult. Experiencing your first yeast infection can be alarming, uncomfortable, and sometimes shameful. I had my first yeast infection was when I was 17, and it began first with worrying itchiness and irritation in my private area that devolved into pain when I urinated. It caused me some concern, but not enough to do anything about it at first because I was embarrassed and scared. The next day, however, the itchiness and pain stayed and were followed by a change in the texture of my discharge. It was thick, lumpy, and gross! I panicked when taking a closer look at my private area when I saw that it was very irritated and, in fact, quite red. That’s when I then told my Mom, but not before I had been in a constant state of panic while trying to keep it a secret! I know that nobody can blame me for my confusion and fear, since I had never experienced this before, but it worried me that I did not know what was going on with my body. I grew frustrated and really needed to know if something was truly wrong with me.
By this time in my development, no one had ever sat me down and told me that this kind of thing was possible—even normal!—and that it most likely would happen to my vagina at some point. Having little knowledge about what was going on, let alone yeast infections themselves, I relied on my Mom for help. She told me to refrain from having sex and that she’d buy me an at-home remedy to cure the yeast infection. She assured me not to worry and to calm down, since she’d experienced them many times before, too. She told me that, if my symptoms were to worsen, we would call a doctor and get a prescription drug.
Thankfully, my symptoms only lasted about four days and didn’t get much worse. Otherwise, without help, I realized I wouldn’t have known what the more concerning symptoms were to look out for. Even two years later, I still don’t really know how to prevent these kinds of things from happening besides practicing basic hygiene. Because of this, I know that it would be extremely beneficial for young women to be taught about what could happen to their bodies and how to prevent and take care of these kinds of issues. Yeast infections are a lot more manageable and less shameful when you know more about the common things that can happen to your body as a beautiful, growing woman!