If you have a yeast infection, or you keep getting them, certain everyday habits can make things worse or slow your recovery. The yeast responsible for most vaginal yeast infections, Candida albicans, thrives in warm, moist, sugar-rich environments. What you wear, what you eat, what products you use, and what you do during treatment all influence how quickly you heal and whether the infection comes back.
Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates
Candida has specialized receptors that detect glucose and sucrose in its environment. When these receptors sense sugar, they trigger a signaling cascade that ramps up the yeast’s ability to adhere to tissue, form biofilms, resist antifungal drugs, and shift into a more invasive form. In other words, sugar doesn’t just feed the yeast. It makes it more aggressive.
This doesn’t mean you need to eliminate all carbohydrates. But during an active infection, cutting back on sugary drinks, candy, white bread, and other high-glycemic foods reduces the fuel available to Candida in your bloodstream and vaginal tissue. The yeast’s glucose transporters are tuned to respond at concentrations similar to what’s found in human blood, so even normal blood sugar fluctuations after a sugary meal can matter.
Tight or Synthetic Clothing
Synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon create a warm, humid microenvironment against the skin. Nylon absorbs less sweat than cotton, which keeps moisture trapped in the groin area and raises the risk of reproductive tract infections. Research in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that synthetic underwear increases transepidermal water loss and irritation while promoting the proliferation of Candida species.
Cotton and other breathable fabrics reduce moisture retention and support healthier microbial balance. During an active infection, choose loose-fitting cotton underwear and avoid pantyhose, leggings, or skinny jeans that press synthetic material against the vulva for hours. If you work out, change out of sweaty clothes promptly rather than running errands in damp leggings.
Wet Swimsuits and Workout Gear
Sitting in a wet swimsuit is one of the most common triggers for yeast infections during warmer months. Candida multiplies faster in damp, warm conditions, and a wet bathing suit provides exactly that. Change out of your swimsuit as soon as you’re done swimming. If you plan to be in and out of the water all day, bring a dry suit to swap into between swims. The same rule applies to wet workout clothes: shower and change as soon as your workout ends.
Douching and Scented Products
The vagina maintains a slightly acidic pH that keeps Candida and harmful bacteria in check. Protective Lactobacillus bacteria produce the acid that maintains this balance. Douching washes away those bacteria, and research published in Scientific Reports found that vaginal douching is associated with decreased Lactobacillus colonization and a higher prevalence of bacterial vaginosis, a condition that also raises yeast infection risk.
Scented soaps, bubble baths, vaginal deodorants, and scented tampons or pads can irritate vulvar tissue and shift the vaginal environment in Candida’s favor. During an infection, wash the external area with warm water only, or use a mild, fragrance-free cleanser. Avoid putting any soap or product inside the vaginal canal.
Sex During an Active Infection
You can technically have sex with a yeast infection, but there are good reasons to wait. Intercourse during treatment can cause additional irritation and micro-tears in already inflamed tissue, making symptoms more painful. It can also slow healing and cause symptoms to return even after they’ve started clearing up. There’s a chance of passing the infection to a partner, and if that happens, you can end up trading the infection back and forth.
If you use condoms, keep in mind that some antifungal creams and suppositories contain oils that weaken latex. Waiting until you’ve finished treatment and symptoms have resolved is the simplest way to avoid complications.
Spermicides and Certain Lubricants
Spermicidal products containing nonoxynol-9 can disrupt your vaginal flora in a dose-dependent way. A study in Obstetrics & Gynecology found that higher weekly exposure to nonoxynol-9 more than doubled the risk of bacterial vaginosis and significantly increased colonization by harmful bacteria, even after adjusting for other factors. While this research focused on bacterial vaginosis specifically, both conditions share a common trigger: the loss of protective Lactobacillus bacteria.
If you’re prone to yeast infections, consider switching to a spermicide-free contraceptive method. For lubricants, choose water-based, fragrance-free, glycerin-free options. Glycerin is a sugar alcohol that can promote yeast growth, and flavored or warming lubricants often contain irritants.
Unnecessary Antibiotics
Broad-spectrum antibiotics are one of the strongest risk factors for yeast infections. They kill off Lactobacillus along with the bacteria they’re targeting, leaving the vaginal environment wide open for Candida to expand. A large surveillance study found that the risk of developing a yeast infection was nearly 11 times higher in the second week after starting antibiotics compared to a control group.
This doesn’t mean you should skip antibiotics when you genuinely need them. But avoid requesting them for viral infections like colds or the flu, where they won’t help anyway. If you do need a course of antibiotics and you’re prone to yeast infections, ask your provider about a preventive antifungal at the same time. The CDC recommends taking antibiotics and corticosteroids only as prescribed and exactly as directed.
High-Estrogen Hormonal Products
Elevated estrogen promotes glycogen production in vaginal tissue, creating a nutrient-rich environment where Candida thrives. Pregnancy, high-estrogen oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy all raise estrogen levels and are established risk factors for yeast infections. Research published in Cell Reports confirmed that estrogen also helps Candida evade part of the immune system’s defenses.
If you’re on a high-estrogen birth control pill and dealing with recurrent infections, talk to your provider about switching to a lower-estrogen formulation or a non-hormonal method. This single change resolves the problem for some people.
DIY Remedies That Don’t Work
Inserting garlic cloves, douching with tea tree oil, or using yogurt as a topical treatment are common home remedies that lack evidence. As gynecologists have pointed out, there’s no indication these treatments work against yeast infections. While they may not make the infection dramatically worse in most cases, they carry a risk of irritation and burning, and they delay effective treatment.
Over-the-counter antifungal creams and suppositories are widely available, affordable, and actually proven to work. If your symptoms don’t improve within a few days of starting treatment, or if you get four or more yeast infections a year, that’s worth a clinical evaluation, since some cases involve resistant Candida species that require different antifungal medications.