Oral Medicines for Vaginal Yeast Infections

Antifungal treatments cure infections 80% to 90% of the time.^{Reference 1} (In some cases, the less common types of yeast infections may respond better to vaginal treatment or to Reference boric acid suppositories.^{Reference 2}) Oral medicines do not provide immediate relief of symptoms, so vaginal medicines may also be needed in the first 48 hours of treatment.

Recurring infections (four or more in 1 year)

If you have recurring yeast infections, you may want to ask your doctor about taking antifungal medicines as maintenance or suppressive treatment. This means taking the medicine weekly or monthly for 6 months to 1 year. This long-term use of antifungal medicine is likely to reduce the recurrence of vaginal yeast infections.^{Reference 3} But after women stop taking the medicines, 30 to 40 out of 100 of them get another vaginal infection that has symptoms.^{Reference 2}

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