Candida spp. usually live as commensal organisms that seldom produce illness; however, it is the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans when it does. As a well-known colonizer of mammals, Candida spp. predominantly resides in the skin, gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts of humans. Thus, Candida spp. infections are mostly confined to the skin or mucous membranes and can be an irritating recurrence in some women as Candida vulvovaginitis. Despite the high efficacy of azole derivative medications, little research has been done regarding nutrition that may or may not impact mucocutaneous Candida prognoses.
Another cutaneous inflammatory process, hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic, auto-inflammatory skin condition that affects approximately 0.1% of the population of the United States [1]. In the absence of curative treatment despite recurring discomfort, shame, and scarring, hidradenitis suppurativa severely deters the quality of life in affected patients. As a result, Hidradenitis patients frequently experiment with lifestyle modifications such as diet in an effort to alleviate symptoms.
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate dietary therapy. Ketogenesis is activated with gluconeogenesis during fasting, starvation, or the consumption of low carbohydrates. This paper explores a unique case in the therapeutic success of consuming an all-meat ketogenic diet for the long-term management of Candida vulvovaginitis and vaginal hidradenitis suppurativa.
The patient, a 29-year-old white American female with no significant past medical history including any gynecological history, the patient has never had PCOS, fibroids, menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, or any other medical/gynecological issues. The patient used no vaginal douches, soaps, scented mixtures of any sort, and owned no pets. This remained consistent in order to prevent changes to her natural vaginal flora. The patient has no significant sexual history and has not had any sexual activity for the last seven years. Prior, the patient’s last sexual and only encounter was in 2014 with one partner. The patient presented on July 16, 2018, at HFMC Women’s Health Center,…