Effect Of Vaginal Suppositories Composed Of Peppermint Oil And Sugar On Candidiasis Among Pregnant Women

Peppermint oil and hypertonic sugar solution has antifungal effect against candida pecies. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of vaginal suppositories composed of peppermint oil and sugar at fixed ratio of 1: 2 respectively on signs and symptoms of Vulvo-vaginal Candidiasis (VVC) among pregnant women. The subjects and methods of this study included a convenience sample of 60 pregnant women attending Ante-natal clinics, Tanta University, 30 were study group and 30 were control group. Three tools were used for data collection: Structured interview sheet, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Clinical diagnosis sheet. Results: The present study revealed that there was significant improvement regarding the symptoms and clinical signs of the present VVC and the total mean score of pain intensity in group I, compared to that in group II . Using peppermint oil and sucrose at a fixed ratio of 1: 2 and at concentration of 5 % and 10 % respectively was found to be effective anti- candidiasis. At minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), cell growth was completely terminated and clear zones of inhibition were observed on agar plates. This study concluded and recommended that vaginal suppositories composed of peppermint oil and sugar is an effective antifungal agent which can be used for treatment of vulvo-vaginal candidasis during pregnancy without causing side effects. Further studies are needed to support the present study results regarding the effectiveness of the study suppositories on the other types of vaginal infection