Sider Honey Vs. Fluconazole and the Cure Rate of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is the most common gynecologic problems affecting 75% of sexually active women at least once in their life. It causes genital discomfort, loss of productivity, reduced sexual pleasure, and psychological distress. Aim of the study was to compare the effect of Sider honey VS. Fluconazole on the cure rate of Valvovaginal candidiasis. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Subjects: A total of 60 women were randomly recruited in the study; two groups were constituted 30 participants for each. Setting: The study was conducted at Shaqra General Hospital and Al-anfal private hospital, at Shaqra governorate, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Tools: Two tools were developed and used by researchers to collect the data, A structured interview questionnaire included data related to demographic characteristics; medical history; and obstetric history and assessment tool to collect data related to selfreported symptoms before and after treatment and vaginal swab results. In addition, 5ml of Sider honey with a concentration of 80% was applied vaginally twice/day for 7 days. Results: revealed that the mean age in women who applied Sider honey was 25.30 ± 5.02 years old. Eighty six point six percent of clinical cure rate and (76.7%) of mycological cure rate were observed in Sider honey group. In addition, self-reported symptoms were minimized in honey group than fluconazole group with statistical significant difference. Conclusion: there is a highly statistical significance before and after applying diluted solution of Sider honey in relation to ; vaginal discharge , external vaginitis, nonmenstrual bleeding, rash, vulvovaginal redness and Candida growth on Agar. Sider honey produced a high clinical cure rate and a reasonable mycological cure rate in women with VVC as compared to fluconazole. Recommendations: Replication of the study on large sample selected from different geographical areas of Shaqra Cityto generalized the findings. Further research is needed to assess the efficacy of honey as an inhibitor of candida growth in clinical trials.