The effect of vaginal alum (white alum) solution and clotrimazole cream on the treatment of candidasis vulvovaginitis in women of childbearing age: A randomized clinical trial

Due to the increasing prevalence of candidiasis infections and the increase in drug resistance to common antifungal drugs, it is necessary to find natural anti-candidiasis compounds. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to compare the effect of vaginal solution of alum (alum) with clotrimazole cream in the treatment of vaginal candidiasis in women of childbearing age.

This randomized clinical trial study was performed in 2020 on 72 women referred to East Ahvaz Health Center No. 1 with complaint of clinical signs of candida vaginitis. The tools were a demographic and midwifery information questionnaire and a checklist of observations and examinations. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups receiving clotrimazole 1% vaginal cream and white alum solution for 7 days. Data were collected before and after treatment and were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21) and Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Before the intervention, the two groups did not have any statistically significant differences in the symptoms of candida vaginitis (P > 0.05). After the intervention, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of vulvar and vaginal itching and vaginal discharge, so that in the alum solution group, the amount of itching and vaginal discharge was significantly less than the clotrimazole vaginal cream group (p < 0.05). However, the two groups were the same in terms of improvement of other symptoms and did not show a statistically significant difference (P > 0.05).

The alum vaginal solution and clotrimazole vaginal cream similarly improved candidiasis vaginitis in women of childbearing age. However, before using this solution as an alternative treatment, further studies are recommended to prove its effectiveness and safety.