Viginal infection after using expired Premarin Vaginal Cream

Hi there,
I have a question regarding Premarin Vaginal Cream.
I have been using this cream occasionally. The last time I used
it was yesterday and in fact this was the first time after almost a year that
I did not used this cream.  This last time I used 0.5 gram and then I read the
expiray date and realized it was expired. It was four months after its expiray
date.

Today I noticed I have vaginal infection.
Can the expired cream cause the infection?
What should I do now with the infection ?
What anti-biotic can I use to stop the infection?
Thank you very much for your time.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
It seems unlikely that using a single dose of a cream the expired so recently would cause very much harm.  I do suggest getting a new prescription though!
What to treat the vaginal infection with depends upon what is causing it--if it is bacterial vaginosis ( often caused by an organism called Gardnerella) I usually treat my patients with Metronidazole (oral or vaginal) or Cleocin vaginal ovules.  If it is a yeast infection, my preference is to use Diflucan. although there are lots of good over the counter anti-fungal preparations too.
I hope this is helpful!
Dr B