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View Full Version : Would a yeast infection cause positive results on an EtG alcohol test


lifeordeath
Jul 14, 2012, 05:54 PM
I recently tested positive for an EtG alcohol test. I have not had a drink in over three months. I do have a yeast infection. Could this be a possible reason for the positive results. I am also using a vaginal gel that contains a small amount of ethanol which I believe was the reason for positive results on one other regular urine screen because it was the only one I failed. The EtG tests for metabolites associated with alcohol so I was wondering if a yeast infection could be the cause of the positive result of the gel itself

DrBill100
Jul 14, 2012, 06:51 PM
I recently tested positive for an EtG alcohol test. I have not had a drink in over three months. I do have a yeast infection. Could this be a possible reason for the positive results. I am also using a vaginal gel that contains a small amount of ethanol which I believe was the reason for positive results on one other regular urine screen because it was the only one I failed. The EtG tests for metabolites associated with alcohol so I was wondering if a yeast infection could be the cause of the positive result of the gel itself

Yeast infections certainly can cause a positive result on an EtG/EtS test. Yeast overgrowth combines with sugar (sucrose) that you consume to ferment ethanol (auto-brewery syndrome). The ethanol is then metabolized by the liver creating EtG and EtS. Ann Thierauf and associates, Freiburg University Medical Centre, published a study dealing with that subject. Click on the highlighted portion below.

The gel that you mention is a less likely candidate but could have produced an additive effect.

Thierauf A, Wohlfarth A, Auwärter V, Perdekamp MG, Wurst FM, Weinmann W. (2010) Urine tested positive for ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate after the consumption of yeast and sugar. Forensic Sci Int. 2010 Oct 10;202(1-3) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20655676)