Our story
I was tired of treating one problem only to create another
I empathize with the challenges of maintaining good vaginal health, because I have both seen and experienced the emotional impact of recurrent infections.
For over ten years I’ve been an internal medicine physician, and I’ve treated so many patients caught in the frustrating cycle of UTIs, BV (bacterial vaginosis) and yeast infections.
I kept getting UTIs about once a month, and after a course of antibiotics for a UTI, I developed recurrent BV. Antibiotics taken for one infection can also kill the good bacteria that keep the vagina in balance. That lets other bacteria overgrow, and they can cause odor, itching and discharge.
As if repeated UTIs weren’t painful enough, the odor of BV was emotionally traumatizing. I was embarrassed to go out in public or be intimate with my partner, and every trip to the bathroom was a reminder that something was wrong. So off to my doctor I went, for yet another course of antibiotics to treat the BV I got from the antibiotics I took for a UTI. BV often comes back even after treatment, and within two weeks the itch and odor were back.
That’s when I went digging through peer-reviewed journals for research on prevention. I just wanted my vagina to feel normal again.
If I struggled to take care of my own vaginal health, how was someone without medical training expected to navigate this?
Dr. Kristina McCaw, MD, co-founder
My experience inspired my partner and me to start Kydella. There are real gaps in how doctors are taught to approach and treat vaginal infections, and we want to help fill them.
No hocus pocus
We don’t promote hocus pocus, and we don’t believe we know better than science. Mainstream treatment has a real role, and our products are meant to work alongside it, not replace it.
Fortunately, many people with a vagina never have to think about their vaginal health. But if you struggle with frequent infections, or just feel off-balance, we get it. We hope everyone finds something they want here, but not everyone will need something here.
Our approach
Physician-founded
Started by Dr. Kristina McCaw, a triple board-certified physician who has lived with recurrent infections herself.
Evidence you can check
Evidence shown on every product page, with who reviewed it and when.
Privacy first
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The team
Co-founder
Dr. Kristina McCaw, MD
Triple board-certified in internal medicine, obesity medicine and clinical informatics. Kristina trained in internal medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, cared for hospital patients across Georgia, and holds a master’s in clinical informatics management from Stanford. Today she’s a medical director at a national health company.
Co-founder
Terron Hyde
Kristina’s husband, partner and sounding board, and Kydella’s CTO, web admin, technician, customer support and logistics manager. If you email us or place an order, there’s a good chance he’s the one who replies or packs your box.
Terron has spent two decades in software engineering and technology leadership across cloud computing, banking and payments, and healthcare technology. He studied computer science at the University of the West Indies and has an MBA from the University of New Orleans. Today he’s a principal software engineering manager at a global technology company.
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