"Yikes! I Itch Down There!".

Few things are more embarrassing than the need to scratch south of the border. Spare yourself with these fixes for your most intimate itches.

* When Susan Glover[degrees], 25, a computer analyst in Atlanta, was first plagued by an irksome below-the-belt itch, she hoped it would go away on its own. In public, she put up with it, and in private, she scratched--like mad. But it kept getting worse. "It was so embarrassing," she says. "It was constantly squirming like I had ants in my pants." Fed up after five days of around-the-clock irritation, she saw her gyno, who diagnosed a simple yeast infection. A few days after using an OTC cream, Susan was happily itch-free.

The take-home message? Praying your private problem will automatically disappear doesn't do the trick. That scratching sensation is your body's way of commanding immediate attention, says Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. So why suffer with an unmentionable aggravation when it often has a quick fix? Below, the lowdown on four common itch-like-crazy conditions and how to soothe them--stat.

ITCHY TRIGGER 1

Bacterial Vaginosis, Yeast, and Trichomoniasis

An itch like Susan's--the Kind that makes you want to lip off your panty hose mid-meeting and scratch yourself silly--is most frequently diagnosed as vaginitis, says Hillier. Vaginitis is a collective term that includes yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and trichomoniasis (trich).

Yeast and bacterial vaginosis are often brought on by douching, frequent sex, haying sex with a new partner, hormonal fluctuations, and antibiotics. These factors can disturb the balance between good and bad bacteria that naturally inhabit the vagina, making it a more favorable environment for itch-inducing organisms. Trick is a curable STD caused by a tiny parasite.