Thrush Treatment - Good and Bad Sides Of Modern Thrush Treatmens

Most women will have used a thrush treatment at some point in their lives because thrush is one of the most common fungal infections known to women. It affects as many as 75% of women during their lifetime, though is more common in women in their twenties and thirties and especially during pregnancy, when hormonal changes occur. Fortunately, when you do suffer from thrush, treatment is relatively straightforward.

Thrush is a fungal infection affecting the skin, genital area and digestive tract particularly in women, breastfeeding mothers and babies. It is caused by the yeast germ Candida albicans, which are yeast cells that exist normally (and harmlessly) on the skin in warm, moist, airless parts of the body, such as the vagina and groin, the nappy area in babies and in mouths generally. These cells are easily eradicated by various modern treatments, usually in the form of creams, pessaries or lozenges. However, in some cases the infection has a tendency to recur, which makes topical thrush treatment only temporary.

The symptoms of thrush are mild to severe itching, soreness or burning. Vaginal thrush may include a creamy-white or grayish discharge. There may be discomfort when urinating or during sex. In men the symptoms are very similar and may include inflammation or redness around the penis. Oral thrush presents as white, sore patches on the tongue or roof of the mouth for which the normal thrush treatment is a tablet or lozenge.

The most common thrush infection, of course, is vaginal thrush and this is often caused by the use of antibiotics used to treat other infections, which kill the body’s beneficial bacteria along with the harmful bacteria they are meant to target, thus enabling the Candida organism to thrive. Vaginal thrush is the second most common cause of vaginal discharge and the one for which thrush treatment is most often sought.

However, it should never be automatically assumed that a vaginal discharge is a thrush infection and medical confirmation should always be sought before starting any thrush treatment. A doctor or nurse will be able to make a diagnosis very quickly, although a test may be necessary to confirm this. This is a simple and painless swab of the cells from the vagina, which will be sent off to a laboratory for testing.

The most common form of treatment prescribed for vaginal thrush is a single daily or twice daily dose of Fluconazole. This is available from pharmacies without prescription. For relief from excessive itching there are a number of anti-fungal creams which will soothe the itchiness around the vulva and which can be safely used with the oral thrush treatment. In most cases, however, only one of these forms of treatment is necessary. Pessaries containing anti-yeast properties are another form of treatment available and these usually come in a single dose application. Your doctor or nurse will advise you on the best form of thrush treatment for your symptoms.

Unfortunately creams and capsules do tend to leave the body vulnerable to repeat infections and a further treatments may be necessary in the future. Sufferers soon learn to recognise the symptoms quickly and know from experience which thrush treatment works best for them to treat these repeated outbreaks.