Let’s talk about thrush…

Thrush is a very common infection that is caused by yeast called Candida albicans. Normally, the Candida organisms live harmlessly in the gut and in one in five women they also reside in the vagina.

They are kept in check by your immune system, good bacteria and the pH levels in a healthy vagina. But it does not take much for the finely tuned systems to start getting unbalanced and Candida will start to overgrow if the conditions are favourable.

That is why most women will probably experience at least one attack of thrush in their life, and some suffer from it more often.

Thrush is not a sexually transmitted disease – you may get infected another way – but if you are sexually active, it may pass between you and your partner.

The first, most obvious sign of infection is discomfort ‘down below’. You might feel a bit itchy or sore around the labia and the entrance to the vagina. You might also feel a little swollen.

The next sign, which not all women will notice, is a whitish, generally odourless discharge. Some people say that it looks a little bit like cottage cheese.

Other symptoms are an uncomfortable, burning sensation when you pass urine, and pain or a burning sensation during sex.

Canesten has a wide range of thrush treatments that offer a combined internal/oral treatment to treat the internal infection and cream to alleviate external symptoms fast – speak to your doctor or pharmacist to find out more about the range.

Details at www.canesten.co.uk.