I can vividly remember the first time I had a yeast infection. I was in my mid-teens at school and my vulva was extremely itchy. I would excuse myself to go to the bathroom and do the very normal thing of taking photos of my vagina to find out what was wrong. I was alarmed when I saw redness around my vagina and vulva, as well as a cottage cheese-looking discharge. Naturally, as most teenagers do, I asked the internet for advice and the first thing that came up was that it was an STI. I didn’t tell anybody because I was so ashamed. The first thing I did was book myself into my local sexual health clinic and pleaded for the nurse to help me.
I remember the nurse examining me and then slowly chuckling to herself. She told me that thrush was not necessarily passed on from sex. She asked me if I wore tight clothing or had changed my laundry powder. I told her that I wore tights at school, and would often wear tightly fitted jeans, and it hurt when I peed. She sent me home with a prescription for Canesten Duo.
Despite feeling like the only person in the world with this condition, I wasn’t. In fact, figures from the University of Manchester show that around 138 million women are affected by a distressing but treatable fungal infection worldwide, and this figure is set to rise to an estimated 158 million people by 2030. In the UK, a significant 1.2 million women suffer from thrush and up to 75 out of 100 women in the U.S. will have a vaginal yeast infection at least once in their life. “While it’s more common in people with vaginas, it can also affect those with penises,” says sex expert Madalaine Munro, “which causes pain when passing urine, challenges pulling back the foreskin, thick discharge, and redness or irritation often at the head of the shaft which is usually the site of infection.”
What is a yeast infection? Symptoms and causes
Vulvovaginal candidiasis infection – aka thrush or a yeast infection – is caused by the overgrowth of a fungus called candida, and it causes itching, irritation, discharge, soreness, and damage to the skin, according to the NHS website. It can also affect other areas of the skin, such as the armpits, groin and between the fingers.
Despite being very widespread, talking about thrush still remains very taboo. When I got home from the sexual health clinic and told my mother that I had thrush, she laughed and said I had been having “too much sex”. I was taken aback and felt ashamed because I knew that I hadn’t been. But this is a common myth since yeast infections are commonly stigmatised. “The taboo comes from a lack of adequate sex education, a patriarchal society which stigmatises sex as a whole, and the societal hangover from religious teachings that may have demonised sex, which can perpetuate fear and ignorance around sexual health,” says Munro.
While thrush can be triggered by sex, it’s not the only factor. “Thrush is a common yeast infection caused by an increase in the growth of candida albicans, a common fungus,” says Dr. Hlupekile Chipeta, clinical lead for gynaecology at Leeds NHS teaching hospitals and spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. “It can be triggered by antibiotics which kill friendly bacteria that naturally suppresses candida. It usually affects women but men can also be affected and it may be passed from one to another by sexual contact. It is not, however, classed as a sexually transmitted infection.”
If thrush is left untreated, the symptoms can worsen. “Usually an anti-fungal medicine is needed to treat thrush. This can be a tablet taken by mouth, cream, or if vaginal thrush, a tablet can be inserted into the vagina known as a pessary, and it should clear up within 14 days,” Chipeta adds.
Can you have sex when you have a yeast infection?
So, what does this mean if you are sexually active? And, can you have sex when you have thrush? “It can make symptoms worse, as the physical contact, sweat, heat and movement may irritate the skin,” says Munro. “While thrush isn’t an STI, it can be triggered during sex – this may be when someone is already prone to thrush, or may have a weakened immune system.”
Alexa, 25, from London, UK, has had sex with her partner when she had thrush, but says it was very “scratchy”. “I think we just didn’t realise it at the time and just thought we’d been having too much sex, which happens when you’re 18 and on holiday. Once I realised it was more than just discomfort from too much sex we stopped for a while,” she adds.
Jess, 25, from Birmingham, UK, said she couldn’t kick a case of thrush while on holiday with her boyfriend and his family. “Turned out we ended up playing a game of ‘thrush ping pong,’ as his mum put it, because he just kept giving it back to me. No one thought to perhaps tell him he should’ve used the cream on his penis too. Once he did, it totally cleared up for me.”
According to Chipeta, it is possible for thrush to be passed on through sexual intercourse. However, this is uncommon. “The NHS suggests that you avoid having penetrative and oral sex until you’ve completed a course of treatment and the infection has completely cleared up.”
For those feeling frustrated by taking a week off penetrative sex and still want to have intimacy with their partners, you could explore oral sex on someone else’s genitals, using toys with them (not on your own genitals), and trying different types of touch. You could also try some nourishing alternatives such as massages or pleasure mapping (discovering other areas of pleasure) with each other. Most of all, it’s important to be kind to your body as you wait for the yeast infection to clear up.
However, it isn’t all doom and gloom since there are plenty of things you can do to help with thrush. “Sleeping without underwear and avoiding tight-fitting underwear, tights and clothes may be beneficial to women with thrush as the infection thrives in warm, moist parts of the body,” Chipeta continues. “It’s also a good idea to avoid using perfumed soaps, gels, and antiseptics near the vagina as these can affect the healthy balance of bacteria and pH levels in the vagina and cause irritation. Women are advised to use plain, unperfumed soaps to wash the area around the vagina (the vulva), not inside it, gently every day.”
If this is the first time you’re experiencing thrush, you should always visit your GP or sexual health clinic so they can assess you, confirm the diagnosis and treat any infection found. If your condition keeps returning, Chipeta says that your GP may offer investigations to identify if you have underlying conditions that make you more likely to develop recurring thrush (this is when thrush occurs more than four times in a year). “You might need to take a longer course of anti-fungal treatment or be given different medical treatments if you keep getting thrush.”
While thrush can be somewhat alarming if it’s your first time experiencing it, it’s key to remember that it is very common and is easily treatable. Although it might be tempting, try not to itch and scratch too much, and instead wear loose-fitting clothing and seek medical attention. And if you can help it, take a week off your sex life and speak to your partner about it to move through the challenge together, rather than feeling alone.