bloody thrush

[poorbuthappy]

I know I'm lucky in that I don't really suffer from thrush....until now.
I am in week 3, have used cream, pessary and tablet. Been to the docs 3 times and still no swabs taken.

I am going back to docs on Tues morning because I can't cope any longer but is it likely to be anything else considering I've taken everything I can and its still not gone?

I'd suggest you go to your local GUM clinic rather than your GP. They will swab and diagnose on the spot, so you should get a quicker treatment plan. You might find that you don't have Candida albicans, which is the regular kind of thrush that the otc treatments are aimed at. I've often had persistent thrush and had it typed as being a different kind which needs different meds.

Good luck, it's horrible!

Until you see the doctor, tampons help keep you free of itching & burning.

In general I find that doctors will take swabs if asked, so worth asking earlier next time. Hope there isn't a next time.

Cut out as much sugar as you can including fruit and take acidophilus from Holland and Barrett, as well as going back to GP.
Hope you get it sorted.

Acidophilus (good bacteria) might help with your gut flora when you are on antibiotics, for example, but it cannot help with thrush, simply because there is no conceivable way for it to get from the digestive tract to inside the vagina.

Cote No! Please- tampons should not be used when someone has thrush. Tampons are only to be used during a period when there is a good flow of blood. If you use tampons at any other time you risk drying the vagina and even creating an environment for bacteria to grow and thrush to be worse.

OP- avoid tight trousers, nylon or polyester knickers- wear all cotton- avoid wearing tights, go knickerless at home and wear skirts, avoid hot baths and shower gels or foam baths, don't use any perfumed panty liners or pads, and if you are having sex, use condoms as thrush can be passed backwards and forwards between partners.

Yeah, well, tampon quickly stops the itching and burning so you can get on with life until you see the doctor.

Yeast thrives in a moist environment so drying the vagina out a bit with the tampon probably isn't a bad idea.

I'd second the GUM clinic, they're self referral and they resolved my very, very persistent thrush in one visit. (In my case, very low iron and B12.)

"even creating an environment for bacteria to grow and thrush to be worse."

Thrush won't be worse if bacteria grows in the vagina.

Actually, dipping a tampon in Ming's Acidophilus would actually get some there while eating it won't at all. (I'm not recommending this, by the way).

Reducing sugar should relieve the itching.

Hope it clears up for you soon.

Cote Bullet point 5 on the list- do not use tampons. They can cause thrush so using them while you have it it rather silly. Canestan cream can help the itching, or washing gently with plain warm water just to clear the discharge- but overwashing can actually make thrush worse.

www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/factsheets/thrush/

Thanks all. The itching has actually eased now I'm left with a discharge which to be frank is foul.
I'm gonna have to get in docs in the morning and demand swabs. You'd have thought the bleeding last week would have made them take them wouldn't you?

"tampons. They can cause thrush so using them while you have it it rather silly"

Tampons don't cause thrush unless you leave them in for a very long time. The same is true for pads (towels), too - they increase the chance of thrush, as they provide a moist and warm environment for yeast to multiply.

The smell is an indication that it's not 'normal' thrush. Take this further.
As some have said: keep the vagina area open to the air as much as possible, don't wash too much, cut out all sugars, and that includes fruit and alcohol. If pos, try and get live yoghurt inside your vagina.

I think the yoghurt in the vagina has been disproved. It's cooling but won't actually kill thrush.

Cote please read the link from Women's Health. Tampons don't cause thrush per se, but by drying out the vagina and affecting the acid / alkali balance, they can create an environment for thrush to grow.

If you read any leaflet in a tampon box it tells us never to use tampons except during a period. Pads don't do this unless they are not changed often enough, and they don't affect the lining of the vagina- it's totally different.

The vagina is self cleansing- whatever is in there needs to come down (and out) so using a tampon when you have an infection ( and thrush is a fungus infection) will not do any good at all.

here Cote

what causes thrush about 5 paragraphs down.
'Tampons can cause thrush...'

As I answered below, tampons won't cause anything if you don't keep them in for too long and pads (towels) "can" cause thrush, too.

That is all irrelevant to someone who already has thrush and is trying to just survive for a day until she can see a doctor, anyway.

I wasn't proposing tampons as a cure to thrush or even saying that everyone with a thrush should stick a tampon in. OP said "I can't cope any longer" and "I'm going back to docs on Tues morning" and I said that a tampon will stop her from suffering/itching/burning so she can get on with life until she can get to the doctor.

You won't concede this will you? :)

Tampons can cause thrush. If they dry out or damage the vaginal walls they can cause thrush by creating an environment where it can take hold. See links from medics. As for pads etc well anything which stops air circulating will cause thrush potentially- tight jeans, nylon knickers, thongs, tights, wet bathing suits etc.

It's irresponsible to suggest using a tampon whilst there is a heavy discharge. Many women have very little discharge with thrush anyway- I've had thrush diagnosed when I had no discharge at all- just itching and soreness. The 'treatment' for discharge whilst waiting for treatment is just to use warm water (no soap etc) and gently wipe away discharge- with cotton wool etc.

I have handed swabs in to docs earlier today.
Stomach pain started in earnest this afternoon.
Still lots of discharge.
Tbh the thought of sticking anything up there makes me heave so I won't be doing anything with a tampon.

OP - It does sound like what you have might be something other than thrush. I hope your diagnosis & treatment happens very soon.