Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSelf-Checks/At-Home TestingLab TestsDifferential DiagnosesFrequently Asked QuestionsNext in Yeast Infection GuideHow Vaginal Yeast Infection Is Treated
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Self-Checks/At-Home Testing
Lab Tests
Differential Diagnoses
Frequently Asked Questions
Next in Yeast Infection Guide
Yeast infections will affect up to three-quarters of people with vaginas at some point during their lives.These common infections tend to befrustrating to deal with. They may not have serious long-term health consequences, but they’re uncomfortable. They can also lead to depression and feelings of low-self worth if the discomfort is persistent, so a proper diagnosis and treatment are recommended.
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Commercially available home tests for diagnosing yeast infections don’t specifically test for yeast infections. Instead, they are used to determine if the vaginal pH is abnormal.
Sincebacterial vaginosis(BV) is more often associated with a high vaginal pH, these tests can help point to whether the pH is more consistent with yeast or BV.
Just having yeast in the vagina isn’t necessarily a problem. It’s only a problem when the yeast overgrows. These tests aren’t necessarily able to determine the amount of vaginal yeast and whether it is causing your symptoms.
The standard test for a yeast infection is a microscopic examination of avaginal smearsample. Yeast is often visually detectable in such samples.
Note: This type of self-smear is different than a home test for yeast. You take the smear, but the doctor still examines it using a microscope.
Recurrent Infections
If you’ve had recurrent yeast infections or complicated symptoms, other tests are available. Your doctor may send your vaginal fluid to a laboratory for a yeast culture.
Molecular Tests
Molecular testsare sometimes used in the diagnosis of yeast infections.
As withurine tests for other STIs, these tests can identify very small amounts of yeast in the urine. This method is less useful for diagnosing a yeast infection than it is for identifying chlamydia or gonorrhea. Why? Because most people with vaginas have some yeast present in their bodies at all times, so detection of a small amount does not necessarily mean that you have a yeast infection.
A number of vaginal health conditions have very similar symptoms to a yeast infection. As such, without testing, it can be difficult to tell whether someone is suffering from a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis,trichomoniasis, or anotherSTI.
Fortunately, whatever condition is causing the common symptoms of all these infections—itching, pain during urination, changes in vaginal discharge—is probably easily treatable if it is treated with the correct medication.That’s why testing is so important. Without testing, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the right medication.
A vaginal yeast infection (vaginal candidiasis) is diagnosed with apelvic exam. Your doctors will examine the affected area and take a swab of vaginal discharge to view with a microscope. If theCandidafungus is not readily identified, a sample can be sent to the lab for further evaluation.
No preparation is needed. However, you should avoid douching before a pelvic exam, as this can strip away some of the infectious material and make the condition harder to diagnose.
How Vaginal Yeast Infection Is Treated
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Overview: Vaginal Yeast Infection (Thrush). Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2022.Bilardi JE, Walker S, Temple-Smith M, et al.The burden of bacterial vaginosis: women’s experience of the physical, emotional, sexual and social impact of living with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e74378. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074378Scolaro KL, Lloyd KB, Helms KL.Devices for home evaluation of women’s health concerns.Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65(4):299–314. doi:10.2146/ajhp060565Barnes P, Vieira R, Harwood J, Chauhan M.Self-taken vaginal swabs versus clinician-taken for detection of candida and bacterial vaginosis: a case-control study in primary care.Br J Gen Pract. 2017;67(665):e824–e829. doi:10.3399/bjgp17X693629Nyirjesy P.Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis.Am Fam Physician. 2001;63(4):697.Donders GG, Ravel J, Vitali B, Netea MG, Salumets A, Unemo M.Role of molecular biology in diagnosis and characterization of vulvo-vaginitis in clinical practice.Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2017;82(6):607-616. doi:10.1159/000478982Paladine HL, Desai UA.Vaginitis: diagnosis and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2018;97(5):321-329.InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).Bacterial vaginosis: overview.Morris B, Krieger J.Penile inflammatory skin disorders and the preventive role of circumcision.Int J Prev Med. 2017;8(1):32. doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_377_16Willems HM, Ahmed SS, Liu J, Xu Z, Peters BM.Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a current understanding and burning questions.JoF. 2020;6(1):27. doi:10.3390/jof6010027
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Overview: Vaginal Yeast Infection (Thrush). Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2022.Bilardi JE, Walker S, Temple-Smith M, et al.The burden of bacterial vaginosis: women’s experience of the physical, emotional, sexual and social impact of living with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e74378. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074378Scolaro KL, Lloyd KB, Helms KL.Devices for home evaluation of women’s health concerns.Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65(4):299–314. doi:10.2146/ajhp060565Barnes P, Vieira R, Harwood J, Chauhan M.Self-taken vaginal swabs versus clinician-taken for detection of candida and bacterial vaginosis: a case-control study in primary care.Br J Gen Pract. 2017;67(665):e824–e829. doi:10.3399/bjgp17X693629Nyirjesy P.Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis.Am Fam Physician. 2001;63(4):697.Donders GG, Ravel J, Vitali B, Netea MG, Salumets A, Unemo M.Role of molecular biology in diagnosis and characterization of vulvo-vaginitis in clinical practice.Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2017;82(6):607-616. doi:10.1159/000478982Paladine HL, Desai UA.Vaginitis: diagnosis and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2018;97(5):321-329.InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).Bacterial vaginosis: overview.Morris B, Krieger J.Penile inflammatory skin disorders and the preventive role of circumcision.Int J Prev Med. 2017;8(1):32. doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_377_16Willems HM, Ahmed SS, Liu J, Xu Z, Peters BM.Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a current understanding and burning questions.JoF. 2020;6(1):27. doi:10.3390/jof6010027
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Overview: Vaginal Yeast Infection (Thrush). Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2022.Bilardi JE, Walker S, Temple-Smith M, et al.The burden of bacterial vaginosis: women’s experience of the physical, emotional, sexual and social impact of living with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e74378. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074378Scolaro KL, Lloyd KB, Helms KL.Devices for home evaluation of women’s health concerns.Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65(4):299–314. doi:10.2146/ajhp060565Barnes P, Vieira R, Harwood J, Chauhan M.Self-taken vaginal swabs versus clinician-taken for detection of candida and bacterial vaginosis: a case-control study in primary care.Br J Gen Pract. 2017;67(665):e824–e829. doi:10.3399/bjgp17X693629Nyirjesy P.Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis.Am Fam Physician. 2001;63(4):697.Donders GG, Ravel J, Vitali B, Netea MG, Salumets A, Unemo M.Role of molecular biology in diagnosis and characterization of vulvo-vaginitis in clinical practice.Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2017;82(6):607-616. doi:10.1159/000478982Paladine HL, Desai UA.Vaginitis: diagnosis and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2018;97(5):321-329.InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).Bacterial vaginosis: overview.Morris B, Krieger J.Penile inflammatory skin disorders and the preventive role of circumcision.Int J Prev Med. 2017;8(1):32. doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_377_16Willems HM, Ahmed SS, Liu J, Xu Z, Peters BM.Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a current understanding and burning questions.JoF. 2020;6(1):27. doi:10.3390/jof6010027
Overview: Vaginal Yeast Infection (Thrush). Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2022.
Bilardi JE, Walker S, Temple-Smith M, et al.The burden of bacterial vaginosis: women’s experience of the physical, emotional, sexual and social impact of living with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e74378. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074378
Scolaro KL, Lloyd KB, Helms KL.Devices for home evaluation of women’s health concerns.Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008;65(4):299–314. doi:10.2146/ajhp060565
Barnes P, Vieira R, Harwood J, Chauhan M.Self-taken vaginal swabs versus clinician-taken for detection of candida and bacterial vaginosis: a case-control study in primary care.Br J Gen Pract. 2017;67(665):e824–e829. doi:10.3399/bjgp17X693629
Nyirjesy P.Chronic vulvovaginal candidiasis.Am Fam Physician. 2001;63(4):697.
Donders GG, Ravel J, Vitali B, Netea MG, Salumets A, Unemo M.Role of molecular biology in diagnosis and characterization of vulvo-vaginitis in clinical practice.Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2017;82(6):607-616. doi:10.1159/000478982
Paladine HL, Desai UA.Vaginitis: diagnosis and treatment.Am Fam Physician. 2018;97(5):321-329.
InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).Bacterial vaginosis: overview.
Morris B, Krieger J.Penile inflammatory skin disorders and the preventive role of circumcision.Int J Prev Med. 2017;8(1):32. doi:10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_377_16
Willems HM, Ahmed SS, Liu J, Xu Z, Peters BM.Vulvovaginal candidiasis: a current understanding and burning questions.JoF. 2020;6(1):27. doi:10.3390/jof6010027
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