Thrush in women is a fungal infection of the external genitalia.
Because of secretions that look like sour milk, this name appeared. Suffer from thrush at any age: from newborns to postmenopausal women.
In the presence of discharge in 45% of cases, i.e., every second woman is diagnosed with thrush.
Thrush in women - causes
Thrush is caused by fungi of the genus Candida. Normally, they are in the body of any healthy woman and belong to the conditionally pathogenic microflora. The vagina is protected from infection by the mucous membrane and acidic medium with a pH of 3.8 - 4.5.
Depending on the phase of the cycle, a new cell layer of the mucous membrane is formed and then rejected. This is one of the protective mechanisms against the spread of microorganisms.
The second is the constancy of the medium with a pH of 3.8 - 4.5. The acidic environment is preserved due to the lactobacilli present on the vaginal mucosa normal. They make up 95 - 98% of the entire microflora of the vagina, are involved in the formation of lactic acid, which prevents pathogenic microbes from multiplying.
In addition, lactobacilli form microcolonies on the mucous membrane, thereby preventing the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the thickness of the vagina.
Fungi of the genus Candida, as well as lactobacilli, staphylococci, streptococci, mycoplasmas, etc. are conditionally pathogenic flora. They exhibit their pathogenic properties under certain conditions, one of which is a violation of acid - base balance in the vaginal cavity.
If the quantitative balance of lactobacilli is disturbed, the lactic acid synthesized by them decreases, the pH of the medium changes, which leads to the active reproduction of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms.
They displace the normal intestinal microflora, being in a more favorable environment; as a result, an infectious and inflammatory process develops. Enhanced reproduction of Candida mushrooms is the only cause of the development of thrush (candidiasis) in women.
Provoking factors are:
1. Improper hygiene of the external genitalia. Fungi are found not only on the vaginal mucosa, but also on the skin of the anogenital zone. With water procedures, fungi are washed off. If hygiene is not observed, they fall on the vaginal mucosa, which happens in childhood.
2. With intense douching and frequent washing, normal microflora is washed out, which leads to the development of vaginal dysbiosis.
3. Injury to the vagina.
4. Age. In old age, due to a decrease in estrogen production and atrophy of the mucosa, a sharp decrease in lactobacilli occurs.
5. Inflammation in the vagina leads to thinning and friability of the mucosa, which is the reason for the multiplication of the fungus and the development of thrush in women.
6. Medicines:
- Taking antibiotics very often leads to the development of thrush in women.
- Cytostatics and hormones reduce immunity, contributing to the reproduction of pathogenic flora.
7. Allergic and immunodeficiency conditions.
8. Diabetes mellitus: increased glucose in the tissues leads to increased reproduction of lactobacilli in the vagina.
Thrush in women - symptoms
Thrush in women has a number of specific symptoms.
1. Itching in the vagina. Strengthens in the afternoon and evening, often worries even at night. It can be so strong that it leads to neurosis. May intensify when walking, on the eve of menstruation, after contact with water (after hygiene procedures),
2. Characteristic discharge - whites resemble sour milk with curdled inclusions. If any other pathogen joins, and the infection is no longer pure yeast, the appearance and consistency of the whites change. In this case, especially with minor itching, you can confuse the thrush in a woman with another pathology. This is an important argument in favor of the need to contact a specialist. Since, if self-medication begins to take an antibiotic, confusing candidiasis with another inflammation, you can significantly aggravate the general condition.
3. There is another unpleasant symptom that causes great discomfort, but is not specific. With the spread of inflammation in the acute phase to the area of the external genitalia and urethra, dysuria occurs: various disorders of urination and pain in the vulva (external genitalia) of varying intensity.
An external examination reveals itchy rashes in the form of vesicles. When combing, local inflammation joins.
A gynecological examination reveals all signs of inflammation: hyperemia and edema of the mucosa, thick curdled deposits on the walls of the vagina. These deposits from the colonies of the fungus so densely "grow" into the mucosa that when they are removed, bleeding of the mucosa appears up to the wound.
If time is missed or treatment in the acute period was inadequate, after two months the symptoms of thrush in women fade somewhat, and it becomes a chronic recurring infection.
Symptoms of thrush in women with a chronic course are modified:
1. Itching continues to bother.
2. Discharge may be absent or become mucous and viscous - lose their characteristic appearance.
3. During a gynecological examination, the mucosa is pale and atrophic, there are no signs of inflammation.
Therefore, it is impossible to diagnose a chronic course of thrush without laboratory tests. Accordingly, with self-medication, complications may occur instead of the desired cure.
The main diagnostic method is microscopic examination. Candida spores and threads are clearly visible under the microscope. For successful treatment, an additional quantitative ratio of fungi, lactobacilli and other microorganisms is determined.
Thrush in women - treatment
Success in treating thrush in women depends on timely treatment. When treatment for the acute form of thrush started in time for women with a good immune system, a complete cure occurs in a few days without repeated infections.
The chronic form of thrush is difficult to treat. One of the reasons is concomitant chronic diseases, reduced immunity. Therefore, complete cure rarely succeeds, at best only a long remission is achieved.
In the treatment of thrush in women use:
1. Antifungal drugs:
- local - in the form of ointments, suppositories, creams (clotrimazole, ketonazole, etc.);
- systemic antifungal drugs in tablet form (pimafucin, fluconazole, terzhinan, polygynax, diflucan, etc.).
2. Symptomatic therapy:
- Means for eliminating itching, pain;
- antihistamines;
- sedative medications.
Need to know, that antifungal drugs that are used without a doctor’s prescription do not always lead to a complete cure, and a decrease or even disappearance of the symptoms of thrush during self-medication often indicates a transition to a chronic form of infection.
Important points in treatment:
- observance of sexual rest;
- refusal of alcohol;
- proper personal hygiene;
- no self-administration of foreign drugs, especially antibiotics.
Thrush in women - prevention
For successful prevention, you must follow a few simple but important rules:
1. Adequate daily personal hygiene, change of underwear. The underwear should be cotton, not synthetic, which promotes the reproduction of the fungus. It is advisable to wear leggings and tights less often. The fungus loves moisture, so you need to dry dry after hygiene and toilet the genitals.
2. Use only products intended for intimate hygiene.
3. Do not use scented pads, intimate sprays, colored toilet paper.
4. Do not use a syringe, so as not to injure the mucous membrane and not to “wash off” the normal microflora.
5. Treatment of existing allergic, chronic diseases.
6. Sufficient physical activity, proper nutrition to maintain immunity.
7. The literature describes studies according to which, with the restriction of sweets, recovery from candidiasis is accelerated.
8. Do not self-medicate, especially do not take antibiotics uncontrollably.
9. Eliminate promiscuous sexual intercourse and use external contraceptives.
10. Be sure to visit a gynecologist once a year, even if there is no particular reason.
