Thrush can have different types and forms. Depending on the stage of development of the pathology, the symptoms change, but candidiasis in any case is a contagious disease. Everyone with whom the infection carriers come into contact is at risk. It is not always possible to protect loved ones, since many women simply do not know about the presence of a fungal infection. Thrush occurs without itching or burning.
These are the first and most well-known signs of the disease, but if they are absent, patients are in no hurry to see a doctor.
A latent course and vague symptoms are characteristic of any stage of the disease. Uncontrolled proliferation of fungi is not always accompanied by typical symptoms; even with the chronic form of thrush, thrush without discharge is often detected. An insidious infection may not remind you of itself for a long time with discomfort, but with the slightest hypothermia or stress, weakened immunity creates a favorable atmosphere for the proliferation of bacteria. The rapid development of candidiasis is dangerous due to complications, especially for those women who have already been diagnosed.
Another feature of this atypical disease is thrush without discharge, but with itching. With such symptoms, many people mistake candidiasis for ordinary inflammation and try to solve the problem on their own. Some people take antibiotics to treat thrush and make the situation worse.
The invisibility and asymptomatic behavior of thrush complicates diagnosis and treatment. It is very difficult to navigate and independently understand the essence of the changes occurring in the body. To get rid of candidiasis, you need a special examination, a competent specialist and high-quality treatment.
Can you have thrush without cheesy discharge?
Candidiasis does not have standard forms and the same development. Despite the similarity of the causes of the pathology, each woman’s disease progresses differently. Some carriers have odorless thrush, which may cause constant pain and increased urination. Mistaking this for a banal infection, women waste time on useless self-treatment. If thrush has been diagnosed at least once, for prevention it is necessary to be examined every six months. This is not the case when you can speculate and wait for the disease to reveal itself with a full set of standard symptoms.
Very often, with thrush there is just itching without discharge. This is another atypical sign of the latent course of the disease. It is usually observed in cases of health problems when the immune system is unable to fight a harmful infection on its own. Stressful situations, chronic diseases, psychomatic causes of candidiasis, hormonal imbalances - all these are provoking factors for the asymptomatic course of the disease.
Complex cases also include thrush without the characteristic cheesy discharge. This is possible, but many carriers of the infection are not aware of the rapid proliferation of the fungus in their body.
Lack of discharge increases the risk, so don’t be complacent if one of the main symptoms doesn’t appear. This indicates that the body is able to control the process and contain the number of harmful bacteria, but with the slightest disruption in the immune and hormonal system, the situation will worsen. In favorable conditions, a fungal infection begins to develop rapidly, and within a few days you will have to deal with a full range of unpleasant sensations.
When an infection develops, the discharge does not always have a white, curd-like consistency. They can be transparent, yellow, brownish, greenish and pink. Such deviations often indicate concomitant diseases.
You should be wary if there is bloody discharge due to thrush. We recommend reading more about why blood appears in a separate article on our website.
What folk methods are popular?
Not every woman is ready to use expensive drugs; sometimes she has to resort to traditional medicine. If the presence of thrush is revealed, you can try on yourself some recipes based on the medicinal effects of herbs:
- You will need an alcohol solution of calendula in the amount of 1 teaspoon and 50 milliliters of warm water. You will need either a douche or a special vaginal tampon that can be soaked in the product.
- Tea tree oil perfectly helps with diseases such as thrush; for this you need to take 2 drops and mix with a teaspoon of olive oil. Good for douching.
- The famous chamomile also helps greatly with such problems. You need to take 2 teaspoons of the herb, pour a liter of boiling water, and then leave this mixture for 40 minutes. The infusion can be used as a bath, or for douching, or for hygiene procedures. This herb, or rather its flowers, is famous for its antiseptic effect. Plus, it miraculously relieves itching, which is why chamomile is considered the best solution for thrush.
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Classification and symptoms of thrush
Depending on the characteristics of the course of the disease, several forms of thrush are distinguished. Let's highlight the main ones.
Carriage
Candida fungi are present in a healthy body. This is a physiological norm, but it can be violated at any time. With asymptomatic thrush, the woman is unaware of the infection. The fungus is present, but does not spread en masse. The body controls its reproduction and does not allow activity.
Carriage of the infection is accompanied by hidden symptoms and does not cause much discomfort, but this does not mean that there is no possibility of infection . The risk will remain; the most common routes of infection are sexual and household.
In most cases, carriage of the infection is thrush without itching, burning or discharge. Exceeding generally accepted standards for the number of bacteria is detected during testing.
Approximately 30% of women are classified as candidiasis carriers, and only a small proportion undergo regular examinations. Do not forget that thrush without symptoms is no less dangerous than chronic candidiasis. Candida fungus spores are not eliminated from the body.
With any health problems, pathogens are activated, forming large fungal colonies. Microorganisms begin to penetrate the vaginal mucosa and infect it. The more dangerous the type of fungus, the faster they penetrate deep into the tissue. The disease begins to develop and becomes acute.
Acute form
The acute form of candidiasis is accompanied by fairly clear symptoms and a pronounced clinical picture. Your health may deteriorate sharply, and thrush may manifest itself with several unpleasant signs at once.
With an atypical course of the disease, the history of the development of thrush develops differently. The disease is not always accompanied by itching and discharge. All this may not happen, moreover, if the diagnosis “Vaginal candidiasis: acute form” has already been made, but nothing itches or bothers you, this is a bad sign, indicating the active proliferation of bacteria. In such cases, other symptoms may indicate ill health:
- redness of the genitals;
- discomfort during sexual intercourse and during urination;
- disruptions in menstruation;
- pain in the lower back and abdomen.
The listed signs are often confused with manifestations of other pathologies: inflammation in the appendages and ovaries, allergies, consequences of past sexually transmitted diseases, etc. The carriers of the infection do not suspect that this could be thrush without itching or discharge. With improper and untimely treatment, the acute form becomes chronic. The path to full recovery in such cases will be long and difficult.
Chronic stage of the disease
Let us reassure you right away: even chronic candidiasis can be treated. There are often cases when the identified diagnosis and advanced state of the disease cause bewilderment. It’s hard to believe that mild discomfort in the genitals turned into a serious illness. In the absence of symptoms, this is possible. The belief is that thrush without cheesy discharge, itching and other characteristic signs is impossible.
If a woman has not been examined and has not taken medication, chronic candidiasis without typical manifestations can be recognized by the following signs:
- brown coloration of the mucous membrane of the genital organs;
- hard and bumpy surface of the genitals;
- vaginal dryness and swelling;
- poor appetite;
- insomnia.
Symptoms of chronic candidiasis do not always attack a woman. Typically, exacerbations occur when the body’s defenses are weakened, climate change, stressful situations, or before menstruation. Signs may disappear, appear unexpressed, or be completely absent. With this course of the disease, the fungi do not lose their activity, but they can only be identified during testing, when the type of fungal infection and the degree of its danger to the carrier are determined.
Signs of illness
Candida lives in the gastrointestinal tract. When the microflora is disturbed, the fungus is often found in the vagina, oral cavity and skin folds. If the fungus enters a woman’s reproductive system, at first there may be no signs of the disease. At this stage, a woman experiences changes in the process of menstruation: they can become either scanty or more abundant.
Other symptoms of thrush are:
- Swelling of the labia;
- Pain during sexual intercourse and urination;
- The appearance of cracks in the mucous membranes;
- Itching in the vagina and external genitalia;
- Increased itching when sitting cross-legged;
- Vaginal discharge;
- Pain in the vagina.
However, does thrush happen without discharge?
It occasionally happens that thrush goes away without discharge. Women in such a situation do not pay attention to discomfort, since they focus only on well-known manifestations. Characteristic signs of thrush in any situation are itching, burning and swelling of the tissues. The presence of these symptoms may indicate candidiasis.
Discharge from thrush can be not only white, but also yellowish or completely transparent. Women mistakenly assume that such discharge appears during the development of inflammation and take antibiotics that cannot cure Candidiasis. In this situation, antibiotics suppress the immune system, and fungal spores begin to multiply at an accelerated rate in the vagina. After some time, thrush enters a chronic stage, which is difficult to treat.
The fungus actively multiplies in them, but is restrained by the immune system. According to medical statistics, about 20% of women and girls are carriers of a fungal infection. Sometimes symptoms similar to thrush without discharge can indicate other problems in the body. Among them are:
- Genital herpes;
- Uterine prolapse;
- Diabetes;
- Formation of genital warts;
- Leukemia;
- Age-related processes (coarsening of the mucous membrane);
- Papillomavirus;
- The appearance of anal fissures;
- Various forms of hepatitis;
- Violations of hormonal function of the ovaries;
- Proctitis (inflammation of the rectal mucosa).
Diagnosis of candidiasis
Thrush is easily diagnosed, but the atypical course of candidiasis deprives the doctor of the opportunity to rely on symptoms. The patient does not complain of itching, burning, heavy discharge and other standard symptoms.
The most effective and fastest way to detect pathology in such situations is to take a smear from the mucous surface of the uterus. If the study reveals an excess of the normalized amount of fungus, the doctor diagnoses thrush, determines the stage and prescribes treatment.
The results of this analysis may not be sufficient, since only an increase in the population of microorganisms is noticeable. It is not always possible to recognize their species. To obtain a more complete and clear clinical picture, additional examinations are prescribed - bacterioscopy of urine and blood.
Do carriers of Candida fungus need treatment?
Treatment of asymptomatic thrush does not differ from conventional therapy applied to candidiasis with characteristic symptoms. Depending on the results of the examination, the doctor prescribes suitable medications. Typically these are antifungal drugs that can destroy pathogenic bacteria, stop their growth and restore body functions.
If thrush was diagnosed recently and has not become chronic, local treatment is effective. Ointments and creams are applied locally, that is, to a specific area.
In the chronic form without cheesy discharge, not only antifungal medications are prescribed. Additionally, medications are prescribed that improve immunity and restore vaginal microflora. These can be vaginal tablets, suppositories, douching solutions. Among the most famous and popular means for combating fungus are Diflucan, Clotrimazole, Livarol, Pimafucin, Miconazole, Econazole, etc.
The antifungal components of the drugs reduce the activity of the fungus. Sometimes one tablet is enough to eliminate obsessive and unpleasant symptoms. To get rid of thrush forever, you need to complete the full course, which can last from one week to 2-3 months.
There are no identical schemes and approaches in the treatment of candidiasis. Everything is individual and depends on the patient’s condition. Even with complete confidence in the diagnosis, you should not get carried away with drugs that once helped. Symptoms and stages of the disease can change, and no one knows how your body will respond to the intervention of inappropriate medications. Don't forget about allergic reactions, complications and side effects. Only a doctor can help and not harm; self-medication for thrush is contraindicated.
