Diagnosis of vaginal thrush
Click the thumbnail to view the flowchart for diagnosing vaginal thrush
(PDF format)
Always refer patients to their doctor if they:
- Are under 16 years of age or over 60 years
- Have had more than two episodes of thrush in the past six months
- Have additional symptoms such as pain or bleeding
- Have offensive-smelling or blood-stained discharge
- Are taking other medicines
- Are allergic to antifungal treatments
- Are pregnant
- Have tried a treatment but the symptoms are still present a week later.
Vaginal thrush is a mild to moderate infection and responds to topical or oral antifungals. Thrush that is recurrent or severe (for example in women suffering from diabetes) should be referred to their doctor for further investigations.
