Vaginal yeast infection (VYI) is found inside the vagina and in the folds of the vulva. It thrives in this environment due to the moist and warm conditions of the organ. The yeast condition is commonly associated with women, as they are more susceptible due to a number of factors. The nature of the vagina is still largely the cause of the disease. However, people should be aware that anyone can be affected by the condition, regardless of gender or age. Dogs have even been known to suffer from the condition.
Symptoms of vaginal yeast infection
Yeast infection is sometimes called Candida infection and its other name is derived from Candida albicans. It is not the only disease that affects the vagina. The term vaginal infection refers to all ailments of the vagina, including Candida infection. Candida albicans are small fungus-like bodies found on the skin, as well as in warm, moist parts of the body. When the body experiences abnormal conditions, these Candida albicans grow abnormally too large and become a harmful fungus. This process causes disease.
Bread, itching and burning
The pain, itching and burning experience are symptoms of vaginal diseases and can be very excruciating for women. The experience can also be embarrassing. Women may find it difficult to do their daily chores. These signs alone are not necessarily an indication of the Candida condition.
It is only in combination with a few other signs that you can conclude that it is, in fact, the yeast condition. Other signs are a sensation of pain and redness in and around the vagina; a whitish or yellowish discharge; the discharge can also be like cottage cheese; it may be odorless or smell like bread. It even makes it difficult to move and also makes sexual activity painful.
Vaginal yeast infection and urinary tract infection
It is often difficult for the uninitiated to tell the difference between vaginal yeast infections and urinary tract infection (UTI). Both ailments share, as a symptom, the experience of burning when urinating. This burning experience is not felt in exactly the same areas of the urinary tract. The easiest way to tell the different sensations apart is to pay close attention to the sensation when urine flows through the urinary tract.
Since urine is acidic, it burns on contact with the affected area. You have to feel where in the passage you feel the burn. If it is in the vagina to the outside, the ailment is VYI but if the sensation is felt within the urinary tract from the bladder to just before it reaches the outside of the vagina, then it is UTI.
VYI and vaginal infection
Vaginal infection refers to all ailments of the vagina, including VYI and bacterial vaginosis (BV). BV is a condition of the vagina caused by trichomoniasis and bad bacteria known as anaerobes. It is important to be able to differentiate these different conditions. It is necessary to point out this difference because not being able to differentiate VYI from BV can lead to a serious worsening of the disease.
A noticeable difference between VYI and BV is in the odor of the discharge. Besides the smell of BV smelling like fish, several other symptoms are similar in an odd way.
Like Candida albicans, when these BV-causing anaerobes grow abnormally high and overwhelm the good bacteria, you get bacterial vaginosis. The proliferation of anaerobes is triggered by a pH imbalance in the vagina.
It is important that women are aware of the differences in symptoms and causes because young women may be wrongly accused of sexual activity when this might not be the case. Also, misdiagnosis of BV vaginal yeast infection will result in the triggering of vaginal yeast infections where there was none. You could end up with the avoidable complication of suffering from both VYI and BV.
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