Blokes get it too. (Thrush)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Thrush
Date:	13/05/02 (410 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to cure

Disadvantages: not always easy to spot, can lie dormant for eyars and then flare up.

Thrush is caused by yeast, and is a curious ailment. It can flare up and then hide away for years, it can be passed on sexually, or not, it can be very uncomfortable, or hardly noticed. It can, on the plus side, be treated and sorted out very easily.

What is it? You have yeast on your skin, around your genitals especially and mostly it just lurks about not doing much. As far as I can tell, thrush is what happens when it gets out of control.

For women: Flakey skin around the vagina, itchiness, soreness, white discharge, irritation during sex and when urinating.

For blokes: Sore red slightly swollen penis, discomfort urinating and during sex. Experience would suggest that it might actually be worse for men, although some men can get it with almost no symptoms.

Prevention - warmth and damp provide ideal growing grounds for yeast, so make sure you are well ventilated - change underwear daily, use cotton instead of nylon pants, don't wear tights all the time, dry that area carefully after washing. If you suffer irritation, see a doctor, and take precautions during sex to avoid passing it on.

Cure - the doctor can issue you with a prescription - for women this will mean a cream that is squeezed into the vagina (not unpleasant) for blokes, a cream that goes on the skin. Both ease discomfort at once and cure the problem in a few days.

Personal expereince - I think I developed this probelm early in my teens, not through sexual contact, but by some other means. What this meant in pracice was that every now and then I would be a bit hot and sore - I found that this was usually in the summer if I had got hot and sweaty, and that if I aired myself, and wore something different, the problem went away. I put it down to sweat and hormones, and never really worried about it - it never caused much trouble and had gone by my late teens. Or so I thought. Then I had a smear test. Within hours I was in significant discomfort, itch
y, sore, painful to urinate, I was afraid I had somehow caught something nasty. I phoned the practise nurse at once, and she found out from my results that I had thrush, that I mush have had it before I went and that the smear test had set it off. I had also passed it on by this point.

However, within 48 hours I was back to normal, and now know what to look for.

This is not just and STD, although it can be transmitted sexually. There are many innocent mistakes that can lead to it - no point feeling ashamed about it any more than you would about getting a cold. If you suffer any discomfort, see a doctor or nurse - soultions are quick and easy to come by, there is no need to suffer.

Summary: