Yeast Infection Symptoms

The first rule you should follow if you experience any problems such as unusual swelling, itchiness or discharge in your vaginal area is to get thee to the doctor. What you think is a yeast infection may indeed be something else entirely. Medical experts say that a Doctor should diagnose your first symptoms and show you how to recognize them in the future.

I know this sounds like the Doctors are trying to make an extra buck by doing something that all of those pretty girls on television say you can do yourself, but there are other medical conditions, such as bacterial vaginosis(BV), and Trichomoniasis (a sexually transmitted infection), that can mimic yeast infection symptoms.

When you take an over-the-counter yeast infection medication as the result of mis-diagnosis, not only are you failing to treat the actual condition, but you run the risk of causing the yeast that naturally appears in your vagina to develop a resistance to yeast infection medication. This can result in actual yeast infections becoming difficult or impossible to treat when they do occur.

Yeast infection symptoms include possible itching and/or burning in the vagina and vulva. Although itching is not always present, when it does appear it can range from mild to severe. This may be accompanied by redness or swelling which can be further compounded by scratching the irritated areas.

Symptoms usually include a discharge that can appear thick and white with a cottage cheese-like texture, down to a thin fluid-like discharge that ranges from clear to light yellow. Since a yeast infections comes from yeast, the odor is similar to beer or fresh bread. If you have a grayish, frothy discharge, accompanied by a strong fish-like odor, then it is probably not a yeast infection and you should definitely get to the doctor at once.

Yeast infections do not go away by themselves. No matter how busy your life is, you need to make time to see your doctor the moment that you notice any of the yeast infection symptoms that I've told you about. Hopefully, that's all it will be and you can be problem-free in a few days. However, your yeast infection symptoms may turn out to be something more serious. Your Doctor is the right person to make the diagnosis, not a bunch of girls on T.V.

For more information, see the Symptoms and Syndromes website (www.symptoms-and-syndromes.com).