[1] Other symptoms include burning with urination, a thick, white vaginal discharge that typically does not smell bad, pain during sex, and redness around the vagina.

Candida albicans is a common fungus often harbored in the mouth, digestive tract, or vagina without causing adverse symptoms.

[4] Despite the lack of evidence, wearing cotton underwear and loose fitting clothing is often recommended as a preventive measure.

The signs of vulvovaginal inflammation include erythema (redness) of the vagina and vulva, vaginal fissuring (cracked skin), edema (swelling from a build-up of fluid), also in severe cases, satellite lesions (sores in the surrounding area).

[2] There is tentative evidence that treatment of asymptomatic candidal vulvovaginitis in pregnancy reduces the risk of preterm birth.

[2] Personal hygiene methods or tight-fitting clothing, such as tights and thong underwear, do not appear to increase the risk.

[3] The presence of yeast alone is not sufficient, as it could be colonization (biology), part of the microbial consortium normally present in the vagina, its microbiome; the presence of yeast is typically diagnosed in one of three ways: vaginal wet mount microscopy, microbial culture, and antigen tests.

[3] Uncomplicated thrush is when there are less than four episodes in a year, the symptoms are mild or moderate, it is likely caused by Candida albicans, and there are no significant host factors such as poor immune function.

[20] About 5-8% of the reproductive age female population will have four or more episodes of symptomatic Candida infection per year; this condition is called recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC).

Candida antigens can be presented to antigen-presenting cells, which may trigger cytokine production and activate lymphocytes and neutrophils that then cause inflammation and edema.

[25] The following treatments are typically recommended: Short-course topical formulations (i.e., single dose and regimens of 1–3 days) effectively treat uncomplicated candidal vulvovaginitis.

Treatment with azoles results in relief of symptoms and negative cultures in 80–90% of patients who complete therapy.

For example, if the infection is a different kind, such as bacterial vaginosis (the most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge), rather than thrush.

[28][29] For infrequent recurrences, the simplest and most cost-effective management is self-diagnosis and early initiation of topical therapy.

[4] Unnecessary or inappropriate use of topical preparations is common and can lead to a delay in the treatment of other causes of vulvovaginitis, which can result in worse outcomes.

[4] When there are more than four recurrent episodes of candidal vulvovaginitis per year, a longer initial treatment course is recommended, such as orally administered fluconazole followed by a second and third dose 3 and 6 days later, respectively.

[25] The number of cases of vaginal yeast infection is not entirely clear because it is not a reportable disease and it is commonly diagnosed clinically without laboratory confirmation.