So the first thing is that you're going to notice some fluid or vaginal discharge coming from your vagina, and normally it is either whitish or creamish or off-white kind of color, and it's usually thick or sometimes lumpy like custard. Or like Chiefs okay, 

Other things you may experience are intense itching or burning sensation when urinating. Another thing that you might notice is that you might have pain when you're having sexual intercourse. Okay, and that's because of the inflammation or the reddening around the vagina, and at times you may have small cuts or cracks around your vagina or even sometimes rashes maybe seemed okay, but the most common side is the itching around the vagina area which can sometimes be very severe and the discharge of fluid coming out from the vagina, which tends to be thick, white, creamish color. All right now usually we don't need to do any tests to determine you have Candidiasis.  Most of the time from what you tell us and what we see it is easy to make a diagnosis.  But if you do go to the hospital and they may do a few tests on you to take some of the discharged to the lab and do some tests and just confirm. 

All right. So how do you treat candidiasis? Okay. So most of the time we need to use what we call antifungal medications. So those ones prevent the overgrowth of the candida. So we have tablets that we can take such as fluconazole and itraconazole or we have creams that can be applied such as clotrimazole or we have tablets that are inserted into the vagina which for which we have some types like clotrimazole, We have miconazole , and then there are so many other ones on the markets with different brand names. Okay. 

So usually when you're having treatments for candidiasis, you have to abstain from sexual intercourse for that time, because usually sexual intercourse may result in more irritation of the vagina and cause more growth of the candida. Okay. 

Now sometimes certain chemicals inside the condoms too can also interfere with the action of the drugs that are taken. So most of the time within a few days to a week, you should see improvement in your symptoms and then it should clear up. Okay, but then in a few cases, you might have the candidiasis persisting for longer. All right.

So a Candida infection isn't going to go away on its own. It's not something that you say well wait a bit and see if it will go. It's only by taking medication that is going to make the Candida go away. 

So now let's look at how we can prevent ourselves from getting candidiasis. Now, there are a few things that we can do. 

Most of them concern lifestyle changes. All right, so when it comes to Lifestyle Changes, you want to have good personal hygiene, especially after sexual intercourse.  So you must make sure that you keep the place clean, keep it dry, and fresh underwear. Don't be ducty. As I said in the earlier video Dutcy is when you are using chemicals and also soaps and things to wash your vagina. Alright, just use soap and water, and keep the place dry and clean. 

Also, avoid the use of feminine washes and deodorants, and powders. Some washes are medically proven like cotton,  probiotics, and things which can help with the vagina, which usually maybe your doctor might recommend but there are a lot of things that people use down there. They use it all and all sorts of things that kill the good bacteria over there which are keeping your vagina actually in good shape. 

Now, you should try and avoid the use of scented or perfume pads or tampons during your menses. Now you want to make sure they change out of wet and sweaty clothing as fast as possible. So if you're going out in the sun, sweat it as soon as you get home, change your underwear, have a bath, wear something fresh or if you're at home wearing nothing at all, allow a lot of air to pass there so that the place will be dry. 

Now also what you want to do is avoid using nylon and underwear , using g-strings that thongs especially if you're somebody who often gets candida infection. So we try to use loose cotton Underwear. Now those underwear you want to make sure that when you use them you air dry them, you dry them out in the air , dry them out in the sun. Then when you bring them out,  try and iron them to keep them free of bacteria. Okay. 

Now you also want to have a balanced diet using a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and avoid alcohol and high sugar diets. Okay, because those things really Cause the bacteria or the germs to grow more. 

Now you want to keep your blood sugar at normal levels. If you are diabetic, then you want to avoid the indiscriminate use of steroids. steroids are bleaching creams and things that people use sometimes people apply them down there as well. Now people are also taking some steroid tablets, which they are using to try and gain weight, but all those mess with your immune system and make it more likely for you to get candidiasis. 

Also, reduces stress. Okay. So this is how we diagnose and this is how we treat vaginal candidiasis now and in part three. I'm going to talk to you about a few home remedies that some people claim can help manage vaginal candidiasis. Dr Nana K here

Bye!