When to see the doctor

Remember, the only way to know for sure if your symptoms are being caused by a yeast infection is to visit your doctor. Your doctor can confirm that you have a yeast infection and recommend an appropriate treatment. It is especially important to see your doctor if:

• you have never had a yeast infection diagnosed by a doctor before or your symptoms are different from what you experienced in the past
• it has been less than 2 months since your last yeast infection
• you're having frequent or recurrent yeast infections (at least 4 yeast infections in the past year)
• the discharge has an odour
• you have a fever or pelvic pain
• you are pregnant or breast-feeding
• you are less than 12 years old
• you have diabetes
• the treatment you tried for your yeast infection didn't work
• you think you might have a sexually transmitted infection (STI, also known by the older term STD)
• your immune system is not functioning properly (due to illness, cancer treatment, etc)

Please fill out and print a copy of our "Doctor Discussion Guide" and bring it to your doctor's visit.

What medications are available?

Medications used to treat yeast infections can either require a prescription or be non-prescription, but they all work by killing the yeast that is causing your infection. Most of these belong to a family of medications known as azoles. Medications used to treat yeast infections can be divided into two main categories: vaginal products, some requiring a prescription and some not, and oral capsules, also available with or without a prescription.

Written and reviewed by the MediResource Clinical Team