Yeast Infections

A vaginal yeast infection is an overgrowth of Candida, a fungus that normally lives quietly in the body. It announces itself with itching — usually intense — plus thick white discharge and irritation. Three in four women will have one, and effective treatment is available over the counter. The real question is making sure yeast is actually what it is.

What it is

Candida is part of the vagina’s normal ecosystem; an infection is what happens when it overgrows. Antibiotics, hormonal shifts, pregnancy, uncontrolled blood sugar, and tight non-breathable clothing can all tip the balance. It isn’t sexually transmitted, and getting one is not a hygiene failure — it’s one of the most ordinary things a body does.

Signs and symptoms

Itching is the headline symptom — often intense, sometimes maddening. Discharge is typically thick, white, and odorless, resembling cottage cheese, with redness, swelling, and burning during urination or sex. The absence of a strong odor is a distinguishing detail: fishy odor points toward BV, not yeast.

What you can track at home

Vaginal pH sorts the look-alikes. Yeast infections usually leave pH in the normal 3.8–4.5 range, while BV and trichomoniasis raise it. Itching plus normal pH supports reaching for over-the-counter antifungal treatment; itching with elevated pH means don’t — what you’re treating probably isn’t yeast, and the right prescription needs a provider. One swab prevents a wasted week of the wrong treatment.

When to see a doctor

See a provider if it’s your first suspected yeast infection (worth confirming once properly), if over-the-counter treatment doesn’t clear it, if infections return four or more times a year, or if you’re pregnant or have diabetes. Recurrent yeast has real underlying causes worth finding — not just repeated treating.