Fungi

Another common cause of troublesome discharge, itching vagina and smarting during intercourse is an inflammation of the vagina with the fungus Candida.

Candida is a yeast that is normally located in both the intestines and the vagina without causing trouble or harm. If you examine 100 women – who are bothered by discharge from the vagina – it shows that 30 of them have a fungus in the vagina. Only if the fungi gain the upper hand is the woman bothered.

The fungi can have the upper hand if the woman is pregnant, in the case of excessive hygiene or after treatment with antibiotics, for e.g. tonsillitis or cystitis.

In the case of yeast infection there is not necessarily very much discharge. On the contrary, a lot of women complain about a dry sensation in the vagina. The discharge is most often whitish and gritty – almost like cottage cheese. The most characteristic and troublesome about a yeast infection is the itch that can become very strong, particularly at night. Smarting and a burning sensation – especially during and after intercourse – occurs frequently as well.

Women with a yeast infection can in rare cases infect their partner while men with a yeast infection cannot infect women. With men, the yeast infection appears as an itching reddish and scaly rash on the head of the penis.

Further reading on Normal discharge