What have I got – yeast or BV – symptom checker

Figuring out if what you have is bacterial vaginosis or a yeast infection is easy: it’s all about the symptoms. You just need to investigate a few key themes, but just BV or yeast may not be the only questions you need to ask yourself.

BV is:

• Fishy discharge
• Watery/grey/thin discharge, no chunks, all looks the same
• Not itchy, sore or inflamed
• May appear after sex with a new person, your period, or for no reason you can think of
• Can be hard to treat and antibiotic-resistant due to biofilm formation
• You need a test to get an accurate diagnosis (ask for PCR testing to exclude aerobic vaginitis or something else)
• At-home BV treatments

Yeast is:

• Itchy
• Thick, white discharge
• Discharge doesn’t smell bad at all
• Can get quite raw
• Often appears after antibiotics or if you eat a lot of bread/sugar or drink a lot of beer
• Very diet-related – yeast starts in your intestines and works it’s way down
• Usually easy to treat
• At-home yeast treatments

________

Aerobic vaginitis is:

• Itchy
• Inflamed
• Sore
• Smells bad – may be fishy, may be like rotten meat, ammonia, or faeces
• Usually extremely antibiotic-resistant bacteria involved
• Sometimes very hard to treat
• Requires accurate diagnosis (may be misdiagnosed or co-diagnosed with BV, get PCR testing)
• Learn more about aerobic vaginitis

Trich is:

• A sexually transmitted bacterial infection
• Fishy, foul or musty odour
• Greenish discharge
• May be inflamed
• Easy to treat with antibiotics
• Learn more about trich

Lactobacilli overgrowth syndrome (cytolytic vaginosis) is:

• Looks just like a yeast infection
• Thick white discharge
• Smells normal
• Itchy
• Sore
• Doesn’t respond to antifungal treatments at all
• Gets worse the week or two before your period
• Feels better after baking soda douche
• Found most often in women who have blood sugar dysregulation and oestrogen excess or have just been treated with vaginal or oral probiotics
• If you are normal, will resolve itself within a few weeks – the vagina is self-limiting with food availability
• At-home cytolytic vaginosis treatments

• Bio
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Jessica Lloyd - Naturopathic Practitioner, BHSc(N)

Jessica is a degree-qualified naturopath (BHSc) specialising in vulvovaginal health and disease, based in Melbourne, Australia.

Jessica is the owner and lead naturopath of My Vagina, and is a member of the:

• International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD)
• International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH)
• National Vulvodynia Association (NVA) Australia
• New Zealand Vulvovaginal Society (ANZVS)
• Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS)

Read more about Jessica and My Vagina's origin story.

Latest posts by Jessica Lloyd - Naturopathic Practitioner, BHSc(N) (see all)

• Understanding and treating vaginal lactobacillosis (leptothrix vaginalis) - August 15, 2019
• Are Coca-Cola douches a good method of birth control? - August 10, 2019
• Douching as a form of birth control - August 10, 2019