Yeast infections will affect up to three-quarters of people with vaginas at some point during their lives. These common infections tend to be frustrating to deal with. They may not have serious long-term health consequences, but they’re uncomfortable. They can also lead to depression and feelings of low-self worth if the discomfort is persistent, so a proper diagnosis and treatment are recommended.
Self-Checks/At-Home Testing
Commercially available home tests for diagnosing yeast infections don’t specifically test for yeast infections. Instead, they are used to determine if the vaginal pH is abnormal.
Since bacterial vaginosis (BV) is more often associated with a high vaginal pH, these tests can help point to whether the pH is more consistent with yeast or BV.
Just having yeast in the vagina isn’t necessarily a problem. It’s only a problem when the yeast overgrows. These tests aren’t necessarily able to determine the amount of vaginal yeast and whether it is causing your symptoms.
Lab Tests
The standard test for a yeast infection is a microscopic examination of a vaginal smear sample. Yeast is often visually detectable in such samples.
The vaginal smear can be taken by the doctor. And self-smears have been shown to be similarly effective for diagnosing yeast infections. The swab is simple and painless, and you will receive instructions on how to obtain it.
Recurrent Infections
If you’ve had recurrent yeast infections or complicated symptoms, other tests are available. Your doctor may send your vaginal fluid to a laboratory for a yeast culture.
This can help identify the specific type of yeast that’s causing an infection, which will guide the selection of appropriate treatment. Often, infections that are not curable through standard treatments are caused by less common types of yeast.
Molecular Tests
Molecular tests are sometimes used in the diagnosis of yeast infections.
As with urine tests for other STIs, these tests can identify very small amounts of yeast in the urine. This method is less useful for diagnosing a yeast infection than it is for identifying chlamydia or gonorrhea. Why? Because most people with vaginas have some yeast present in their bodies at all times, so detection of a small amount does not necessarily mean that you have a yeast infection.
Differential Diagnoses
A number of vaginal health conditions have very similar symptoms to a yeast infection. As such, without testing, it can be difficult to tell whether someone is suffering from a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, or another STI.
Fortunately, whatever condition is causing the common symptoms of all these infections—itching, pain during urination, changes in vaginal discharge—is probably easily treatable if it is treated with the correct medication. That’s why testing is so important. Without testing, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the right medication.
