Sexual life with thrush is difficult due to the fact that during sexual intercourse it may cause itching, burning and other unpleasant sensations. After all, the mucous membrane is affected and is an inflamed surface on which there are ulcers. Of course, intimate life in such conditions will be difficult and may interfere with the normal course of the healing process.

Sexual intimacy with thrush

In men, all the described processes can be observed on the external genitalia. For a woman, everything is hidden deeper and often she does not understand how exactly sex with thrush can slow down recovery.

Why you need to abstain from sex if you have thrush:

  • The progression of the disease may worsen. Various cracks and ulcers will appear.
  • Through the affected mucous membranes there is a possibility of getting another infection, more dangerous than candidiasis.
  • The effectiveness of therapeutic therapy decreases.

Important! Some people are sexually active even with thrush, using a form of contraception such as a condom. But, let us emphasize once again that sex is prohibited because of the possibility of damaging the mucous membrane and infecting it, and not because candidiasis can be transmitted to a partner. Using a condom during treatment is also fraught with complications such as insufficient secretion production, which can lead to various injuries.

Exacerbation of thrush after intimacy

Often candidiasis is chronic and simply does not manifest itself during periods of remission. But many people with chronic candidiasis note that it can worsen after sexual intercourse. This occurs due to the mechanical friction exerted on the mucous membranes during sexual intercourse.

The main manifestations of thrush in men after sex:

  • Redness of the glans penis;
  • Pain when moving the foreskin;
  • The appearance of microcracks in the skin under the head;
  • Microcracks on the inside of the foreskin;

The main manifestations of thrush in women after sex:

  • Burning in the vagina;
  • Curdled white discharge;
  • The discharge is acidic;

Important! During oral sex with thrush, you can introduce an infection into the oral cavity, because there is also a mucous membrane there.

Rules for sexual life with thrush:

  1. It is best to avoid intimacy during the treatment period.
  2. When refusing intimacy is not possible, use condoms and additional lubricant.
  3. Both partners should be treated, even if only one partner has symptoms of candidiasis.

So, sexual activity with thrush is possible, but extremely undesirable. And, first of all, we are not talking about infecting a partner, but about one’s own health and the recovery process. If your candidiasis has worsened, then you need to take specific measures to get rid of the disease. The course of treatment with the right approach and consultation with a specialist is not long and averages 1-2 weeks. So, during this time, it is best to refrain from intimacy.

Sexual relationships are an important part of most people's lives. For some, sex is a way of self-expression, for others it is an opportunity to express their deep feelings to a partner, and still others perceive it as an option for entertainment. In any case, periods of forced abstinence do not delight anyone, so they try to either eliminate the reason or ignore it. What if the cause is illness? It is not always possible to quickly eliminate it, but isn’t it dangerous to ignore it?

Today we will talk about one of the most common female diseases - thrush. So, is it possible to have sex with thrush? Everyone must answer this question themselves, having first read possible consequences and weighing the pros and cons.

In general, the medical name for thrush is candidiasis, which directly indicates the cause of the disease - fungi of the genus Candida. These fungi are opportunistic, that is, they cause disease only when certain conditions arise (usually a weakened immune system). The rest of the time they remain invisible neighbors who do not cause any inconvenience. Thrush is the name given to candidiasis because of the abundant white, cheesy discharge that bothers patients.

In addition to discharge from thrush, there is redness of the mucous membranes of the genital organs and severe itching. There may be pain in the lower abdomen.

A gynecologist diagnoses thrush, prescribes a treatment regimen and gives recommendations. As a rule, treatment of thrush involves a complex effect on the fungus, so medications are prescribed, both oral (capsules or tablets) and local (suppositories or ointments).

Why can't you have sex during thrush?

There are several reasons for abstaining from intimacy during candidiasis, and it will be very difficult to ignore them all at once:

  • sex increases irritation. The mucous membrane of the vagina and external genital organs is inflamed and swollen; subjecting it to additional mechanical stress is extremely undesirable, so as not to aggravate the symptoms;
  • during sexual intercourse, you can get an infection in the urethra, and go to the clinic again - this time with fungal urethritis;

  • if treatment involves the use of local drugs, then they therapeutic effect may get hurt. This is explained by the fact that suppositories and ointments cover the mucous membrane with a thin film, continuing to act on the fungus for a long time, and during sexual intercourse this film is erased, and the mucous membrane is left without protection. The fungus will not miss the opportunity to attack it again, especially since it grows very quickly;
  • Sex with thrush means a risk of transmitting fungi to your partner. It’s always nice to share something good with a loved one, but sharing a disease can be worse. Alternatively, the partner may not get sick, but there is a high probability that he will become a carrier. And after treatment, the fungus will return to where it was driven out with such difficulty;
  • the unpleasant sensations from thrush can intensify during intimacy, causing great discomfort.

What to do if you are not going to abstain?

Of course, you can continue to have sex without taking a break for treatment. But if sex with thrush is inevitable, then you should definitely take a few tips into account. They will help to secure the process of physical intimacy, minimizing the risk of any negative consequences.

  • First, condoms should be used to avoid infecting your partner. Although they do not provide 100% protection against transmission of infection, they will significantly reduce the likelihood of this.
  • Secondly, do not neglect lubricants. They will help reduce the friction force and prevent the appearance of microtraumas on the mucous membrane.

  • Thirdly, it is necessary to wash thoroughly after sexual intercourse. During sex, the fungus can enter the urethra, where it will begin to multiply, leading to urethritis. Hygiene procedures will help prevent this from happening.
  • Fourthly, under no circumstances should oral contact be allowed with infected mucous membranes. The fungus feels great on the oral mucosa and attacks it just as quickly.

How to minimize re-infection from a partner?

If you had unprotected sex during thrush, then your partner should be considered a carrier of the fungus from then on. This means that you need to take care of how not to get infected from it after the course of treatment. It is possible that the partner will also get sick, with all the accompanying symptoms. In this case, he will have to visit a doctor and undergo a course of treatment, which will make him healthy and his relationship with him safe.

And if visible reasons no worries? We cannot close our eyes to this. A visit to the doctor is necessary: ​​the possibility of relapse should be prevented at all costs. Relapses will lead to the fungus gradually strengthening in the body and thrush becoming chronic. This means that periods of calm will alternate with periods of pronounced symptoms, negatively affecting the quality of life.

To protect yourself from the chronic form of the disease, you should do your best to protect yourself from the possibility of re-infection.

If candidiasis has become chronic

If thrush has nevertheless become chronic, you should not give up. It's curable, it just takes more time. How to recognize the chronic form of thrush?

The first sign is constant relapses. The disease has to be treated again and again, and the provoking factor can be not only a weakened immune system, but also simply an increase in sexual activity. However, pronounced symptoms may not always be present. Sometimes only small bells let you know about a disease, which are very easy to miss:

  • dryness of the mucous membranes of the genital organs and, as a result, discomfort during sex;
  • Sometimes there may be slight itching in the genital area;
  • The discharge periodically becomes uncharacteristically abundant and thick, after which it returns to its normal appearance.

If you have such symptoms, you should visit a doctor who can recognize the disease even during a visual examination. If clarification is required, you will have to undergo tests.

Obviously, it is still possible to have sex during thrush, but you must take all measures to minimize possible risks for yourself and your partner. And even if these measures partially deprive intimacy of romance and frenzy, they will preserve the health of its participants. Inconveniences are temporary; thrush that is not taken seriously is permanent.

Is it possible to have sex during thrush - a question that worries many women. To understand such a sensitive problem, you need to take into account all the individual characteristics of the human body. The course of the disease also plays a significant role in this matter.

What are the dangers of sex during thrush?

Sex is an important part of every adult's life. It is no wonder that even with thrush, many do not stop actively having sex, hoping that condoms will protect them from all the consequences. Unfortunately, contraception is not able to completely protect human health.

Gynecologists name several good reasons why you should not have sex with a thrush, namely:

Based on all these factors, it can be argued that having sex during treatment for thrush is extremely undesirable.

To have sex or not to have sex during candidiasis?

A woman undergoing treatment for thrush most often does not have sexual desire, which is due to pain and burning sensations that do not allow her to forget about herself. And the moral state is not tuned to the romantic “station”. Ideally, a partner should treat his beloved woman with understanding and not insist on intimacy. Moreover, the treatment time takes no more than 10 days and it is quite possible to endure. In addition, for preventive purposes, the doctor may prescribe treatment for the partner.

Most couples in the process of treating candidiasis are content with oral sex, believing that this type of intimacy in this situation is absolutely safe. Alas, doctors note the opposite. The fact is that Candida, the fungi that are the culprits of the disease, live and can spread intensively in the oral cavity. Infection of the oral mucosa can cause complications and expand the source of infection.

If, nevertheless, your partner is unable to withstand the “sexual distance,” then you should listen to the recommendations of gynecologists regarding sexual activity during thrush:

How does thrush “react” after sexual intercourse?

Often candidiasis takes on a chronic form, regularly reminding itself in the form of periodic exacerbations.

Practice shows that sex is one of the reasons for the spread of Candida fungus.

This, as mentioned above, is associated with injury to the vaginal mucosa. In this regard, women whose thrush is already chronic should be especially careful about sexual activity.

A completely logical question arises: is it possible to have sexual intercourse in case of chronic thrush. Considering the fact that candidiasis in this form can last for several years, it is difficult to imagine the absence of sex.

In addition, abstinence for such a long period can cause other health problems. Therefore, you can have sex during thrush, the main thing is that it brings pleasure and does not turn intimate relationships into an unpleasant marital duty.

Sex after thrush treatment: how long to wait?

Couples who consciously approach the treatment of thrush, are not sexually active and do not engage in oral sex with thrush, are concerned about the question of how long they need to wait to resume sex life. It is impossible to answer unequivocally how much time this will take. But there are several recommendations about this:

If the doctor, based on the tests, claims that the patient is healthy, then you can safely make love with your partner.

Thrush and sex are compatible things, if you approach this issue wisely.

Sexual intimacy and thrush– things that are comparable, but under certain conditions. Considering the fact that genital candidiasis can be transmitted sexually, you should protect your sexual partner and have sex only with barrier methods of contraception(condoms). Also, if you have thrush, you should beware of oral sex, because the Candida fungus multiplies well in the oral cavity.

If a woman has undergone treatment for thrush, but her sexual partner has not, then reinfection is possible during sex, even if the man has no symptoms of the disease (he may be a carrier). This fact should be taken into account in intimate life.

Even if one of the sexual partners did not get thrush through sexual contact, the other, having become infected during sexual intercourse, can spread the infection through sexual contact with other partners.

Sex during thrush can lead to the spread of the disease to the urinary system, especially in women. Most often causes cystitis (inflammation Bladder). Moreover, the development of cystitis is not affected by the use of a condom; you can become infected either with or without it. If a woman develops cystitis or another urinary tract infection during thrush, sex is contraindicated until treatment is completed.

Quite often, sex during thrush causes discomfort, especially in women. This may include painful sensations in the vagina, decreased libido (sex drive), and even slight bleeding.

General rules for sexual activity with thrush

If one of the sexual partners, or both of them, is immediately diagnosed with thrush, then you should adhere to the following recommendations:

    • It is advisable to avoid sex for the entire period of treatment.
    • If it is impossible to exclude sexual activity during the treatment period, use condoms
    • If discomfort or pain occurs, you should stop having sex until the end of treatment
    • With chronic thrush, if it leads to the spread of infection to the urinary organs, sex is contraindicated
    • Before resuming or continuing sexual activity after treatment for thrush in one of the partners, you must make sure that the second partner is not a carrier of the disease
    • It is advisable that both sexual partners receive treatment for thrush

Additional Information

Elena 04/16/2013 at 15:46

For me, thrush and sex life are incompatible things. My husband and I tried it several times after starting treatment, during the recovery process. It was terrible! I was very hurt. The mucous membrane is already irritated as a result of the disease. And the partner’s movements only aggravate this condition. A terrible burning sensation appears. For the first time after this, cystitis began.
Therefore, it is better to wait a few days. And both partners must undergo treatment.

Nika 04/16/2013 at 16:52

Brrr, for any woman the thought of sex during such a period is unbearable... All the ladies will agree with me, I think. And everything itches and itches, turns red and swells, and then there’s some kind of sex...
Condoms go without saying, but it’s better to wait until sexual relations are cured; men should understand this.

Isaeva Kira 05/17/2013 at 12:45

I am also committed to the idea that it is better to postpone sex during treatment for thrush. This will give the woman unpleasant pain, and the man is also unlikely to enjoy it. A condom also does not contribute to super-pleasure. It's better to wait it out.
Although this didn’t stop my friend at all, she and her husband constantly had sex even during treatment for thrush.

Olga 05/21/2013 at 00:22

Sex with thrush, especially chronic, is nothing pleasant. Pain and unpleasant sensations accompany it. Discomfort during sex became for me the main argument in favor of the fact that thrush needs to be treated urgently. Plus, the risk of infecting your partner is also annoying. When I was sick with thrush, my husband didn’t catch it, apparently it’s related to the immune system.

They cause a lot of problems for the owner. There is no time for intimate relationships here - sex with thrush brings more discomfort than pleasure. Why is it undesirable to have intimate relationships during this period?

In its acute form, thrush manifests itself in all its glory: fungi of the genus Candida are localized on the human mucous membranes, grow, occupying an ever larger living area. If it occurs on the genitals, sex during thrush always hurts the infected person.

Why does pain occur during sexual intercourse? The fact is that the fungus, covering the walls of the vagina or, tightly connects to the mucous membrane. During intimacy, it wears off along with a white coating, microtraumas form, and traces of blood appear.

But only if the beloved has poor health or immunodeficiency. For a healthy person with a strong immune system, the disease does not pose a danger, and the symptoms that appear are not an obstacle to a love relationship, however, in order to avoid infection, it is worth refraining from intimacy until recovery.

Why does candidiasis appear after sexual intercourse?

Most often, genital thrush after sex appears in the fair sex. It and heavy discharge are noticeable already on the 3rd day after intimacy. There may be several reasons. The most common is the use of contraceptives. As you know, oral contraceptives change hormonal levels, and fungus may appear as a result of its changes.

Some women, after unprotected sexual intercourse, use potent hormonal drugs, for example, Postinor tablets, to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy. This drug hits hard hormonal levels, which will immediately provoke candidiasis. But it’s not just strong hormones that have a negative impact - constant use of oral contraceptives also changes the flora inside, contributing to thrush.

The group of provocateurs also includes condoms. Coated with a special lubricant to kill sperm, they not only protect against pregnancy, but also kill beneficial lactobacilli (microflora protectors). For the same reason, sex with a condom negatively affects treatment with topical drugs, increasing the duration and reducing the effectiveness of antifungal therapy.

It happens that one of the partners with stronger immunity is a carrier of the fungus, he has no obvious symptoms of the disease, while the second, due to health problems, constantly becomes infected from the first. In this case, simultaneous treatment of both is required until complete recovery, and in this case sex cannot be had in order to avoid relapse.

Is thrush transmitted through oral and anal sex?

Here the situation is a little different. A huge number of pathogenic microorganisms live in the oral cavity, therefore, it is easier to “earn” thrush through oral sex. So, for example, during oral contact with a sick girl, there is a high probability that the man will become infected with the oral form of candidiasis. And, conversely, oral sex with a guy who has a disease often leads to infection of his other half. Therefore, oral sex with thrush is permissible only if the human mucous membranes affected by Candida are not involved.

When practicing anal sex, you should not allow the penis to alternately penetrate the vagina and anus to avoid the appearance of. It is dangerous because a person, experiencing severe itching in the anus, scratches this area, wounds appear, which can easily become infected. Scratching can lead to a more serious complication - paraproctitis. The disease is an inflammation of the tissues surrounding the rectum, their suppuration. To prevent dangerous manifestations of anal sex, you must use a condom.

How long after treatment can you make love?

Making love during thrush is possible, but not advisable. During simultaneous therapy, the couple should avoid intimacy to prevent re-infections.

How long should it take to establish a fulfilling sex life? First you need to figure out how much the disease has developed. If the disease is mild, it will take about 5 days for antifungal therapy, and in advanced stages – up to two weeks. It is believed that healing occurs when the obvious signs candidiasis. After the therapy, it is necessary to take a second test for the presence of Candida fungi and, if it is normal, you can make love within a week.

This time is enough to restore the mucosal microflora, and taking probiotics will speed up this process. The chronic form of candidiasis takes the longest to treat. It is a sluggish process, which is sometimes accompanied by relapses. In this case, to finally defeat the disease, long-term drug therapy is required, which can last several months.

Which partners should you be wary of?

At first glance, candidiasis seems like a minor disease. In fact, the danger lies not only in the possible infection of a partner - if treated incorrectly or not following the rules, it is insidious with complications:

  • For women and men, unprotected sexual contact with an unreliable or unfamiliar partner is dangerous. Vulnerable, fungal-affected mucous membranes are easily injured, increasing the risk of infection or sexually transmitted disease.
  • During sexual intercourse, it becomes possible to introduce an infection into the urinary organs, thereby provoking inflammation -.
  • For the sake of her health and her unborn child, a woman should make every effort to cure the disease before the period of conception. The danger is that candidiasis can cause miscarriage or premature birth; it is easily transmitted in utero or during childbirth when passing through the infected tract of the mother. In an infected woman during childbirth, the risk of rupture increases, and during the period it can cause the formation of adhesions and the appearance of endometritis.
  • In men, Candida fungus can lead to urethritis and prostatitis. The danger of urethritis is that the disease can spread to the kidneys, causing an inflammatory process (fungal pyelonephritis). Prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) leads to infertility and causes impotence.

Everyone chooses for themselves - to make love or to postpone pleasant moments for later. In this case, you need to take into account the following pattern: thrush without sex is treated faster and more effectively. This is exactly the option when it makes sense to abstain from sexual intercourse for a while and get effective treatment than to then get rid of advanced or chronic forms of candidiasis for a long time, or even worse, deal with its consequences.