GP surgeries and sexual health clinics can swab for thrush. If you’re struggling with thrush and your GP has offered no assistance then the local walk-in GUM (genito urinary medicine) clinic can help. They have staff used to treating patients discretely and confidentially with possible thrush or other vulval vaginal infections such as Bacterial vaginosis (BV) or sexually transmitted diseases/infections (STDs/STIs). They will swab and analyse under the microscope. On diagnosis, they will prescribe a suitable course of treatment.

But not all clinics will offer sensitivity testing – detailed analysis of the candida strain to identify it and any anti-fungal susceptibilities. Sadly cuts to national health budgets are limiting the services that can be offered by these clinics.  You may have to consider testing via a private clinic.

Keep on getting thrush or it doesn’t seem to go away?

If thrush persists, ask the GP for a referral to your local hospital vulval clinic. These offer specialist services dealing with issues affecting the vagina and vulva including chronic candidiasis. As well as examining you, a detailed swab will be taken and analysed in laboratory. This will determine the strain of thrush and its susceptibilities or resistances and they can prescribe the correct treatment from there.

Find a local GUM clinic near you.

Invivo – Vaginal Ecologix (available through a clinical practitioner only)

Evvy – The Evvy Vaginal Microbiome Test can ordered directly from their webpage (only available currently to US residents. They do not ship internationally).

Juno – The Juno Bio vaginal microbiome test is available globally and can be ordered from their webpage.

Systems Biology Laboratory – The Vaginal Microbiome test is available to UK mainland residents only and can be ordered from their webpage.