Raise your hand if you’ve had a yeast infection. Okay, most of us. Raise your hand if you’ve wondered whether you could have sex with a yeast infection. Or, you know, right after treatment. Come on, it can’t just be me!
As many of us know a little too well, yeast infections are incredibly common. Up to 75% of women will get one at some point in their life, according to the Mayo Clinic. Many will get more than one.
I know what you might be thinking: Why would anyone want to have sex while battling an itchy, burning vagina?
First of all, can I live?! Second, yeast infections are typically pretty easy to treat, thanks to antifungal drugs, and symptoms should calm down within a few days, Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine, tells SELF, though clearing the actual yeast overgrowth might take longer. (We’ll get to that in a bit.) So, yeah, it’s totally possible that someone might feel up to having sex despite being actively treated for a yeast infection.
Take me, for instance. I remember a time when I’d gotten an oral medication to treat my yeast infection, had taken some of the prescribed doses, and had already started experiencing less burning, less itching, and less weird discharge.
Naturally, I wondered: Could I safely have sex with a yeast infection? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know if you’ve ever wondered this too.
What Is a Yeast Infection?
A yeast infection happens when an overgrowth of a certain type of fungus called Candida albicans causes an infection resulting in extreme vaginal irritation and itchiness, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s totally normal for your vagina to have microorganisms like fungus (including Candida albicans) and bacteria. In fact, your vagina naturally contains a balance of both, and a certain type of bacteria (called Lactobacillus) actually works to inhibit an overgrowth of yeast.
But that balance can be disrupted. Per the Mayo Clinic, things that can disrupt that balance include:
Antibiotics (which kill bacteria, including the healthy kind)
Being pregnant
An immune system that is compromised
Taking oral birth control or hormone therapy that boosts estrogen
Plus, anything from using scented soaps or laundry detergents to having sex can also disrupt this balance. When your vagina’s pH balance changes too much, Lactobacillus bacteria may not produce enough of an acid that prevents yeast overgrowth, according to the Mayo Clinic. That allows candida fungus to grow more abundantly than usual. When this happens, you might end up with a yeast infection.
Yeast Infection Symptoms
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms can range from not so bad to moderately uncomfortable. You might deal with:
An irritated and itchy vagina and vulva, plus redness or swelling down there
Burning while you pee or during sex
A painful or sore vagina
A rash on your vagina
A cottage-cheese-like discharge that doesn’t smell
Discharge that’s watery
Though some people may be all too familiar with these symptoms, it’s really important to get a yeast infection diagnosed by your doctor, especially if this is your first one or if they keep coming back after you treat them. Classic yeast infection symptoms like swelling, itching, redness, burning, and strange discharge can be associated with a lot of conditions—like bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, or even allergic reactions to scented products.
If you’re not sure what you’re dealing with, or if you think this is a yeast infection that keeps coming back, the best course of action is to check in with your gynecologist. They can make sure what you think is a yeast infection is actually a yeast infection so you can treat it in the most effective way possible.
How to Treat a Yeast Infection
There’s actually more than one way to treat a yeast infection. If your symptoms are mild to moderate and you have yeast infections here and there, the Mayo Clinic says you’ll probably be good with one of these options:
A short-course antifungal. Taking an antifungal medication like miconazole (Monistat 3) or terconazole—in either cream, ointment, tablet, or suppository form—for three to seven days will usually clear things up. While some of these are OTC, others are by prescription.
A single-dose oral medication. If you go through your doctor for help, they might prescribe a one-time, single oral dose of fluconazole (Diflucan). (Keep in mind, though, that oral medication isn’t recommended if you’re pregnant.)
If your symptoms are severe, or you have yeast infections regularly, the Mayo Clinic says these may be the best treatment options for you:
A long-course antifungal. Your doctor might prescribe that you take this daily for up to two weeks, and then take it once a week for six months.
A multidose oral antifungal. Your doctor may have you take two single doses, three days apart. (This is also not recommended if you’re pregnant.)
Azole resistant therapy. In some cases, your doctor might recommend that you insert a boric acid capsule into your vagina. This is usually only used to treat candida fungus that’s resistant to standard antifungal agents.
The type of treatment you get really depends on your preferences, Dr. Minkin says. If you’ve already had a diagnosed yeast infection in the past and your symptoms align perfectly, for example, you might choose to get one of those OTC suppositories or creams. Whereas if your symptoms seem like a yeast infection or you truly cannot believe you’re dealing with one again when you thought you just cleared one up, you should really talk to your doctor for a proper diagnosis and potentially a prescription treatment.
How Long Yeast Infection Treatment Lasts
It really depends on you, what’s happening in your vagina, and your personal preferences in terms of treatment. If you’re cool with putting cream up there a few nights in a row, you could undergo that three-to-seven day treatment, for example. Prefer a one and done kind of situation? That’s possible too. And, as we mentioned, if things are pretty severe, you could be treating that lovely infection for up to six months.
No matter what kind of treatment you pursue, it’s incredibly important to finish the whole course of medication even after your symptoms have cleared up. Why, you wonder? Great question.
How Long to Wait Before Sex
Here’s the thing: Even though your symptoms may subside shortly after you start treatment, that doesn’t mean your yeast infection is actually gone. No matter the type of yeast infection medication you take, symptoms should abate within days of you starting treatment. That doesn’t necessarily mean your yeast overgrowth has been tamed, though, Dr. Minkin says.
It’s tricky to say how long various medications take to actually clear a yeast infection from your system, Dr. Minkin says. Since you always have yeast in your vagina, it’s not like medication is going to bring it down to zero. It’s really about getting your yeast to a point where it’s not so overgrown it’s causing symptoms, and that’s a different point for every person, Dr. Minkin explains. This is why it’s so important to finish the full course of treatment, even if you start feeling better.
But it’s also why you might want to hold off on having sex for a bit—it could take longer than a few days to actually clear the infection.
Risks of Having Sex Too Soon
Okay, so hypothetically, what could happen if you have sex before your yeast infection is totally gone? As it turns out, a few things:
1. Sex might just further irritate your vagina.
Your vagina can get inflamed and irritated when you have a yeast infection, hence all that itching and discomfort. Any sort of sexual play that involves inserting something into your vagina might exacerbate these symptoms.
Penetrative acts tend to involve a lot of friction, which can create micro-abrasions in your vagina if it’s already irritated, Jacques Moritz, an ob-gyn at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, tells SELF. Those tiny tears can cause your poor vagina to feel even more inflamed. Plus, micro-tears in your vagina can make you more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections because they create openings for illness-causing pathogens to enter, Dr. Moritz says.
2. Sex could mess with your treatment—and vice versa.
Even if penetrative sex doesn’t make your yeast infection feel worse, it could disrupt the healing process depending on your treatment method. Penetrative sex can push creams and suppositories right out of your vagina, so you may not be exposed to the full dose, according to Dr. Moritz.
Also worth noting: Vaginally administered yeast infection suppositories, ointments, and creams can actually damage some condoms and diaphragms since they contain oil, which erodes latex, according to the Mayo Clinic.
If you’re using an oral antifungal, though, that shouldn’t be an issue, Dr. Minkin says. While vaginal creams often come with warnings to refrain from sex, that’s not the case for oral yeast infection medications, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says. Still, you may want to avoid having sex until your yeast infection clears for some of the other reasons described here.
One last thing: If you’re putting off taking your yeast infection medication until after you have sex, you’re obviously going to prolong your healing period. I totally understand not wanting to deal with suppositories and the like in the bedroom, but the longer you wait to start treatment, the longer your yeast infection will stick around.
3. Also, you might pass it to your partner.
If you have unprotected oral sex or penetrative intercourse while you have a yeast infection, you could potentially pass the infection on to your partner, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on Women’s Health. Yeast is essentially an equal-opportunity organism. An overgrowth-induced infection can crop up in vaginas, penises, and even the mouth, throat, or esophagus, the Mayo Clinic points out. The good news is that this rarely happens due to sex, Lauren Streicher, M.D., an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF. But since it’s still technically possible, you should act with caution.
Penile yeast infections are characterized by abnormally moist skin, shiny white spots, redness, itching, or burning, according to the Mayo Clinic. Per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on Women’s Health, about 15% of men get an itchy rash on their penis after unprotected sex with a woman who has a vaginal yeast infection, so it’s worth being aware of this risk.
Yeast infections in your mouth or throat can cause symptoms like redness, soreness, pain while eating and swallowing, loss of taste, cracks or redness at the corners of your mouth, and a cottony feeling in your mouth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They can also lead to white patches on your tongue, inner cheeks, throat, and the roof of your mouth. The CDC notes that these infections are “uncommon in healthy adults” and most likely to affect babies or someone with a compromised immune system.
Penile and oral yeast infections can both be treated with antifungal medications, but you can lower the risk of your partner contracting one by waiting to have sex until your yeast infection symptoms are gone and you’ve completed the full course of treatment (or waited seven days if you took a single-dose pill). If you really want to have sex before that, use a condom or a dental dam to lower the chances of passing your yeast infection to your partner.
Bottom line: It’s best to wait until you’re sure the yeast infection is gone before having sex.
Suffice it to say, having sex with a yeast infection is a complicated practice—and one you’ll probably want to avoid.
In summary, if you’re treating your yeast infection with a cream, an ointment, or a vaginal suppository, you run the risk of making your medication less effective—and in turn prolonging your yeast infection. If you’re treating it with an oral medication, you still have to worry about further irritating your vagina, making yourself susceptible to other infections, and potentially passing your infection to your partner. Ultimately, waiting until your symptoms are gone and you’re done with treatment—or at least seven days have passed, if you went the one-dose oral route—may help you avoid a total headache (and vagina ache too).
In the meantime, there are some things you can do to prevent a yeast infection from happening again in the future. The Mayo Clinic suggests avoiding tight-fitting underwear that isn’t cotton, avoiding douches or really any hygiene products with fragrance, and taking antibiotics only when you really need them (as in, a medical practitioner has prescribed them to you for a very specific reason). Ideally, following these steps will help you avoid yeast infections—and the question of whether you can have sex with yeast infections too.
Sources:
Mayo Clinic, Yeast Infection (Vaginal)
Mayo Clinic, Bacterial Vaginosis
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Trichomoniasis
Cleveland Clinic, Chlamydia
Cleveland Clinic, Gonorrhea
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Butoconazole Vaginal Cream
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Fluconazole
U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Office on Women’s Health, Vaginal Yeast Infections
Mayo Clinic, Oral Thrush
Mayo Clinic, Yeast Infection in Men
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Candida Infections of the Mouth, Throat, and Esophagus
Related:
11 Reasons Your Vagina Smells a Little…Off
Is It Ever OK to Treat a Yeast Infection on Your Own?
Recurrent Yeast Infections Are the Worst—Here’s How to Handle Them