Yeast Infection vs. Bacterial Vaginosis: Key Differences Explained

Yeast Infection and Bacterial Vaginosis: Women often hide problems related to the vagina because they feel embarrassed to talk about this subject. But if you ignore the problems in the vagina for a long time, the situation can become serious. There can be many types of problems in the vagina, including yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis.

Now many of you will be confused about bacterial vaginosis and yeast infection. If you do not understand any difference between these two conditions, then in this article we will clear your confusion. Let us know what is the difference between yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis.

What is a yeast infection?

Yeast infection is a bacterial infection, which can be caused by excessive growth of yeast on the skin or mucus membrane. Yeast is called Candida in the medical language. Yeast infection can affect not only vaginal parts but also many parts of the body such as the mouth, esophagus, vagina, and skin. Its symptoms may vary depending on the place of infection, such as

If a yeast infection occurs around the mouth, then white patches are seen.
When yeast infection spreads in the esophagus, one experiences difficulty in swallowing or pain.
In the case of vaginal yeast infection, you have a lot of itching, burning, and thick white discharge in the vagina.
Along with this, rashes and itching start occurring when it occurs on the skin.

What is bacterial vaginosis?

Talking about bacterial vaginosis is a common vaginal infection, which occurs when some normal bacteria living in your vagina start growing excessively, due to which bacterial imbalance occurs. Women affected by this condition have white or brown vaginal discharge that smells like rotten fish. This condition can be easily treated with antibiotics.

What causes yeast infection?

Yeast infection is caused by a fungus called Candida. It is normal to have a small amount of Candida in the vagina, but when these good bacteria increase too much, the risk of yeast infection increases. Some of the reasons for the increase of this infection are as follows:

Wearing clothes with a wet body
Taking too much stress and lack of sleep
The risk increases in breastfeeding women and pregnancy.
Risk of diabetes
Using douches or vaginal sprays too much, etc.

What causes bacterial vaginosis?

Bacterial vaginosis can occur due to many reasons, which are as follows-

Excessive growth of bacteria present in the vagina
Excessive growth of bad bacteria
Sexually transmitted infection (STI)
Having multiple sexual partners, etc.

What is the difference between yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis?

Yeast infection affects not only the vagina but also other parts of the body such as skin, mouth, etc. On the other hand, bacterial vaginosis affects only your vagina.

Yeast infection is caused by a fungus called Candida. Yeast infection can range from normal to severe. At the same time, its treatment depends on the severity of the condition.

Bacterial vaginosis can occur due to the growth of bacteria present in the vagina. This is a common condition, which can be easily treated with the help of antibiotics.

Keep in mind that if you have any kind of problem-related to the vagina, then in such a situation, consult a doctor once. Do not ignore your problems, if you ignore your trouble then it can make the situation serious.