Add 2 sentences to NHS thrush page | Warning about the link to vulvodynia

There is two decade's worth of research linking thrush to vulval nerve damage - a debilitating chronic pain condition affecting people assigned female at birth. 

Yet no one is warning women of the link.

There is no prevention of a horrific, disabling condition. 

Thrush Support believes this is wrong. 

If there's enough research to name it as a precipitating event on the Vulval Pain Society, on the British Association for Dermatologists and the ISSWH's diagnostic and treatment algorithm for vulvodynia...

There's enough research to stop nerve damage before it starts. 

Women deserve basic preventative health care. Women prone to thrush should not be abandoned to live a life of abject pain. 

We are calling on the NHS to update its Thrush page with two sentences:

"There is an association between thrush and vulval nerve damage, a chronic pain condition called vulvodynia. Women prone to thrush should take all reasonable measures to bring their rate down and consult a vulval clinic if they have any concerns."

The first sentence gives women the opportunity to make lifestyle changes to reduce their rate e.g. review contraception (the coil increases the rate), review their diet, their drinking habits, their hygiene, their clothes and their stress levels. 

The second sentence points them in the right direction should nerve damage occurs - on average it takes 15 appts and 36 months to get a diagnosis of vulvodynia (Connor, Brix and Trudeau-Hern (2013) as it's not on the gynaecology syllabus - only vulval dermatology. 

This delay in diagnosis leads to poor outcomes for patients and a very low chance at a full recovery. 

Please sign and be part of the change for women's health.