AIM: Warn those prone to yeast infections about the link between thrush and vulval nerve damage. A chronic pain condition called vulvodynia.

In October 2023, I was made disabled by a thrush infection.

This was because it was my 10th thrush infection, was drug-resistant, and did nerve damage to my vulval vestibule (the nerve-packed opening of your vagina). The pain eventually got so bad I couldn't leave the house, had difficulty sleeping, eating and couldn't work.

It cost me and my family tens of thousands to manage. I now live with a spinal cord stimulator and will never be pain-free again.

No woman should go through what I went through. Vulval disease is particularly neglected in medicine. No body should be a mystery to someone and that's why Thrush Support exists.

Every woman has the right to understand the risks if they're thrush prone and access the right treatment as soon as possible. We're an information hub, sign posting women to vulval clinics which are home to the only healthcare providers reliably trained in this area. We also advise on pain clinics for those struggling so they can get the pain down with interventional pain medicine - another area not widely known about in medicine.

No woman should be told they need to accept a life of abject pain.

No woman should be made disabled by a yeast infection.

That's why we do the work we do.