Aditi

Age at interview: 22

Brief Outline:

Aditi had recurrent thrush for two years. After moving from India to the UK, she saw a GP to get help. The GP prescribed her a pill which she found effective and her symptoms have not returned.

Background:

Aditi (she/her) is a straight woman. She is currently a student. Her background is Asian/Indian.

More about me...

Aditi started having thrush two years ago. Her symptoms would appear every few months and would last a week before passing. Aditi had not heard the term thrush before moving from India to the UK.

Aditi’s symptoms included itching, redness, and “curdy” discharge. In response to her symptoms, Aditi could “doubly cleanse” to ensure she wasn’t “dirty”.

Recurrent thrush has not impacted Aditi’s mental health or hobbies.

Once her symptoms became “painful”, Aditi decided to visit the GP. The doctor explained that it was a fungal infection and that this was “normal” and that there was “nothing” available to stop it. The doctor told Aditi to avoid soap that could be irritating and not overly wash the area. Aditi was recommended an antifungal pill which she bought at the pharmacy and her symptoms have not returned.

Aditi found talking to the GP easy, but that she wishes she had been given more information. The doctor did not do a pelvic examination or a take swab. While Aditi said that perhaps spoke to the doctor’s expertise, and she did not feel comfortable asking for a swab as did not know what was routine in a UK examination. Aditi would have preferred an examination.

Aditi says that in the future if her symptoms were intense, she would take the pill again, but that she doesn’t have enough information about potential side effects.

Financially, she found the pill expensive.

Aditi was able to speak to her parents, boyfriend, and her sister about the recurrent thrush and they were supportive.

In terms of self-management, Aditi wears cotton underwear, wearing loose clothes, and using coconut oil. She hasn’t looked online for more information, but plans to do so soon.

Her advice to others is to not wait as long as she did to see a GP in order to get treatment.

Aditi visited different pharmacies looking for more affordable medication

Yes, so when I went to Boots, they told me that they don't have the pill that the doctor had suggested. So the doctor had told me what is the... from some other website, the same one, but if you want it delivered then it would have taken like four or five days more, and I did not want to live with it for more than what was still going on, so that’s why I went to Boots and they did not have the same one, so they had a similar one which was I think £20 or £22, so then I was like, ‘no, that’s not happening,’ I mean from £1 I'm not spending £22 and this is very absurd, so then I left and when I was walking to my place there was like one more shop and I went there and I asked them, so they... they sold me the same one for I think £12 or £13.

Aditi described her experience first visiting the GP

So, after that I'd realised that this is not working out, because even when I was at home in the privacy of my room, I ­– it just felt very weird because I was continuously itching and just felt like very weird. It was painful after a point, so I just felt like, ‘OK, let me just take my GP’s appointment now.’ So I went to her and then I explained her what the situation was, and along with thrush I was also having a very curdy discharge so... but she explained to me that it was a fungal infection and this was something that was normal in females and something because of hormone imbalance again but there’s nothing that you can do to stop it, and then she told me that I shouldn't... so because... what I... what I used to do was that I would clean very thoroughly during those periods, so she told me not to clean it overly because you might be over drying your area or like using maybe soaps or something that will be irritating the skin further.