Life Insurance With Recurrent Thrush
Thrush is extremely common and a single episode is barely worth a line on a form.
The recurrent form is different in a specific and useful way: it has a threshold, and crossing it changes what doctors do.
This page is about that threshold and what follows it.
The short answer
One episode of thrush is a minor infection treated in a few days. Recurrent thrush is a defined thing: four or more episodes in a year, and meeting that definition changes the treatment to a suppressive course lasting months rather than a single dose. That longer prescription, and any test for an underlying cause, are what belong on an application.
What it is
Vaginal thrush is overgrowth of candida, a yeast that lives harmlessly on the body, producing itching, soreness and discharge. Single episodes are usually treated with a short course of antifungal cream or pessary, or a single oral dose.
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis is generally defined as four or more episodes in twelve months. It is managed differently, with an induction course followed by maintenance antifungal treatment typically continued for around six months, and it is usually a prompt to look for a reason.
Why it comes up on an application
- The frequency is the entry. Four or more episodes in a year is a recognised definition and saying whether you meet it is more useful than describing the symptoms.
- A six month suppressive course of oral antifungal is a substantial prescription, quite different from a single tablet, and it belongs in a medication answer.
- Longer courses of oral antifungals sometimes involve checking liver function, and any blood test is an investigation.
- Recurrent infection is commonly a prompt to check for diabetes, because raised blood sugar makes yeast overgrowth more likely. Our fungal infections page covers that check; the result is worth knowing whichever way it went.
- Swabs to confirm the organism are sometimes taken, particularly where treatment is not working, and a non-standard species changes the treatment.
- A referral to a sexual health or gynaecology clinic is a specialist involvement.
What we would ask you
- Roughly how many episodes you have had in a year
- Whether you have taken a long suppressive course of antifungal treatment, and for how long
- Whether you have had blood tests, including for diabetes or liver function
- Whether you have had swabs taken or been referred to a clinic
- Whether anything was identified as an underlying cause
- Whether you are currently off work or working reduced hours because of an accident, injury or illness
- Whether you are waiting on any medical tests, appointments or treatment
- Whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the last five years
- Whether a parent, brother or sister was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or a stroke before 65
- Any medication you take
- Whether you smoke, and your date of birth
Four In A Year Is The Threshold
Knowing the definition makes your answer precise, and precision is most of what these pages are for.
Four or more episodes in twelve months is the generally used threshold for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. Below it, episodes are treated individually as they arise. At or above it, the approach changes to an induction course followed by maintenance treatment usually continued for around six months.
So the useful answer is a rough count. "Two or three a year, treated each time" and "six last year, then six months of weekly fluconazole" are different entries, and the second one has a substantial prescription behind it.
The Test For A Reason Is The Other Entry
Recurrent infection anywhere prompts a doctor to ask why, and that question leaves something in your record.
The common check is for diabetes, because persistently raised blood sugar makes yeast overgrowth more likely. Some people are also swabbed to identify the exact species, because a less common one responds to different treatment, and a few are referred on.
Whatever was done, it counts, and a normal result is good information. Our page on fungal skin infections covers the diabetes check in more detail, and if anything was found then that condition, rather than the thrush, is the substantial part of your history.
Which cover is relevant
The usual starting point. Any underlying cause found, diabetes in particular, matters far more to the picture than the infections.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition, and this is not one. Worth having for the risks it does cover.
Replaces earnings if illness or injury stops you working, which this does not usually do. Worth having for everything else.
Common questions
When does thrush count as recurrent?+
Generally four or more episodes in twelve months. That threshold matters because crossing it changes the treatment from a single course to an induction course followed by maintenance treatment, usually for around six months.
Do I need to declare it?+
Answer what you are asked. A couple of episodes treated individually is a minor entry. A long suppressive course of antifungal treatment is a substantial prescription and belongs in a medication answer.
Why would I have been tested for diabetes?+
Because persistently raised blood sugar makes yeast overgrowth more likely, so recurrent infection is a common prompt to check. The result belongs on your form whichever way it went, and a normal one is useful information.
I took fluconazole weekly for six months. Is that significant?+
It is worth declaring plainly, because it is a long systemic prescription rather than a single dose, and longer courses sometimes involve liver function checks. If you had those blood tests, they count as investigations.
Will recurrent thrush affect my life insurance?+
It is rarely the interesting part of an application, and the decision rests on your whole picture and belongs to the insurer. Anything found as an underlying cause, diabetes in particular, is far more likely to matter.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.