Hello and thank you for submitting your question. From your description of symptoms it seems like you are having vaginal candidiasis and the treatment you have received was inadequate. It is possible that you may be having a concurrent infection as you have self-diagnosed your condition during the first episode of your symptoms. This might be the reason you have not been recovering despite treatment.

You are advised to return to your doctor to have a full examination including collection of swab samples from the vagina to identify other concurrent infections. In some occasions, a different Candida species may be the cause of vaginal candidiasis which cannot be cured by the usual prescription. An examination of the swab sample will also rule out this cause. This would require a higher dose of treatment. There are other factors which also contribute to persistent vaginal candidiasis.

Some risk factors are prolonged antibiotic usage, diabetes mellitus, contraceptive use, immunodeficiency, mechanical irritation of vagina and sexual transmission. If you are on prolonged antibiotics or contraception, it is advisable for you to visit your doctor to change your medication. You should get a medical check-up done to rule out diabetes mellitus and immunodeficiency. Do not use tight pants or synthetic undergarments, wear cotton panties instead.

If you are sexually active, get your partner tested out for fungal infection as this may also be the reason for you to get persistent infections. If none of these methods work, you are most like to have a condition known as recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. This is defined as four specific episodes of candidiasis occur in a year. This would require a longer duration of treatment, which is oral antifungal tablet to be taken each week for 6 consecutive week, as well as topical antifungal agents.