Written by Peter Brooker in Health & Fitness on the 24th April 2018

Thrush is one of those words abandoned from the common man’s lexicon. We don't know, we don't want to know. It doesn't happen to us, it's nothing we need to know anything about. Wait, it happens to us?! You're kidding? I'll confess, this one was a double-take 'what now?' moment for me upon hearing this. But not only does it reveal my lack of knowledge and ignorance in this area, it also casts a net over an underlying issue that is the scourge of modern day society; intimate health issues. Men are notoriously guarded when talking about areas like erectile dysfunction, depression, testicular cancer etc.

When I asked a few close friends if they knew men could get thrush, only a handful replied yes, but all replied with something pithy and deflective like 'I only just found out men could iron'. Men like to use humour as a default to deflect awkward intimate issues.

Although intimate health was never a conversation to be had at the Brooker family dinner table, my friends have always been on hand to offer personal advice should I need it. I'm lucky in that regard. However, it’s natural for some men to get ruffled around such delicate subject matters if they have become detached from old friends or confidents whom they'd typically share intimate conversations with. This pressure and lack of awareness centred around Male Thrush has prompted Canesten, the number one brand in the Women’s Intimate Health category, to launch a 'Let’s Talk Health' campaign. This very campaign focuses on widening the conversation around the topic of thrush, and how it is important for everyone to understand common health conditions.

Canesten believe that honest and open discussions will encourage both women and men to be more open about difficult topics, aiding in increasing overall confidence and inspiring other people to do the same. 

What is Thrush? 

Thrush is a common yeast infection, experienced by both men and women, caused by an overgrowth of a yeast-like fungus, Candida albicans. This fungus is naturally found on the skin of healthy people, however, when the natural balance of the skin flora is disturbed, the fungus can multiply excessively triggering the typical signs of the infection. 

Where do guys commonly get it? 

The short answer is; where we don't want it the most such as under the foreskin. The perfect incubator for all things that foster a festering agenda. What's more you don't even have to be sexually active as it's not considered to be a sexually transmitted disease, so you can get thrush quite as easily as you can get athletes foot or any other fungal infection.

What are the symptoms? 

The end of the penis and the glands can get itchy and sore. They have lots of little red spots on it. Scary stuff right? Well it needn’t be. We are living in awesome times with access to so much free information and readily available treatments. But we need to move with these times and bring these conversations to the dinner table more often. Spotted dick anyone? Sorry couldn’t resist. 

This post has been supported by Canesten®, but all thoughts are our own.

Did you know that men can get thrush? #health

— Menswear Style (@MenswearStyle) April 19, 2018

As part of the new 2018 Let’s Talk Health Campaign by Canesten, we talk the big question of whether men can get thrush.