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If you need urgent assistance, do not use this service. Call 111, or in an emergency call 999.
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A home swab test that checks your vaginal pH, to help you tell whether unusual discharge is more likely to be bacterial vaginosis (BV) or thrush before you choose a treatment. One test per pack.
A pointer, not a diagnosis: Canestest measures pH; it doesn’t detect bacteria, yeast or STIs. Don’t test during your period or any bleeding, within 12 hours of sex or douching, or while using a vaginal cream, gel or pessary. If you have pelvic pain, a high temperature, bleeding after sex, sores, or you’re pregnant, see your GP, midwife or a sexual health clinic instead.
Order before 3pm — same-day dispatch (MON - FRI)
Secure & confidential · Reviewed by a UK prescriber
Suitable age
18 years +
Max per order
2 tests
Consultation
Yes, a short online
Canestest is a Canesten-brand self-test for vaginal infections. Each pack contains one swab with a pH-sensitive tip. A healthy vagina is mildly acidic, at a pH of about 3.8 to 4.5. In bacterial vaginosis the pH usually rises above 4.5, while in thrush it usually stays normal. So if you have unusual discharge and you’re not sure which it is, Canestest helps you choose the right treatment, instead of spending a week on the wrong one.
The result is a pointer, read alongside your symptoms, not a diagnosis. A blue or green tip with thin, grey discharge and a fishy smell points to BV, which needs a prescription antibiotic: see our BV treatments. No colour change with itching and thick white discharge points to thrush: see our thrush treatments. For help reading your result, see our Canestest results guide.
| What it is | Home self-test (medical device) |
| What it measures | Vaginal pH |
| In the pack | 1 swab |
| Time to read | 10 seconds |
| Raised pH (blue or green) | Points to BV, or less often trichomoniasis |
| Normal pH (stays yellow) | Points to thrush, if you’re itchy |
| Doesn’t test for | STIs, such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea |
A healthy vagina is kept mildly acidic by protective bacteria called lactobacilli. In BV these bacteria are crowded out and the pH rises. In thrush, which is caused by a yeast, the pH usually stays normal. Canestest’s swab tip changes colour when the pH is raised, so one reading helps separate the two most common causes of unusual discharge. It can’t tell you which bacteria or yeast are present, and it doesn’t test for STIs.
No. Canestest is a self-test, not a medicine, so it doesn’t need a prescription. We ask a few short questions before supplying it, to check it’s the right next step for your symptoms. If your answers suggest you need to be seen, we’ll tell you where to go.
One swab. If you test at the wrong time (for example during your period or soon after sex) the result may not be reliable, so you may want a second test to retest a few days later.
It reliably shows whether your vaginal pH is normal or raised, but pH alone doesn’t diagnose an infection. Periods, recent sex, vaginal products and the menopause can all change the reading. Read the result alongside your symptoms, and see a GP or sexual health clinic if the two don’t match.
No. Blood raises vaginal pH, so a test during or just after your period can show blue or green even if you don’t have BV. Wait until the bleeding has stopped, and test at least 12 hours after sex or douching.
No. It measures pH only. Chlamydia and gonorrhoea often cause no symptoms and don’t reliably change pH. If you’ve had a new partner, or you have pain, bleeding after sex or sores, get a free STI test from a sexual health clinic.
If you also have thin, grey or white discharge with a fishy smell, BV is likely, and it needs a prescription antibiotic. You can start a BV consultation with our pharmacist prescribers. If you have frothy yellow-green discharge, or a new partner, get tested at a sexual health clinic, as trichomoniasis is possible.
Speak to your midwife or GP about any change in discharge during pregnancy, rather than relying on a home test. BV and thrush in pregnancy are treated differently, and we don’t supply treatment for either online in pregnancy.
Follow instruction on packaging.
Helpful articles and clinical guides related to this treatment category.
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