Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that vulvovaginal yeast infections cause symptomatic discomfort, such as burning and irritation, primarily through host inflammatory responses and neutrophilic immunopathology rather than direct fungal toxicity alone.
Multiple retrieved sources explicitly discuss the immunopathogenesis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), confirming that symptoms and tissue damage are driven by host inflammatory and immune responses rather than fungal burden alone. Papers [0], [8], and [10] all support the claim that inflammation mediates the symptomatic presentation of these yeast infections. No papers refute this mechanism.