CANDIDA - THRUSH - YEAST INFECTION - VAGINITIS.

CANDIDA - THRUSH - YEAST INFECTION - VAGINITIS. A yeast infection is one of those infections that makes every woman and female teenager grimace with discomfort and embarrassment. Millions of women around the world are diagnosed with yeast infection every year and half of all women will get yeast infection in their lifetime. Once you have yeast infection it will normally make many things unpleasant, including those night time pleasures. Although yeast infection is more prevalent among women and teenage girls, it can also infect men, children and babies. Yeast infection is also known by the common terms thrush, candida and vaginitis. Yeast Infection is a fungus that normally exists on the skin in small numbers and generally causes no problems. Everyone has yeast infection fungi on their skin and mucous membranes (special skin areas often involved in food digestion and elimination - such as in the mouth, the anus, vagina, penis, etc.) The yeast becomes an infection when the fungus breeds up. That is, when the fungi - the individual reproducing units - reproduce much faster than they die off. CAUSES. There are many causes of yeast infection. Essentially though, it's something that happens to the body that allows the normal yeast infection to take over. Areas of the body most likely infected by Candida: The yeast infection symptoms mainly appear on the mucous membranes. The mucous membranes are the membranes which secrete or produce mucous and normally line the passageways of the body which connect to the outside world - the mouth, throat (the pharnyx, the esophagus), intestines, the urinary bladder, anus, vagina and penis - they can all suffer from a yeast infection. It can also occur in the navel, on the breasts, the armpits, around the mouth, around the male or female genitalia, or within any fold of skin that doesn't see the light of day all that often. Yeast infection symptoms can also occur on the skin, on the finger or toe nails, or on the bottom. Yeast infection can also enter the blood stream and infect the organs of the body. When the yeast infection does this, you are said to have a "systemic yeast infection". The yeast infection starts when the fungus finds an environment with good conditions and not a lot of competition. At that point it changes from a relatively harmless unicellular organism into an invasive multicellular organism and starts reproducing as fast as it can, wherever it can. Yeast Infection will affect any area where conditions are good for it, but will fail to affect areas that aren't susceptible or that it can't get to. In other words, you can have vaginal candidiasis without getting oral candidiasis along with it, and vice versa. So it may be safe to kiss, but not have intercourse and vice versa. Yeast Infection Symptoms: The symptoms of a yeast infection are fairly unique. Somewhere on the body develops either white plaques, or starts emitting a white, cheesy or curd-like discharge. In addition, you'll usually experience yeast infection symptoms of serious itching, burning, redness and inflammation on and around the infected site. If the yeast infection is on exterior skin, the usual symptoms also include red, patchy sores with a distinct border that also itch and burn like mad. A... The Symptoms of a yeast infection of the vagina and vulva include: A discharge from the area which is either whitish or yellowish in color. Inflammation of the area - swelling, redness, Squishy, whitish stuff may adhere to the vagina walls aka lining. There may be a nasty smell from the vagina. The Symptoms of a yeast infection of the penis include: Occasionally a discharge will be noticed from the tip. Irritation of the penis head. Redness of the penis head. Pain in the penis head. Yeast Infection Symptoms in the Mouth and Throat: Whitish or whitish blue patches in the mouth or on the tongue. Tongue may have inflammation - swollen and red. Probably be difficult or painful to swallow. Will probably itch. Cracks around the corners of the mouth are common in oral yeast infection Treatment and Cure: A doctor will either prescribe an antifungal medication or recommend one of the over-the-counter preparations. There are quite a few antifungals out there, and they come in mouthwash, cream and tablet form in order to kill the infection wherever it is. While you might be able to defeat a case of candidiasis without these medications, you run the risk of turning it into a recurring infection, which then becomes a lot harder to treat. REFERENCES USED :Walsh TJ, Dixon DM (1996). "Deep Mycoses", in Baron S et al eds.: Baron's Medical Microbiology , 4th ed., Univ of Texas Medical Branch.