What causes a vaginal yeast infection?
November 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A vaginal yeast infection is caused by the overgrowth of yeast cells that normally live in small quantities through out the body - including the vagina. If the balance between these yeast cells and “healthy bacteria” get out of kilter in the vagina, a range of symptoms of vaginal yeast infection will be caused.
Which yeast cells cause a vaginal yeast infection?
Candida Albicans (C.albicans) is usually the culprit for causing vaginal yeast infections. Candida overgrowth is usually fairly straightforward to treat using prescription, over the counter or natural home yeast infection remedies.
However, if your vaginal yeast infection is stubborn to get rid of or keeps coming back (recurrent yeast infection), the chances are that it is a different strain of yeast causing your vaginal yeast infection as these are more resistant to conventional treatments for yeast infection. If you are in this situation, it is important to consult your doctor for advice on appropriate treatment of your yeast infection symptoms.
What are the likely causes of my vaginal yeast infection?
The most common causes of vaginal yeast infection are as follows:
- Being diabetic means that poorly controlled blood sugars will leave traces of sugar in your urine. This makes an ideal environment for candida albicans or other yeasts to multiply causing vaginal yeast infection.
- Being overweight means that a flabby stomach causes an overhang near the vaginal area. This can cause a warm damp environment that is conducive to candida overgrowth causing a vaginal yeast infection as well as possible yeast infection of the skin in the folds of the stomach.
- Remaining warm and damp for sustained periods….living in a hot, damp environment, not changing out of a damp swimming costume, long car journies in hot weather….all these factors can cause vaginal yeast infection if happening for long enough.
- Antibiotics kill healthy bacteria as well as the offending bacteria that you are being treated for. Without the healthy bacteria to fight off candida overgrowth, the risk of vaginal yeast infection rises.
- Pregnancy, use of high dosage birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can all cause vaginal yeast infection due to high estrogen levels affecting the ph balance of the vagina.
- The week before menstruation is a time when vaginal yeast infection symptoms can occur due to elevated estrogen. The onset of menstruation usually corrects this by restoring the normal ph balance of the vagina.
- Sustained use of corticosteroids can also cause vaginal yeast infection symptoms.
- An impaired immune system can also mean less healthy bacteria and natural body defenses against candida overgrowth causing vaginal yeast infection.
Is Oral Thrush Contagious?
November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In what way is oral thrush contagious?
Whilst unusual for oral thrush to spread from one person to another if they are both healthy, it is possible for the yeast causing thrush to pass from one person to another in various ways if they are more susceptible.
(1) What can cause oral thrush in infants?
If a pregnant woman has a yeast infection during pregnancy, following contact with the birth canal’s thrush, oral thrush symptoms can easily manifest in the newborn child 3 to 7 days after birth. After contact with thrush oral symptoms easily appear in newborn children as their immune system is immature and they need to develop the healthy bacteria that will fight candida overgrowth in the mouth.
In answer to is “oral thrush contagious?” the answer is “yes” as far as mother and breastfeeding child as the yeast infection can pass back and forth between mother and child. This can cause oral thrush in the infant and yeast infection of the nipple in the mother.
(2) Is oral thrush contagious in older children?
If toddlers, older children and adults are generally healthy and without otherwise compromised immune systems, thrush is not usually contagious. However, if for some reason the immune system is compromised, a child or toddler can develop thrush orally by sharing infected toys or pacifiers with a child who already has oral thrush. Playgroups and nurseries need to therfore be very aware of toy hygiene to prevent the spread of germs and infections.
(3) How is oral thrush contagious in adults?
For adults there are different risk factors. For people with weakened immune systems it is unusual but possible that oral thrush is contagious through kissing and / or participating in oral sex.
Adults wearing dentures (false teeth) can also experience oral thrush and then spread yeast on their hands by handling dentures then touching other objects that someone else may put in their mouth. Personal hygiene is an important way for preventing thrush’s oral symptoms from spreading.
Preventing the causes of oral thrush
If struggling to get rid of thrush - oral, vaginal or male - it is important to address the causes of oral thrush so that the symptoms do not become recurrent. Yeast Infection Helpdesk recommends a holistic approach as this will tackle the underlying causes of oral thrush as well as treating you oral thrush symptoms. This combined approach alongside Linda Allen’s personal support to guaruntee your effective treatment makes a powerful package that I can personally recommend having used it myself.
Vaginal Yeast infection - Symptoms you may notice
October 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Vaginal Yeast Infections - Symptoms
If you have a vaginal yeast infection, the symptoms you may notice are as follows:
- Vaginal itching that may be severe and persistant itching
- The skin around the vagina (labia) may become red and irritated (particularly if the itching symptom of yeast infection has occurred as an “itch-scratch-itch” cycle may occur and make your vaginal yeast infection symptoms worse.
- Because if this irritated red skin, urination may irritate it when the urine touches the skin
- The irritation to the skin caused by vaginal yeast infection may also make sexual intercourse painful. Infact, for some women (who do not experience the itching symptoms of vaginal thrush) pain on sexual intercourse may be the first indication of vaginal yeast infection symptoms.
- There may be a vaginal discarge that is odourless, white and curdlike. If the discharge smells unpleasant, this may indicate that you do not have vaginal yeast infection but another condition called bacterial vaginosis.
What are the likey causes of my vaginal yeast infection symptoms?
Your symptoms of vaginal yeast infection are more likely to happen in the days leading up to a menstrual period. Some women find that the onset of the menstrual period helps their vaginal yeast infection symptoms to clear up wheras others need their period to be over before they gain relief.
It is important to get a proper diagnosis from your health professional before treating vaginal yeast infection symptoms as, if there is an itchy and red vulva alone, this may indicate a reaction to soap or a washing powder being used. Some people react to spermicidal jelly and douches with vaginal itching that can be mistaken for a vaginal yeast infection.
Yeast Infection During Pregnancy
October 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Why some women experience yeast infection during pregnancy
Yeast infection during pregnancy, sometimes known as thrush, is a very common scenario as the hormone levels during pregnancy cause an increase in the glycogen (sugar) content of vaginal secretions. This increased presence of sugar can make yeast infection during pregnancy very stubborn to treat.
Increased presence of sugar in the vagina may also be due to sugar passed in the urine due to gestational diabetes. This is a fairly common and temporary condition during pregnancy. For this reason a chronic yeast infection in pregnancy MUST be checked out with your medical practitioner who will be able to formally diagnose a yeast infection as well as review possible causes - otherwise it may become a recurrent problem. This will ensure that the correct and safest treatment (whether it be for prescription, over the counter or natural home remedies) is given ensuring the welfare of both you and your growing baby.
During pregnancy it is always best to avoid medications wherever possible and to NEVER treat yourself for a condition without the express advice of your doctor or pharmacist.
Treatment of yeast infection during pregnancy:
It is reassuring to know that, if you do have a yeast infection, it will not, in itself, harm your developing baby in any way.
However, should there still be symptoms of thrush during labour it is possible that your baby will contract it whilst passing through the birth canal. This may lead to baby thrush which is effectively oral thrush and is the most common cause of yeast infections in babies. If left untreated this may be passed on to your nipples if breastfeeding. Treatment for baby yeast infections is very straightforward with prescription remedies or gentian violet being the most popular approaches.
What is espohapeal yeast infection?
October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Esophageal candidiasis (also known as a “thrush” or oropharyngeal candidiasis) is a yeast infection of the digestive tract leading from the mouth to the stomach. It is often assiciated with oral thrush which can happen at the same time.
What are the possible causes of esophageal yeast infection?
A very uncomfortable and sometimes painful condition, esophageal yeast infection symptoms can be an unpleasant side effect of long-term antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs or chronic candidiasis. It is also a common early infection for people with HIV+ or Aids affecting women slightly more than men.
How are esophageal yeast infection symptoms treated?
Treatment of symptoms is straightforward:
- lozenges and oral capsules are the most common prescription methods.
- if you have a compromised immune system and are believed to be as higher risk of candidial esophagitis, natural over the counter remedies such as lactobacillus acidophillus supplements (to replace health bacteria lost during the infection) and garlic capsules (anti-bacterial and anti-fungal) may help to keep symptoms at bay.
- As always it is best to take a holistic approach to your health and treat the causes as well as those distressing symptoms thereby reducing the risk of recurrent yeast infection.
Can Drug Abuse Lead to Yeast Infection?
September 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
How drug users may risk yeast infection
As with any other devices implanted into the body through the skin (such as urinary catheters and intravenous ports), using dirty needles can inject yeast directly into the bloodstream.
Intravenous drug addicts are threfore running an increased risk of developing systemic candidiasis . This can lead to some of the following symptoms (to name but a few):
- irritable bowel syndrome
- depression
- tiredness
- food intolerances.
A further risk for IV drug users is a condition called candida endophthalmitis which, although rare, causes lesions in the eye leaving patients complaining of cloudy vision.
What precautions can I take?
If any of the above symptoms are suspected of being due to invasive yeast infection, it is essential to get checked out by your medical practitioner who will prescribe treatment appropriate to your circumstances.
In the meantime, if injecting drugs intravenously, is is crucial to access sterile needles so as to reduce the level of risk of contracting systemic candidiasis.
Tackling Yeast Infection During Pregnancy
August 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Yeast infection during pregnancy, sometimes known as thrush, is a very common scenario as the hormone levels during pregnancy cause an increase in the glycogen (sugar) content of vaginal secretions. This increased presence of sugar can make yeast infection with pregnancy very stubborn to treat.
Increased presence of sugar in the vagina may also be due to sugar passed in the urine due to gestational diabetes. This is a fairly common and temporary condition during pregnancy. For this reason a chronic yeast infection in pregnancy MUST be checked out with your medical practitioner who will be able to formally diagnose a yeast infection as well as review possible causes - otherwise it may become a recurrent problem. This will ensure that the correct and safest treatment (whether it be for prescription, over the counter or natural home remedies) is given ensuring the welfare of both you and your growing baby.
During pregnancy it is always best to avoid medications wherever possible and to NEVER treat yourself for a condition without the express advice of your doctor or pharmacist.