What is Yeast Infection?





Yeast infection is a mycosis or fungal infection that is also medically known and termed as candidosis, moniliasis, and andoidiomycosis.  Armpit Yeast Infection

A yeast infection can be benign or surface forming only, such as those seen in an oral thrush and vaginitis, or it can be a potential disease of life-threatening proportions. Yeast infection of the oral thrush kind or oral candidiasis is a yeast infection of the mouth or its mucous membranes.

This kind of yeast infection is most commonly seen in infants and toddlers causing irritation in between and around the child’s mouth orifice, but it often is cured by itself or on its own without being medically treated.

A yeast infection of the vaginitis variety is a swelled vagina and this condition causes discharge, pain and itchiness. Most usually this kind of yeast infection is related to a vulva yeast infection or irritation.

Kinds of vaginitis:

  • (BV) bacterial vaginosis
  • Vaginal candidiasis
  • Trichomoniasis

Bacterial vaginosis or vaginal bacteriosis is a vaginal disease that is bacterial in causation. The United States disease control and prevention center has stated that this condition can be contracted and aggravated by engaging in multiple or several sex partners as well as douching, without an indication of the correlation between the development of the condition and the role of sex in its development.

This is most often mistaken as a yeast infection or a yeast infection of the trichomonas vaginalis kind, all of which are not bacterial in origin.

Vaginal candidiasis  or vaginal yeast infection occurs in  most women at some point in their lives. The organism or fungus present in this infection is the Candida albicans. This fungus is usually present in the vagina, skin and the mouth as well as the digestive tract in very minimal amounts.

This presence in minimal amounts in such areas does not cause symptoms nor of disease. An increase in the organism  Candida albicans will lead to a yeast infection.

Another kind of  a yeast infection is the trichomoniasis, which  is an STD (sexually transmitted disease) caused by a trichomonas vaginalis parasite. This condition is most commonly a yeast infection of the tract of the urogenitals and the locality of this yeast infection is usually found in the urethra and in a woman’s vagina.

This yeast infection derivative condition is referred to sometimes as “trich”.

Symptom and signs

A yeast infection is medically manageable and can be easily treated with minor complications of redness, itchiness as well as discomfort avoided with the treatment applied. Leaving a yeast infection untreated in some people may result in fatal or severe consequences.

A yeast infection is the common foremost cause of irritation of the vagina.  This condition is not limited to affecting women as a yeast infection can likewise affect the genitals of males. In patients with compromised immune system a yeast infection is likely to affect his or her esophagus which can lead to a more serious condition called fungemia.

Children in the age range of three up to nine years old are likely to be affected by a yeast infection of the mouth which can be chronic in nature.

The condition can be viewed as white patches in the mouth. In infants the infection may last up to or more than a few weeks in duration.

Yeast infection symptoms vary and are dependent on the affected area.

Vaginal symptoms could include:

  • Severe itchiness
  • Burning sensation
  • Irritation
  • Soreness
  • Discharge of a whitish to gray cheese-like color and consistency

In a study published in a publication in the year 2002 thirty three percent of women who are on self treatment for yeast infection did actually contract the condition of yeast infection. In males, yeast infection symptoms may consist of:

  • reddish patches or sores on the head or tip of the penis
  • severe itchiness
  •  A sensation or feeling of being burned.

Yeast infection of the penis may likewise show a whitish discharge but is not common.

How it is diagnosed

If you are unsure of having a yeast infection, diagnosing a yeast infection  is made out of doing microscopic examination or culture of a specimen taken from the localized area where the yeast infection is believed to be endemic.

Using a swab on  the area deemed affected by the yeast infection  is gently scraped for a specimen sample. This sample from the site of the yeast infection is then placed on a microscopic slide. A drop of the  chemical compound known as potassium hydroxide is then placed on the sample to dissolve the skin cells  that came together with the yeast infection sample.

Viewing through the use of a microscope will show  yeast cells which are typical of yeast infections prevalent in a Candida species. This process should be able to help you get rid of any fear of having a yeast infection and allow for proper treatment when necessary.

For a more specific diagnosis of a yeast infection, the next best diagnostic process  is the culturing method. This is done by the taking of a specimen sample with the use of a sterile swab gently rubbed on the skin surface of the infected area of yeast infection.

The swab rubbed on the area is streaked unto a culture medium. This culture medium is placed in an incubated machine which controls the temperature at 37 °C for a number of days. This incubation allows the growth of the yeast in the bacteria.

Yeast infection characteristics are determined by the color and morphology of the bacterial colony grown. From this cultured specimen an identification of the yeast bacteria causing the yeast infection can be made.

Treatment of with antifungal medications would now be easy as there are plenty of medications in the market manufactured to treat such yeast infection condition.

These medications could come in the form of topical ointments under the names of clotrimazole, fluconasole (available in tablets of 150 mg to be taken by mouth), ketoconazole or the topical ointment nystatin or other anti-mycotics.

We hope you found our article “What is Yeast Infection” to be useful.


Candida albicans can sense immune status of host cells and evade them

Candida albicans can sense immune status of host cells and evade them.
Published on February 23, 2012 at 1:08 AM on News-Medical.net

That’s right – in research that could have wide ranging implications for many treatments, scientists have discovered that Candida albicans- the yeast infection fungus- can target the exact cells that it attacks or avoids.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120223/Candida-albicans-can-sense-immune-status-of-host-cells-and-evade-them.aspx