CANDIDIASIS - CAUSES SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT

Candidiasis (“yeast infection”) is a superficial infection with a fungus of the genus Candida that can affect various locations including the vagina.

Causes of Candidiasis
More than 95 percent of candidal vaginal infections are caused by Candida albicans. Causes of the others are usually Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis.

Symptoms of Candidiasis
People with candidiasis can have beefy red plaques in the groin area, spreading to scrotum or labia; satellite lesions extending onto thighs; and curdy white patches on inflamed vaginal mucosa. The classical symptoms of recurrent candidal vaginitis are itching and a curdlike, cheesy discharge.


A man may have pain with urination and/or red, itchy skin with peripheral pustules.

Candidiasis is more common in diabetics and in people who are taking or have recently taken antibiotics. In immunosuppressed women severe and treatment-resistant vaginal yeast infections that consist of milky white discharge and white patches develop.

One report indicated that 37 percent of those who started out with recurrent yeast infections eventually were receiving care for HIV. Conditions that occur so often in HIV that they have become considered signs of the disease include herpes zoster, oral candidiasis (thrush), and oral hairy leukoplakia.

Testing
Diagnosis is usually made through clinical findings and by microscopic examination of candidal vaginal
infection’s vaginal discharge. A potassium hydroxide (KOH) preparation involves applying a 10 percent KOH solution to a microscope slide with vaginal secretions on it.

If there is no sign of Candida species in testing, a patient may be screened for bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, human papillomavirus, Trichomonas species, and gonorrhea. An individual who has frequent candidal infections should consider the possibility of other risk factors: frequent antibiotic or steroid use, pregnancy, diabetes, immunosuppression, HIV infection, poor perianal hygiene, or wearing of tight clothing or underpants of silk or nylon.

Treatment of Candidiasis
The primary goal of treatment is alleviation of symptoms. In most patients, over-the-counter antifungal topical agents can be used to treat an acute case effectively but should be used only by women who have been previously diagnosed with vaginal candidiasis and are experiencing similar symptoms again.

If symptoms are not relieved or if symptoms recur, then the patient needs to be reevaluated by her doctor. An oral medication called fluconazole (Diflucan) is another option for treatment but is only available by prescription.

Using antifungal agents cuts down the number of vaginal organisms to a level that is undetectable by
culture; however, this does not get rid of the organism in the vagina completely. In women who are healthy and whose immune systems are functioning well, infection of mucosal surfaces by Candida species is readily treated and usually does not recur.

If a person has recurrent candidal infection, the physician usually wants to test further for diabetes
or immunosuppression. Note: some of the creams used to treat candidiasis render condoms ineffective because they destroy the latex.


Prevention
In women who seem to be hypersensitive, it appears that the best treatment is to prevent
growth of Candida species by using antifungal agents aggressively and oral antihistamines for
symptom relief. In cases of recurrent infections, it may well be that the best therapy is hyposensitizing the patient to Candida species.

Psychosocial Issues
In a study reported in Sexually Transmitted Infections (October 1998), researchers sought to identify the
psychological factors that accompanied chronic recurrent vaginal candidiasis. A group of 28 women with recurring candidiasis were compared with 16 women with no history of this disease.

Although the groups were similar in demographic characteristics and most sexual health issues, the
ones with recurrent disease were much more likely to suffer clinical depression and stress, to have low self-esteem, and to report decreased life satisfaction.

They also believed that their candidiasis interfered greatly with their relationships, both sexual and emotional. Thus, the study underscored the need for psychological treatment for such patients.

Research
New research suggests that the common medical practice of using heparin in intravascular catheters to discourage blockages by blood clots may accidentally trigger events that change a benign fungal infection into a deadly incident in some patients.

Candida albicans is the leading cause of invasive fungal disease in premature babies and others with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, postsurgical patients, and cancer or bone marrow transplantation patients.

Findings reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (November 28, 2001) suggest the link
between use of heparin in intravascular catheters and its role in setting off events that lead to a toxic shock–like reaction.

Having a candidiasis is a serious condition. It is something that you should be ashamed though. If you believe to have contracted this condition, visit and consult your trusted doctors.