Yeast Infection Causes And Who Is Susceptible
Many people know about yeast infections or know someone who has suffered at some point in their lives, but what is not known about them is something that this article will clarify. Yeast infection causes can vary, but they are mainly caused by candida which is a bacterial organism. This can affect many different parts of the body including the mouth, the genital areas and skin folds.
The reasons yeast infections mainly occur is because the body’s PH is disturbed. This can happen by taking certain drugs too, as they kill the bacteria which keep the candida balanced so that yeast infections do not occur.
The most common occurrence of yeast infections is known as thrush of the genitalia, although what many people are not aware of is that it can happen on other parts of the body also, pretty much anywhere that can get damp for many different reasons. It happens commonly between areas such as the toes as well as the fingers. This is because such areas can be exposed to heat, and are not getting air through to them. Also soaps and other cleaning products can cause the same affect and discomfort.
Some people wrongly mistake a yeast infection of the genital area as an STD, although the yeast infection commonly known as thrush can be spread through sexual intercourse. That said thrush can occur in anyone whether they are male or female, and it is not discriminative of age either.
The symptoms of genital thrush include burning after you have urinated or after intercourse. There can also be itching in the area as well as a discharge which can be foul smelling as it would be in the case of some STD’s.
Babies can be born with thrush also, and it can be common more so with babies that are breast fed. This can also infect the nursing mothers breasts and cause a lot of discomfort making them itch and very uncomfortable when feeding. It can be characterized in this instance by sore nipples and in the mouths of nursing babies by a white coating of the tongue, which can cause a foul taste in the mouth, as well as spread to the throat causing more discomfort when eating.
Once someone has had thrush, they may keep on getting it afterwards. It can just be an indication that the infection was not cleared properly the first time round, or it can mean that there is still an imbalance of the PH level. There are over the counter medicines available which come in a variety of forms depending on the whereabouts as well as what is best for you.
As a wise man once said prevention is better than cure. Although there is no way of preventing it from ever happening you can take preventative measures to try and stop it from happening again, or the severity of symptoms may increase.
Wearing underwear that is made from cotton will allow your skin to breathe more than other materials, and loose clothing will also give the same effect. Avoiding soaps and washing products will also help to keep the balance of the PH. You must ensure that when areas of the body become wet whether through washing, swimming or sweating that you dry the area as soon as possible. In those harder to get to body parts you may wish to use a cotton bud to dry the area thoroughly.
To limit the infection and to stop others getting it, as well as re-infecting yourself, you will need to make sure that you do not share towels, cloths or toothbrushes in the affected area, and also after each wash ensuring that the cloths used are washed. Douching is another cause of vaginal PH imbalance so this should be avoided whether or not suffering from an infection at the time.
Never allow yourself to suffer because you feel embarrassed because you are not alone and the symptoms are not easy to get rid of on your own without medical intervention. You can get medicine over the counter or you can visit your health professional. If you do have a thrush problem that keeps coming back, go and see your GP as there is help available.