What is it?
Candidiasis is an infection caused by a yeast fungus. Healthy women have a small amount of yeast in their vagina. When this yeast grows too much, it becomes an infection. Conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy, increased stress and the use of antibiotics, birth control pills or certain diets may cause this yeast to overgrow.
How is it spread?
Yeast normally lives inside the mouth, the vagina and on the skin around the scrotum, penis, labia, and upper thighs. It is rarely sexually transmitted.
What are the symptoms?
Women may have a thick, white, curdy, odourless, vaginal discharge. They may also have pain during vaginal sex, itching, burning, swelling and redness on the labia or inside the vagina.
Men may have itching around the scrotum, rashes or swelling at the tip of the penis.
How is it diagnosed?
The doctor can usually tell if a woman has candidiasis by looking at the discharge from her vagina. A sample of the discharge is then sent to the laboratory for testing.
In men, the doctor can tell if there is candidiasis by looking at the infected area on the penis and the scrotum.
What are the complications?
There are usually no complications.
How is it treated?
Women are usually treated with anti-fungal suppositories or cream. The medicated cream or suppositories are inserted into the vagina at bedtime for three to seven nights. Treatment can be used during menstruation. Oral medication may also be used. For men, an anti-fungal cream is used on the infected area. Sometimes repeat treatment is needed.
What about sexual partners?
Sexual partners should be treated if they have symptoms.
Is follow-up important?
Follow-up is not needed if the symptoms have disappeared.
Remember:
Follow the treatment as prescribed by your doctor or clinic.
Avoid douching. Douching is a way of spraying water into the vagina to clean it. The vagina does not need cleaning. Douching may kill the healthy bacteria inside the vagina and allow other bacteria to overgrow and become an infection.
If you have symptoms, visit your doctor or a clinic. Symptoms of other sexually transmitted diseases can be similar to a yeast infection.
After passing urine or stools, women should wipe from the front to the back to avoid the spread of bacteria to the vagina and urethra.
Use condoms to lower the chance of getting STI’s and to prevent pregnancy.
It is possible to have more than one infection at a time, so it is important to be tested for other STI’s.
If you have more questions, contact Public Health 352-7270.
For more information contact Public Health at 352-7270 or online at CKhealth@chatham-kent.ca
Adapted with permission from Elgin - St.Thomas Health Unit.