Candidiasis
Candidiasis, commonly called yeast infection or thrush, is a fungal infection (mycosis) of any of the Candida species, of which Candida albicans is the most common. Candidiasis thereby encompasses infections that range from superficial, such as oral thrush and vaginitis, to systemic and potentially life-threatening diseases. Candida infections of the latter category are also referred to as candidemia and are usually confined to severely immunocompromised persons, such as cancer, transplant, and AIDS patients, whereas superficial infections of skin and mucosal membranes by Candida causing local inflammation and discomfort is common in many populations. While clearly attributable to the presence of the opportunistic pathogens of the genus Candida, candidiasis describes a number of different disease syndromes that often differ in their causes and outcomes
In immunocompetent persons, candidiasis is usually a very localized infection of the skin or mucosal membranes, including:
the oral cavity (oral thrush)
the pharynx
the esophagus
the intestines
the urinary bladder
the vagina
Candidiasis is a very common cause of vaginal irritation, or vaginitis, and can also occur on the male genitals. In immunocompromised patients, the Candida infection can affect the esophagus with the potential of becoming systemic, causing a much more serious condition, a fungemia called candidemia.
Children, mostly between the ages of 3 and 9 years, can be affected by chronic mouth yeast infections, normally seen around the mouth as white patches. However, this is not a common condition.
Symptoms include severe itching, burning, and soreness, irritation of the vagina and/or vulva, and a whitish or whitish-gray discharge, often with a curd-like appearance.
It is important to consider that Candida species are frequently part of the human body’s normal oral and intestinal flora. Treatment with antibiotics can lead to eliminating the yeast’s natural competitors for resources, and increase the severity of the condition.
In clinical settings, candidiasis is commonly treated with antimycotics—the antifungal drugs commonly used to treat candidiasis are topical clotrimazole, topical nystatin, fluconazole, and topical ketoconazole. For example, a one-time dose of fluconazole (as Diflucan 150-mg tablet taken orally) has been reported as being 90% effective in treating a vaginal yeast infection. This dose is only effective for vaginal yeast infections, and other types of yeast infections may require different treatments. In severe infections (generally in hospitalized patients), amphotericin B, caspofungin, or voriconazole may be used. Local treatment may include vaginal suppositories or medicated douches. Gentian violet can be used for breastfeeding thrush, but pediatrician William Sears recommends using it sparingly, since in large quantities it can cause mouth and throat ulcerations in nursing babies, and has been linked to mouth cancer in humans and to cancer in the digestive tract of other animals
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