Candida is the scientific name for yeast. It is a fungus that lives almost everywhere, including in your body. Usually, your immune system keeps yeast under control. If you are sick or taking antibiotics, it can multiply and cause an infection.
Yeast infections affect different parts of the body in different ways:
- Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches in your mouth
- Candida esophagitis is thrush that spreads to your esophagus, the tube that takes food from your mouth to your stomach. It can make it hard or painful to swallow.
- Women can get vaginal yeast infections, causing vaginitis
- Yeast infections of the skin cause itching and rashes
- Yeast infections in your bloodstream can be life-threatening
Antifungal medicines get rid of yeast infections in most people. If you have a weak immune system, treatment might be more difficult.
- Candida auris (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Candida Infection of the Bloodstream - Candidemia (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
- Genital/Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Invasive Candidiasis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Oral Thrush (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Oropharyngeal/Esophageal Candidiasis ("Thrush") (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Tinea Versicolor (American Academy of Dermatology)
- Vaginal Yeast Infections (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
- Genetics Home Reference: familial candidiasis (National Library of Medicine)
- Thrush (Oral Candidiasis) in Adults (Logical Images)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Invasive candidiasis: Risk factor for mortality in a pediatric tertiary care...
- Article: A case report of infant with gastric perforation caused by Candida...
- Article: Molecular characterization and antifungal susceptibility testing of Candida nivariensis from blood...
- Yeast Infections -- see more articles
- Male Yeast Infection: How Can I Tell if I Have One? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish