Yeast Infections

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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• Images
• Health Check Tools

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

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• Teenagers
• Men
• Patient Handouts

Summary

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.

Start Here

• Candidiasis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Candidiasis (Logical Images)
• Yeast Infection (Vaginal) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Related Issues

• Burning Mouth Syndrome (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research)
• Yeast Infection during Pregnancy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Specifics

• 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)
• 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

• Genetics Home Reference: familial candidiasis (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Thrush (Oral Candidiasis) in Adults (Logical Images)

Health Check Tools

• Vaginal Discharge (DSHI Systems)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Candidiasis (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Candidiasis, Oral (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Candida Esophagitis.
• Article: The significance of Candida in the human respiratory tract: our...
• Article: From Lipid Homeostasis to Differentiation: Old and New Functions of...
• Yeast Infections -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Oral Thrush (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Thrush (Oral Candidiasis) in Children (Logical Images)
• Thrush and Other Candida Infections (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Vaginal Yeast Infections (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Men

• Male Yeast Infection: How Can I Tell if I Have One? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)

Patient Handouts

• Candida infection of the skin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Thrush (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vaginal yeast infection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish