Yeast Infection - The Real Facts

Anyone can get a yeast infection. It's just a fact of life. Of course, women get them most commonly as vaginal yeast infections. Men can get yeast infections, too. Even children can even get them. A yeast infection is unpleasant and uncomfortable, but just what is a yeast infection?

Vaginal yeast infections effect nearly 75% of all women during their lives. Some 5% of these women will have recurring yeast infections through the years. Men can sometimes, but rarely, be effected after unprotected sex with a partner who has a yeast infection.

Children can become infected with yeast infections after taking antibiotics because the antibiotics kill the natural bacteria in the body that usually help prevent the buildup of yeast.

Because yeast infections thrive on moist environments such as the bowels and skin, a bad diaper rash can turn into a yeast infection, too. Thrush is a type of yeast infection of the mouth seen commonly in children. It can move through the system to become a yeast infection in the diaper area.

In children, the yeast infection will differ significantly from regular diaper rash. For one thing, it will not clear up in a few days. Also, some of the many red bumps could be pus-filled, and there could be a scaling pattern. The location of the rash might bee different, too, as it could be in the pubic area, groin area, and the lower abdomen.

In scientific terms, a vaginal yeast infection is caused by the fungus Candida albicans. The warm, moist environment makes an ideal situation for the fungus to take hold if other conditions are right. Another condition necessary is acidity. Yeast grows where there is less acidity.

Many things can change the acidity of the vagina. Antibiotics, as for children's yeast infections can alter the acidity. Menstruation can have an effect, too, as can pregnancy. Also, an illness such as diabetes can effect the acidity of the vagina.

Vaginal yeast infections are marked by burning and redness of the vagina and pain during urination. There may also be a vaginal discharge that is thick, white, and not bad-smelling. For the men who rarely get yeast infections, it may show as a red rash, and itching, and a burning sensation at the tip of the penis.

Yeast occurs naturally in all of us. It is when, for whatever reason, it gets out of balance, that it becomes a problem. Whether it is yeast infections in children, penile yeast infections in men, or vaginal yeast infections in women, they are a problem that needs to be treated. The first step in treating them is knowing "what is a yeast infection?"