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Candidiasis Reference – Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments
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Candidiasis Reference – Symptoms, Diagnoses, Treatments
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Candidiasis-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Candidiasis Classification & external resources Agar plate culture of Candida albicans ICD-10 B37. ICD-9 112 DiseasesDB 1929 MedlinePlus 001511 eMedicine med/264 emerg/76 ped/312 derm/67 Candidiasis, commonly called yeast infection or thrush, is a fungal infection of any of the Candida species, of which Candida albicans is the most common.[1]
Contents 1 Manifestation 2 Causes 3 Symptoms 4 Diagnosis 5 Treatment 6 History and taxonomic classification 7 Alternative views 8 References 9 External links
Manifestation In immunocompetent people, candidiasis can usually only be found in exposed and moist parts of the body[1], such as:
the oral cavity (oral thrush) the vagina and/or vulva (vaginal candidiasis or thrush) folds of skin in the diaper area (diaper rash) the nipples while breastfeeding Candidiasis is the second most common cause of vaginal irritation, or vaginitis, and can also occur on the male genitals, particularly in uncircumcised men[citation needed]. In immunocompromised patients, the Candida infection can involve the esophagus and can become systemic, causing a much more serious condition: fungemia.
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.
Causes Yeast organisms are always present in all people, but are usually prevented from "overgrowth" (uncontrolled multiplication resulting in symptoms) by other naturally occurring microorganisms.
At least three quarters of all women will experience candidiasis at some point in their lives.[citation needed] In a study of 1009 women in New Zealand, the fungus, Candida albicans, was isolated from the the vaginas of 19% of apparently healthy women. Carriers experienced few or no symptoms. However, external (use of irritants, such as some detergents or douches) or internal (hormonal or other physiological changes) disturbances can perturb the normal flora, constituting lactic acid bacteria, such as lactobacilli, and an overgrowth of yeast can result in noticeable symptoms. Pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, engaging in vaginal sex immediately and without cleansing after anal sex, and using lubricants containing glycerine have been found to be causally related to yeast infections. Diabetes mellitus and the use of antibiotics are also linked to an increased incidence of yeast infections. Candidiasis can be sexually transmitted between partners. Diet has been found to be the cause in some animals. Hormone Replacement Therapy and infertility treatments may also be predisposing factors.
Symptoms Symptoms include severe itching, burning, and soreness, irritation of the vagina and/or vulva, and a whitish or whitish-gray discharge, often with a curdlike appearance.
Many women mistake the symptoms of the more common bacterial vaginosis for a yeast infection. In a 2002 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, only 33 percent of women who were self treating for a yeast infection actually had a yeast infection. Instead they had either bacterial vaginosis or a mixed-type infection.
In men, symptoms include red patchy sores near the head of the penis or on the foreskin. The sores may feel irritated and itchy, and sometimes they will burn as well.
Diagnosis Medical professionals use two primary methods to diagnose yeast infections: microscopic examination, and culturing.
For the microscope method, a scraping or swab of the affected area is placed on a microscope slide. A single drop of 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution is then also placed on the slide. The KOH dissolves the skin cells but leaves the Candida untouched, so that when the slide is viewed under a microscope, the hyphae and pseudo spores of Candida are visible. Their presence in large numbers strongly suggests a yeast infection.
For the culturing method, a sterile swab is rubbed on the infected skin surface. The swab is then rubbed across a culture medium. The medium is incubated for several days, during which time colonies of yeast and/or bacteria develop. The characteristics of the colonies provide a presumptive diagnosis of the organism causing symptoms.
Treatment It is important to consider that Candida species are frequently part of the human body's normal oral and intestinal flora. Candidiasis is occasionally misdiagnosed by medical personnel as bacterial in nature, and treated with antibiotics against bacteria. This can lead to eliminating the yeast's natural competitors for resources, and increase the severity of the condition.
In clinical settings, candidiasis if commonly treated with antimycotics—the antifungal drugs commonly used to treat candidiasis are topical clotrimazole, topical nystatin, fluconazole, and topical ketoconazole. 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,[2] 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.[3]
Some home remedies for candidiasis include the consumption or direct application of yogurt (which contains lactobacillus), probiotics, acidophilus tablets or salves, Pau d'arco tea, and even lightly crushed cloves of garlic, which yield allicin, an antifungal agent. Boric acid has also been used to treat yeast infections (by inserting gelcaps filled with boric acid powder into the vagina at bedtime for three to four consecutive nights).[citation needed] Eating a diet consisting primarily of green, fresh, raw vegetables also may give relief.[citation needed] Other alternative treatments consist in consuming a fermented beverage called Kefir.
While home remedies may offer relief in minor cases of infection (although a peer-reviewed study in Australia found yogurt ineffective as treatment for Candida albicans[citation needed]), seeking medical attention may be necessary, especially if the extent of the infection cannot be judged accurately by the patient. For instance, oral thrush is visible only at the upper digestive tract, but it may be that the lower digestive tract is likewise colonized by Candida species.
Treating Candidiasis solely with medication may not give desired results, and other underlying causes require consideration. As an example, oral candidiasis is often linked to the use of inhaled corticosteroids in asthma medication.[citation needed] Patients on long-term inhaled corticosteroids should rinse their mouths after each dose of steroids to counteract this effect.[citation needed] Oral candidiasis can also be the sign of a more serious condition, such as HIV infection, or other immunodeficiency diseases. Following the health tips at vulvovaginal health can help prevent vaginal candidiasis.
Babies with diaper rash should have their diaper areas kept clean, dry, and exposed to air as much as possible. Sugars assist the overgrowth of yeast, possibly explaing the increased prevalence of yeast infections in patients with diabetes mellitus, as noted above. As many Candida spp. reside in the digestive tract, dietary changes may be effective for preventing or during a Candida infection. Due to its requirement for readily fermentable carbon sources, such as mono- or dimeric sugars (e.g., sucrose, glucose, lactose) and starch, avoiding foods that contain these nutrients in high abundance may help to prevent excessive Candida growth. Breast milk is a suitable growth substrate for yeasts, and both nursing mother and baby need to be treated (even if both are not symptomatic) to prevent thrush from being passed between mother and child.[citation needed]
History and taxonomic classification B. Lagenbeck in 1839 in Germany was the first to demonstrate that a yeast-like fungus existed in the human oral infection "thrush." He also found that a fungus was able to cause thrush.[citation needed]
The genera Candida, species albicans was described by botanist Christine Marie Berkhout. She described the fungus in her doctoral thesis, at the University of Utrecht in 1923. Over the years the classification of the genera and species has evolved. Obsolete names for this genus include Mycotorula and Torulopsis. The species has also been known in the past as Monilia albicans and Oidium albicans. The current classification is nomen conservandum, which means the name is authorized for use by the International Botanical Congress (IBC).
The full current taxonomic classification is available at Candida albicans.
The genus Candida includes about 150 different species. However, only a few of those are known to cause human infections. C. albicans is the most significant pathogenic (=disease-causing) species. Other Candida species causing diseases in humans include C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. parapsilosis, C. dubliniensis, and C. lusitaniae.
Alternative views Alternative medicine proponents frequently diagnose people with "systemic candidiasis" using methods not deemed valid by mainstream western medicine. Belief in widespread "systemic candidiasis" originated from a book published by Dr. William Crook,[4] which hypothesized that a variety of common symptoms such as fatigue, PMS, sexual dysfunction, asthma, psoriasis, digestive and urinary problems, multiple sclerosis, and muscle pain, could be caused by subclinical infections of Candida albicans.[5] Dr. Crook suggested a variety of remedies to treat these symptoms, ranging from dietary modification to colonic irrigation. Mainstream western medicine has ignored these methods, since they have not been proved using scientific methods.[6] [7] However, nutritionists have also proposed that these symptoms may be due to intestinal wall damage (known as leaky gut syndrome) caused by Candida overgrowth or other effects.[citation needed]
References ^ a b Walsh TJ, Dixon DM (1996). Deep Mycoses in: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al, eds.), 4th ed., Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1. ^ www.askdrsears.com ^ extoxnet.orst.edu ^ Crook, William G. (1986). Yeast Connection: A Medical Breakthrough. Vintage Books. ISBN 0394747003. ^ http://www.candida-yeast.com/information.asp ^ http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA125503/ ^ http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/candida.html ..
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