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What CAUSES a Yeast infection?

Yeast infections are caused by the body being altered in some way to allow high enough concentrations of the fungus - yeast - to develop to cause an infection. 

An infection is a site on the body where fungus, bacteria, germs are breeding up faster than the body is able to stop them.

  When the yeast has reached the point of causing symptoms, the body will normally require some help to overcome the yeast infection.

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  Causes of yeast infections include anything that alters the body's ability to control the naturally occurring yeast infection (candida albicans). 

Yeast infection can be caused by a weakened immune system that allows the yeast fungus to grow more readily.  So transplant patients, HIV patients, chemotherapy patients and so on, are also more susceptible to yeast infection.

Age is also a causal factor to getting yeast infections - the older one is the more susceptible one is to yeast infection - possibly because the immune system generally weakens with age.

Yeast infection causes include the use of antibiotics, which draws the body to fight a bacteria infection, which kills off  'friendly' bacteria in the process.  The friendly bacteria would often keep the fungus numbers down. 

Other yeast infection causes may be due to medical interventions, such as those that use catheters.  The catheters provide the yeast with a deeper, easy to get to site, that th e yeast finds ideal to grow in.  Oestrogen replacement therapy is another medical intervention tha also can cause yeast infection in some women.

Female hormone cycles have been found to be a cause of yeast infection.  In particular, the higher the oestrogen level - eg premenstrual or during pregnancy - the higher the risk of yeast infection.

Diabetes is another causal factor in yeast infection, as diabetics have higher sugar levels (food levels) in the mucosa lining of the mouth and vagina.  Immune system suppression, which can happen in those with uncontrolled diabetes, can also cause yeast infections to appear, as the body has lower resistance and is unable to fight off the yeast from causing an infection.

Yeast infection can be caused by sexual transmission.  If you engage in private matters with a person who has a yeast infection, there is a chance the high fungal concentrations that you come in contact with will be high enough to cause you to become infected. 

It is not uncommon for a man and a woman to require treatment when one is showing yeast infection symptoms, to make sure the infection isn't continually passed back and forth, causing a series of yeast infections in one or both partners.

Just to make a point a clear, just in case you have contracted a yeast infection from your partner, technically you may have a sexually transmitted disease, BUT yeast infection can happen to a partner without sexual contact with any other.  So, it is NOT evidence of infidelity, even though you may have caught it off your partner.

Damp skin can cause yeast infection.  Any area of the skin that is kept damp is likely to turn white and crinkly - maceration is the medical name for this - and the skin lose it's defensive capability.  Meaning the macerated skin is much more easily damaged and more easily taken over by a yeast infection.

Yeast infection can be caused by the use of corticosteroids - steroids in other words.  These drugs, lotions, creams, tablets, and some types of asthma medication, all normally have the characteristic of being anti-inflammatories.  Anti-inflammatory medication suppress the inflammation response, which is part of the body's natural immune response to infection.  By supressing this immune response, yeast infections can be caused.

Finally, when we talk about yeast infection causes, we are actually talking about those things that allow this normal yeast fungus to grow and thrive, becoming an infection.

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Good luck from: Loni (Researcher and writer ) Donald (Editor and web master).

Remember, this STD web site, like all our web sites, is an educational one. It is NOT designed to diagnose nor treat but to offer understanding, ideas and options for you to discuss with your doctor.

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