Genital Candidiasis – Male and Female Yeast Infections

Genital candidiasis, or yeast infections, are fungal infections which occur in the genitals. Vulvovaginal candidiasis is the most common in women, but men get genital yeast infections too. An estimated 75% of women experience this problem at least once in their lifetime. The symptoms include itching and swollen vaginal area, a whitish and sometimes clumpy discharge with no odor, and occasionally burning when you urinate.

That being said, you should know how you can get a yeast infection, so that you can more easily prevent them in the future.

Did My Partner Give Me My Yeast Infection?

Now, if you have a yeast infection, you might be wondering what caused you to get one. Did your partner give it to you? Did you do something wrong to your body? The answer is that most often, the cause of a yeast infection starts within your own body, so it’s not a sexually transmitted disease.

What Caused My Yeast Infection?

The simple cause of a yeast infection has more to do with the delicate balance of yeast and bacteria in the body. When you take antibiotics, for instance, all of the bacteria in your body die off. This means that you cannot keep the yeast in your body in check. Yeast also thrives on sugar, so the more sugar you consume in your daily diet; the more likely you are to experience a yeast infection.

Anytime you experience an “unchecked” overgrowth of candida in your body, you are likely to experience a yeast infection of the genital area. The reason that it’s so common in this area is due to the fact that the vagina is damp, dark and warm, and yeast thrives in damp, moist areas. So, given a chance, it will grow and thrive and cause you discomfort.

What You Can Do For Prevention of Genital Candidiasis

There are some things which you can actually do that will help to prevent yeast infections in your body. While it might be unavoidable to take antibiotics every now and then, you will likely find that many of the other causes can be controlled, which means that your chances of suffering from genital candidasis can drop dramatically.

• If you have a yeast infection, either avoid sexual intercourse or practice safe sex to minimize your chance of being re-infected more than anything. Some women are more vulnerable than others to this occurrence.  So just take a few extra steps to prevent this scenario. Often it is too painful anyway until you are ‘back in balance.’

• Don’t eat too many “yeasty” products. Breads and highly starchy, sugary foods should be avoided so that you don’t encourage extra yeast growth in your body.

• Eat yogurt every day. The ones high in acidophilus, contains the highest amount of good bacteria, so dress it up with some fruit and granola while working to rebalance your system. After you’re balanced, you can probably get away with only eating yogurt every couple of days for maintenance.

• Wear cotton panties and don’t wear tight pants or pantyhose without your cotton panties. This can encourage growth of yeast in the vaginal area. Plus wearing thongs can aggravate the problem too.

• Don’t douche. The body has its own cleansing mechanism and when you douche, you only throw that off and can cause a yeast infection.

Can You Transmit Genital Candidiasis?

As you can see, the yeast is a balance in your own body that when disturbed causes a problem.

It is not a sexually transmitted disease as so many people worry about it being. So, now that you know that you haven’t actually “transmitted” anything, or caught anything, so you can stop worrying. It’s likely that your vaginal yeast infection was caused from factors within your own body and you can now better treat your yeast infections naturally and avoid getting it in the future.

That said, if you are not sure of your problem, do not self-diagnose! Please check with your health practitioner.