Candidiasis (candida infection, thrush)

Can­di­dia­sis is a fun­gal infec­tion cau­sed by Can­di­da yeasts, usual­ly Can­di­da albicans. The­se fun­gi are part of the nor­mal human flo­ra and colo­ni­se the skin, mucous mem­bra­nes and intesti­ne wit­hout nor­mal­ly caus­ing any com­plaints. Only when this balan­ce is dis­tur­bed can they mul­ti­ply exces­si­ve­ly and trig­ger dise­a­se. Seve­ral fac­tors encou­ra­ge can­di­dia­sis: a wea­k­en­ed immu­ne sys­tem, anti­bio­tic the­ra­py that dis­turbs the natu­ral bac­te­ri­al flo­ra, dia­be­tes mel­li­tus with ele­va­ted blood sugar levels, pregnan­cy, cor­ti­cos­te­ro­id the­ra­py, tight syn­the­tic clot­hing and mois­tu­re in skin folds.

Sym­ptoms

Oral can­di­dia­sis pres­ents with whitish, wipeable coa­tings on the ton­gue and cheek muco­sa, bur­ning in the mouth and tas­te dis­tur­ban­ces. It occurs par­ti­cu­lar­ly in infants, the elder­ly and peo­p­le with wea­k­en­ed immu­ni­ty. Vul­vo­va­gi­nal can­di­dia­sis is very com­mon in women and mani­fests with inten­se itching, bur­ning, red­ness and a whitish crum­bly dischar­ge. Cuta­neous can­di­dia­sis main­ly affects skin folds such as under the breasts, in the gro­in or bet­ween the toes, with red­ness, wee­ping, itching and small pus­tu­les at the edges.

Dia­gno­sis

The dia­gno­sis is made cli­ni­cal­ly and con­firm­ed by a swab, in which the yeast cells are detec­ted under the micro­scope or in a fun­gal culture.

Tre­at­ment

Super­fi­ci­al can­di­dia­sis is trea­ted with anti­fun­gal creams, oint­ments, pes­sa­ries or mouth rin­ses. Com­mon acti­ve agents are clo­tri­ma­zo­le, mico­na­zo­le and nysta­tin. Tre­at­ment should be con­tin­ued con­sis­t­ent­ly for the recom­men­ded peri­od, even if the sym­ptoms have alre­a­dy subs­i­ded. Seve­re cases requi­re tablets. Good hygie­ne, kee­ping skin folds dry, breat­ha­ble cot­ton under­wear and, in dia­be­tes, good blood sugar con­trol all help to pre­vent recurrence.