Yeast infection, also known as candidiasis, is a common condition mainly affecting women of childbearing age. However, it can also affect men, children, and the elderly. When your body gets infected with the Candida fungus, you may develop symptoms such as redness, itching, burning sensations in the vagina, irritation, or pain during sex or urination. Therefore, you should be aware of certain infection causes to prevent them from happening.
The most common cause is poor hygiene or wearing wet bathing suits for too long. In addition, your immune system can become compromised by several factors, such as stress, lack of sleep, excessive intake of sugar or alcohol, and a poorly balanced diet. Certain drugs like antibiotics can also make you more vulnerable to yeast infections.
Having a yeast infection can be a very embarrassing experience, especially if it is the first time it has happened to you. The symptoms can get so bad that they are pretty difficult to hide. Your vagina might be uncomfortable and even have some burning sensations. First, you must understand what causes a yeast infection and why you should avoid it.
Let us go through the other possible causes of yeast infections.
Antibiotic Use
Antibiotic use can cause yeast infections in the genital area, although this is less common than the association of yeast infections with antibiotics for other purposes. Antibiotic use affects the body because it helps reduce the number of healthy bacteria in multiple areas of the body, including the mouth, skin, and vagina.
Antibiotic use can help treat many infections, but there are some side effects to consider when taking these medications. For example, many people don’t realize they have a yeast infection until they have taken antibiotics and experience symptoms like itching or burning and a thick discharge from the vagina. These symptoms are caused by yeast overgrowth within the body, which becomes more common when healthy bacteria levels have been reduced.
In addition to yeast infections, antibiotic use can also cause bacterial vaginosis (which causes a fishy odor). Because of this close connection between yeast infection symptoms and antibiotic use, it’s important for anyone who has recently taken antibiotics to get tested for both a yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis if they aren’t sure what kind of infection they have.
