When Yeast Infections Can Be Dangerous

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Candida yeast is the cause of male yeast infections, oral thrush, vaginal yeast infections, and rashes on the skin.

Yeast can mutate quickly in the presence of anti-fungal drugs, just as bacteria can mutate to become resistant to antibiotics. The ability of Candida yeast to adapt and become drug resistant has caused considerable alarm among the medical profession, and some yeast infections can be dangerous. In fact, Candida infections kill up to 10,000 people in the United States each year.

For patients with a compromised immune system, a yeast infection can be dangerous, or even life threatening. A common yeast infection in AIDS patients called esophagitis may form in the upper digestive tract. This is an infection very similar to thrush, but it extends down from the mouth into the esophagus and stomach.

This type of infection can cause painful ulcers that make it too painful to swallow foods and liquids, so there is a danger of becoming dangerously dehydrated. Infections that spread to the intestine can cause malabsorbion of nutrients from food.

Blood-born Candida infections are also possible in patients with an immune system deficiency, and these infections can spread to the brain, causing changes in behavior or mental functioning. These systemic infections may require hospitalization and treatment by IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, the fatality rate is extremely high in immune-compromised patients.

Any Candida infection in a patient with a compromised immune system, including oral and vaginal yeast infections, must be treated quickly. Women who are undergoing chemotherapy treatment should be particularly cautious about attempting to treat a yeast infection with over-the-counter medicine ? a visit to your doctor is a much wiser choice.

Drug-resistant strains of Candida yeast are found in some hospitals, where the yeast organism has adapted to the use of disinfectants and strong antifungal drugs. These invasive strains of yeast can attack post-operative patients, and must be treated aggressively.

This risk is particularly common in some third-world hospitals, but it is causing increasing concern here in the US and other developed nations, as well.

Some scientists are also concerned that the increasing use of anti-fungal medications for common conditions like nail fungus can create drug-resistant strains of yeast.

Just a few of the recent studies are listed below:

? One recent study in Italy has found a possible vaccine for Candida infections, and they hope to begin human testing in the near future.

? Another study has discovered an anti-fungal compound found in a sea sponge that lives in the Indian Ocean. They hope this discovery will lead to a new treatment for fungal infections that threaten AIDS and cancer patients.

? Scientists at Johns Hopkins University have found that a drug normally used to treat heart problems may also be helpful in combating chronic fungal infections.

Much more research must be done. Until then, anyone with a compromised immune system, because of AIDS, chemotherapy, or some kinds of cancer, should seek medical care immediately if they have any symptoms of a yeast infection.

Jonni writes full-time about important health issues, including yeast infections. For a FREE Report called ?4 Important Facts About Yeast Infections,? visit her site at http://www.YourYeastInfection.com