The yeast Candida albicans is commonly known as one cause of vaginal irritation in women.
It is generally easily treated by common anti-fungal medications.
But there is more resistant yeast that is causing an increasing number of infections in both men and women.
Worse yet, this yeast known as Candida glabrata, is showing the ability to rapidly mutate and tolerate even high doses of most common anti-fungal medications.
Most of us have Candida glabrata on our skin, where it causes us no trouble. But if it introduced into our blood stream, it can cause problems, particularly if we have a compromised immune system, such as occurs with HIV, chemotherapy, or other immunosuppressive treatments. In such cases, a systemic yeast infection can be life threatening.
The best way to avoid infections from yeast is to deprive it of the warm, moist conditions it needs to grow. Having a healthy digestive system with beneficial bacteria also seems to help.
Yogurt with live, active cultures is a good choice if it contains the lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, which is also available as a supplement in health food stores.
Maintaining a healthy blood sugar level also seems to help; diabetics should be especially careful to avoid consuming excessive sugar.
