Who is most at risk for Invasive Candidiasis?

Among women with vaginal candida, they are most at risk for invasive candidiasis:

•  People with AIDS. As the reader will recall, AIDS affects the efficiency of the immune defenses;
• Those taking immunosuppressive drugs. This is the case, for example, of women who have undergone an organ transplant;
• Those who are undergoing chemotherapy to treat a tumor. Chemotherapeutics have the side effect of reducing the efficiency of the immune system;
• People with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes promotes the proliferation of Candida albicans ;
• Subjects who have to periodically resort to dialysis (the so-called dialysis). This is the case for women with renal insufficiency ;
• Those who, thanks to a certain health condition, must undergo the insertion of a central venous catheter . The central venous catheter is a medical device used in long-term therapies, to administer fluids, drugs and other substances that the human body needs in the presence of certain conditions.

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 Complications of Vaginal Candida

For some women, vaginal candida is a relapsing / recurring condition , that is, it recurs from time to time; this situation is not serious from a clinical point of view, but it can have significant repercussions on the quality of the patient's sexual life.

• Furthermore, if it affects women in a state of immunosuppression or with particular diseases (eg diabetes), vaginal candida can degenerate into a systemic condition, known as invasive candidiasis (or invasive candida ).
• Invasive candida is the infection resulting from the passage of the fungus Candida albicans ( fungemia or funghemia ) into the blood and its spread to important organs, such as the heart ( endocarditis ), the brain ( encephalitis ), the eyes ( endophthalmitis ) or the bones ( osteomyelitis ).
• Invasive candida can be fatal for the patient, therefore it represents a medical emergency, which must be given immediate help.

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 Vaginal Candida: Symptoms

Typical symptoms and signs of vaginal candida are:

• Pain and itching at the vulva (entrance to the vagina)
• Pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse ( dyspareunia );
• Stinging or burning pain when urinating ( dysuria )
• Leaking fluid from the vagina. Typically, this liquid is odorless, white and sometimes watery, sometimes thick.

Furthermore, if vaginal candida also involves inflammation of the genital area, the symptomatological picture is enriched with further manifestations, such as:

• Redness of the vulva and vagina;
• Vaginal fissures ;
• Local swelling;
• Very painful skin sores (very rarely seen).

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 Is Vaginal Candida a Sexually Transmitted Disease?

According to the medical community, although it can arise from sexual intercourse with affected people, vaginal candida is not to be considered a sexually transmitted disease (such as syphilis or genital herpes ).

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 Vaginal Candida: the Causes

Vaginal candida arises when the defense mechanisms responsible for controlling the proliferation of Candida albicans in the female genitals are lacking.

Remember that Candida albicans is harmless to the human body, as long as the immune system of the latter is able to control its proliferation.

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Factors Favoring Vaginal Candidiasis
Several factors can compromise the efficiency of the defense mechanisms responsible for controlling the proliferation of Candida albicans in the female genitals and contribute to the development of vaginal candida; among these factors, the most important are:

• Misuse of antibiotics . The abuse of antibiotics implies the depletion of that part of bacterial flora responsible for regulating the proliferation of microorganisms such as Candida albicans ;
• Bad personal hygiene . The rough drying of the vagina after a shower or a bath creates a humid and warm habitat, ideal for the proliferation of the Candida albicans fungus ;
• Use of poor quality intimate cleansers . Poor quality soaps and shower gels can irritate the vagina and promote fungal multiplication;
• Suffering from immunosuppression . Those suffering from immunosuppression have an inefficient immune system and are therefore predisposed to infections.
• Generally, immunosuppression is a typical problem of: people with diseases such as AIDS (which undermine the integrity of the immune system), those who take  immunosuppressive drugs  (i.e. drugs that lower the  immune defenses ) and the  elderly  (for reasons physiological);
• Suffering from diabetes mellitus . In diabetic individuals , the high quantity of glucose in the blood (high glycaemia) favors the multiplication of the fungus Candida albicans , as it represents, for the latter, an almost inexhaustible source of nourishment;
• Pregnancy . The characteristic increase in estrogen seen during pregnancy predisposes pregnant women to Candida albicans infection .
• Sexual intercourse with an infected person . A woman who has sexual intercourse with a man with candida can develop the same infection, as she is exposed to a large colony of Candida albicans ;
• Sharing the use of towels , underwear or soaps with an infected person ( mixed use of infected objects ). In these circumstances, what is reported on the occasion of sexual intercourse with people with candida is repeated.