Do Men Get Yeast Infections

It is a well known fact that in the Western world around 75% of women will develop a yeast infection at sometime during their lives, many will develop multiple yeast infections during their lifetime. What you may not be aware of is that men can and do develop yeast infections too.

All of us have the bacteria candida albicans present in our bodies, it is this bacteria, which under certain conditions leads to yeast infections. The candida is found in our intestines and is generally quite harmless as it's growth is usually kept under control by our "friendly" bacteria and a healthy immune system.

If something affects this delicate balance, the growth of candida can become excessive, it can then travel to other parts of the body such as the mouth, throat and genitals.

One major cause of this excessive candida growth in both men and women is the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-biotics. These drugs cause an imbalance in the body which can prevent your friendly bacteria from keeping candida growth under control.

Thrush infections in men are also often caused by sexual transmission from an infected partner or are due to excessive consumption of sugars and yeast.

Therefore if your partner is suffering from a yeast infection, it is most important that you use condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse. You should also be aware of how much sugar or yeast is in your diet and make any changes you think necessary to help your body strike a balance and keep the candida growth under control.

If you are a male and you think you may be suffering from a yeast infection, here are some of the symptoms to look out for. Itching, problems during sexual intercourse, cravings for sugars, mood swings, abdominal bloating, diarrhea, headaches, tiredness and low levels of concentration.

Many men find the idea that they maybe suffering from a yeast infection highly embarrassing, however if you have any of these symptoms then you could have a yeast infection, so it could be worth getting yourself checked out by a medical professional. If you do not treat the infection it will only get worse and also you will be at risk of infecting or re-infecting your sexual partner.

Infact this is one common reason why peoples yeast infections return. One partner may pass the infection to the other, but the only one partner receives treatment. This means that the untreated partner will simply re-infect the other, thus creating a vicious circle of re-infection.

Treatment can be quite straightforward, however the problem with treating yeast infections is that you are normally treating the symptoms and not the cause, so there is a very high likelihood of the yeast infection returning. You really need to try and address all the symptoms and then try to figure out the underlying cause of your yeast infection. If you can successfully identify and then treat the underlying cause of your yeast infection, then the likelihood of it reoccurring is much lower.