Usually, it's kept in balance by good bacteria within our bodies, but every once in a while when there's an imbalance between the good bacteria and then the bad bacteria, it allows the candida to grow. And as a result of that, then you end up with an infection of the vagina, which is called vagina candidiasis. So anybody who has a vagina can get uh, yeast or candidiasis, okay?

And it's more common in females after puberty and before menopause. That's before they stop having their menses. But then there are certain factors that can result in you having an increased risk of getting yeast infections. 

So over 75% of women are going to get at least candidiasis once in their life, alright? And it's the second most common cause of vaginal discharge. That's fluid coming out of the vagina. 

And the first one is bacterial vaginosis, which I'll talk about in another video.

So now what are the things that make it more likely for you to get a yeast infection? Now if you take antibiotics a lot, the antibiotics can kill the good bacteria in your system and the vagina, which are supposed to prevent uh, the candidiasis from overgrowing. So you end up having overgrowth of candida resulting in infection of the vagina.

 Now also pregnancy and hormones, anything that disrupts the normal level of hormones. Now hormones are the chemicals in our system that affect certain organs like the reproductive system, and your fertility, every time you have your menses, there are different levels of hormones happening in your blood. 

So if you are pregnant and if you've been pregnant before, you realize that you may experience a lot of itching or discharging your vagina because the hormone levels have changed at certain times of your cycle, you are also more likely to have vaginal candidiasis Or if you're taking contraception such as birth control pills, they can also disrupt your hormones and increase the chances of you having candidiasis.

Now if you have unmanaged diabetes, diabetes is a condition where you have high levels of sugar in your blood. Now, high levels of sugar make it easier for bad bacteria to grow within our systems. So Candidiasis likes a sugar-rich environment to grow. So if you have unmanaged diabetes, you have an increased risk.

 Now if you have a reduced or weakened immune system. Now when COVID-19 came, we were all talking about the immune system, the immune system. Now the immune system is simply your body's ability to fight disease or to help you recover when you fall sick. So certain conditions like HIV or if you're having treatment for cancer through either chemotherapy or radiation therapy, can reduce your immune system. Even stress can reduce your immune system and then also put you at an increased chance of having candidiasis. Now there are also some certain things in our lifestyle that can also increase our risk of having candidiasis.

So let's say we are, we go for exercise or we go and sweat in the sun and we don't change outta those wet and sweaty clothes quickly. Or you go swimming and you stay in your wet clothes for a long time. It can also help increase the chance of you having candidiasis if you've been using uh, center tampons.  Tampons are something that a few ladies use when they're having their men. Normally the chemicals that give you that sense or using vaginal spray and deodorants can sometimes disrupt their environment in your vagina and increase the chances of you getting candidiasis. 

Now also stress if you have a very stressful lifestyle, I say it can affect your hormones as well, it can also reduce your immunity. 

Now the type of clothing you wear, if you like to wear nylon underwear or very tight underwear or you wear g-string or you wear thongs, those things make it easier for a lot of moisture to gather down there and it makes it easier for the candidate to also flourish.

And if you have a poor diet, unbalanced richness and sugar, taking a lot of ice cream, and sweet sugary drinks, it can also increase your chances of getting candidiasis.

Now also, if you do, um, douching, now douching is where people use various soaps and chemicals to wash their vagina. Now if you use those soaps and chemicals, they can end up killing the good bacteria over there which are keeping the candida in check from overgrowing. 

 So usually we advise that you just clean the place with normal water and you keep the place as dry as possible.  Now every woman has some normal vaginal discharge, which is usually clear sometimes things that burn to yellow, those ones are normal, but you should just keep the place clean and dry instead of douching. Alright? 

Also, if you have sexual intercourse with a partner who has candidiasis of the vagina or the penis, you can also transmit the disease, yes, a few times men may also have an infection of the penis with candida. 

Now if you share underwear with somebody who has vaginal candidiasis or candida, definitely you are gonna get it. Or if you are using hormones, like I said before, there are some which you have to insert into your vagina. It can also result in you having a higher chance of getting vaginal candidiasis. 

Alright, so in part two of this video on vaginal candidiasis, I'm gonna tell you about what things normally happen to you, where you get candidiasis, how you'll be able to know you have candidiasis, and also how you can treat candidiasis. Dr Nana K here!

Bye