Yeast is a single celled fungus that occurs naturally in the human body. In the medical circle, it is known as Candida. There are 20 species of Candida, the most common being Candida albicans. It generally resides in the hot moist area on the surface of the skin. It cannot manifest itself as long as the body system has the right amount probiotis, the beneficial bacteria in the body. When the probiotis are killed or the pH factor becomes unbalanced, the yeast starts growing too rapidly for the body to control and manifest itself as yeast infection. The technical term for yeast infection is Candidiasis.

Candidiasis is not an uncommon infection. As long as the infection is confined to outer surface of the body, it is quite harmless, though very uncomfortable. If by chance, because of some cut on the body surface, it enters the blood stream, it becomes systemic and turns fatal. Therefore, the treatment for yeast infection should start as soon as the infection is noticed.

Yeast infection generally manifest in places warm and moist, like:
1.    armpit
2.     under the breast
3.     in the folds of skin
4.     inside the mouth
5.     in the vaginal area
6.     under the foreskin of the penis
7.     between the toes

The infection first manifest itself as red patches and soon it starts itching. Further manifestation varies from locality to locality. In an open area, the infected part becomes covered with scalloped edge rash. A white coating, which is hard to remove, covers the inside of the mouth. A yeast infection in the vagina causes itching and soreness and sometimes pain, especially when one urinates or has sex. Some women also have odorless thick white discharges that look like cottage cheese.

However, odorless thick white discharge is some times misleading, because the discharge in itself is not diagnostic. It is important to have it clinically checked before starting any treatment of yeast infection.

If the symptoms are mild, you may want to wait a bit before you see a doctor or start taking prescribed medicines. You may want to see if the infection goes off on its own. Meanwhile, you can try some excellent home remedies that have been passed down through generations. Unsweetened yoghurt and garlic are two remedies that you can use without any qualms. Have unsweetened yoghurt before your meal and you can use that externally also. If you have vginities or vaginal yeast infection, you can dip a tampon in yoghurt and insert it in the vagina. Yoghurt contains probiotics that help in fighting yeast. Inserting a garlic clove in the vagina gives immediate relief.

Since the infection is caused by a misbalanced body system, the best treatment of yeast infection consists of bringing back the balance in the body. There are some dos and don’ts to be followed while undergoing treatment for yeast infection. Since the yeast infection manifests due to the lack of probiotics that keeps the yeast population under control, it is imperative that you should increase the intake the medicines and food that has the much-needed supply of probiotics. At the same time, stop taking anti bacterial medicines and birth control pills that destroy the probiotics in the body. Avoid animal fat and by-products, sugar and dietary yeast. Try to keep the body parts dry. Do not wear tight or wet clothes for long. Wear cotton clothes that allow air circulations.

Yeast infection medicine consists of antifungal cream, tablet or suppository. If the infection is limited to a particular area, it is always better to treat it locally with creams, lotions, douches etc, for oral medicines act all over the body and often cause headache, nausea and abdominal pain.

Vaginal antifungal oral medicines are available in 1-day, 3-day or longer courses. It all depends upon the strength of the medicines and the patients’ ability to withstand it. As it has been mentioned, oral medicines often cause headache, nausea and abdominal pain, specially the multi dose ones. However, only a doctor should be able to tell you whether you should undergo local treatment or should take oral medicine and if you should take oral medicines, which course you should take.

There are some excellent Homeopathic medicines, which help to eradicate excess yeast and thus eliminate the yeast infection. Black Cohosh is an herb, which the American Indians used, to treat it. Now this is also found in the medicine form. In fact, there are many excellent nature cures and alternate medicines available in the market and they can compete with mainstream medicines for efficiency. If this is your first infection, you can try home remedies and nature cure. However, you must see a doctor if the yeast infection does get well soon or if it returns after regular interval.