Yeast Infection In Throat – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Many of us may not know much about this, but we have a lot of bacteria all over our bodies called normal flora. These bacteria live in our bodies without affecting our health. Our bodies and the normal flora live in a commensalism type of relationship where one benefits and the other is neither harmed not benefited. These bacteria will not cause us harm if they stay in their designated places in the body. If they happen to transfer anywhere else, then our bodies may be in for a battle—an immune system battle.

Yeast infection is a type of infection which is caused by the bacteria called Candida albicans. These bacteria are a type of opportunistic organism which will invade any tissue of the human body whenever they are out of the place of origin. These bacteria are present all over our bodies. They can be found in abundance over the skin, the mouth, the pharynx, and the urogenital track. The common symptom of yeast infection in the throat is increased salivation, sore throat, redness and swelling, clumpy thick creamy discharge from the throat, and a smell which ranges from old bread to rotten fish. Since these bacteria are present in the mouth and in the pharynx, why are there only few people affected with yeast infection of the throat?

The most common cause of yeast infection of the throat is the inadequate treatment of a previous infection in the mouth. If a person is infected with a yeast infection of the mouth, the person is usually prescribed with an antibiotic. The problem with most people is that they do not finish the desired dosage and frequency of the medications once the symptoms have subsided. This will eventually cause tolerance of the bacteria to a weak antibiotic as well as rapid proliferation. This rapid proliferation will cause the bacteria to travel to the nearest body part which is the throat. Although these reasons may not be true to all, some people experience throat yeast infection because they have ingested food which is full of fungi. The ingestion will cause the bacteria to proliferate and infect the throat.

Another popular reason why people get this infection is through sexual contact. Those people who have multiple sex partners should be careful about practicing oral sex. The genital area is full of Candida bacteria and if you have ingested enough then you might get yourself an infection. The rates of healthy people getting yeast infection from non infected partners may be low but the incidence of such an infection is highest when the sex partner has a previous history of the disease.

Some women who are also fond of taking contraceptive pills are also at risk because certain medications may cause the bacteria to multiply in large amounts. People who have a weak immune system will also be at risk because of the bacteria in the body will compete for the nutrients available and the immune system may not be enough to mediate between the competitions. This will again cause a rapid multiplication of the bacteria.

This type of infection is easy to cure. It is very important that people should follow the dose and the frequency of the antibiotics to prevent recurrent infection as well as the spreading of the infection to other people.