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Can Candidiasis Cause Diabetes?

Candidiasis is a bacterial infection that is more commonly known as a yeast infection. Yeast infections are caused when the colonies of yeast bacterium that normally live in the body become overgrown due to opportunistic conditions. They typically occur in areas of the body that are dark and moist, such as the mouth, underarms, and female genital organs. While candidiasis can recur frequently in diabetic individuals, the infection is the result of the diabetes, not a cause.

  1. Candidiasis and Diabetes

    • While there are several specific types of the condition, all forms of diabetes are characterized by the body's inability or resistance to insulin production. Insulin is an amino acid generated by the pancreas for the purpose of processing glucose, also known as blood sugar, into energy. Due to this insulin deficiency, diabetics tend toward higher glucose levels than a non-diabetic, meaning there is can be a consistently higher concentration of sugar in their system.

      Candida, the type of bacteria responsible for candidiasis infections, feeds on this sugar causing faster than normal reproduction and colony expansion. Additionally, as immune function is compromised by diabetes, the body is unable to clear the infection as effectively as a non-diabetic body.

    Symptoms of Candidiasis

    • The most symptoms of candidiasis are an uncomfortable itching sensation around the area of the body infected, whether it is the mouth, underarms, or in between the toes. Female diabetics experiencing a vaginal yeast infection may also an increased urge to urinate, abnormal odor, and thicker discharge than normal.

    Diabetic Effects

    • It is important that candidiasis infections be treated as soon as they are identified, especially in diabetic patients. While candiasis will not cause diabetes, it does sap immune resources from other areas of the body, leaving the person more susceptible to other opportunistic infection. Also, when the immune resources of a diabetic are consumed by fighting a chronic infection, blood sugar levels tends to be harder to control.

    Candidiasis Treatment

    • Treatments for candidiasis in the various locations of the body are generally easy to apply and clear the infection within a week. Topical anti-biotic applications, such as creams, may be applied to the surface areas that are infected, where vaginal inserts may be used to clear genital infections. In some cases of extremely persistent colonies, an oral antibiotic regimen may be prescribed.

    Causes of Diabetes

    • While candidiasis is not a cause of diabetes, there are other elements that affect an individual's vulnerability to developing the condition. Type I diabetes is a congenital condition, however Type II diabetes can be triggered by genetic predisposition, obesity, or a diet that is consistently high in carbohydrates and complex sugars.

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