Causes of Yeast Infection

When someone is suffering from a yeast infection, it is ultimately caused by one thing and one thing only. It is a fungus known as Candida albicans. However, not everyone gets a yeast infection just by having these fungi on their body. There will usually be another cause that actually causes the fungus to grow and overgrow.

Medications

• For some people, a yeast infection is caused by antibiotics. This is largely due to the imbalance antibiotics can create in the body, and specifically within the vagina. When a substance like an antibiotic is ingested, it can cause "good" bacteria to be damaged and killed. Some of these "good" bacteria are responsible for controlling the number of C. albicans within the vagina. As less "good" bacteria are present in this environment, an imbalance is formed, allowing C. albicans to overgrow and thereby causing a yeast infection.

Diet

• For other people, a yeast infection can be caused by their diet, especially when the nutritional quality of this diet is fairly low. Since the C. albicans fungus is already present on the skin, not getting enough nutritious foods can cause an imbalance in the vagina, much like in the case of antibiotics. However, this cause doesn't have anything to do with the decrease in "good" bacteria; it actually involves an increase of sugars within the environment. As the balance of sugar within the vagina increase, the C. albicans fungus can use it to reproduce at an exponential rate, causing a yeast infection.

Oral Contraceptives

• Many times, a yeast infection is caused by the use of oral contraceptives. As a woman uses birth control pills, she can experience a change in her hormones. This hormonal change can affect the balance of acidity within her vagina. When the hormones and acidity change, the C. albicans fungus has a better chance of reproducing, causing a yeast infection.

Pregnancy

• Following along the same line as hormonal changes, it is also possible for a woman to suffer from a yeast infection due to a pregnancy. When a woman becomes pregnant, her body will go through a number of changes, one of which being hormonal. This can create the imbalance that has been mentioned earlier within the bacteria naturally found in and around the vagina, potentially causing an overgrowth in C. albicans and prompting a yeast infection.

Immune System

• There is also the potential for a compromised immune system, as would be seen in diabetes, HIV, AIDS, stress and other immune disorders, to cause the development of a yeast infection. When someone's immune system in compromised, the body isn't as effective in the actual management of the C. albicans fungus, meaning it is no longer able to successfully keep the amount of fungus in the body low. If this were to happen, the C. albicans can now reproduce faster, eventually allowing for a yeast infection.

Another Person

• While most people will develop a yeast infection from an imbalance of their system, it can also be contracted, according to the Mayo Clinic, though this is highly unlikely. If someone were to have unprotected sex with someone who is suffering from a yeast infection, there is the slightest of possibilities that he could contract a yeast infection.