Usually yeast is our friend, living in harmony with us, helping us make fluffy bread and hearty beer, even inhabiting our digestive system. But one particular fungus among us, Candida albicans, often grows beyond its normal stable levels, causing a yeast "infection" (also known as candidiasis or monilia). In the vagina, for example, an overgrowth causes itching, redness and other annoying symptoms, and an infection in the mouth (called thrush) causes sore, white patches. Do you know how to keep yeast beasties in place?
First published Jan 18, 2001
Last updated Aug 29, 2007
Copyright © 2001
Consumer Health Interactive, a CVS Caremark company
