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Although the main site of Candida overgrowth is in the gut, it can also proliferate elsewhere – in the vagina or mouth, and on the skin, especially in damp areas, such as between the toes. The common name used for infections in the mouth and vagina is thrush. In the vagina, thrush produces an intense itching, and an unpleasant discharge in some cases. In the mouth, it can produce a sore throat, or creamy-yellow patches inside the mouth that leave a sore area when they are rubbed off, or tiny red spots that show where the Candida infection has occurred. If Candida gets into a woman’s urinary tract or bladder it can produce a form of q-stitis – characterized by a burning sensation when passing urine.

Babies are very susceptible to such infections, especially in the mouth, where Candida produces a creamy or grey-coloured membrane covering the tongue. In newborn babies, the infection is usually picked up from the mother’s vagina during birth. Some cases of ‘nappy rash’ are due to Candida.

Diabetic women run a higher risk of developing Candida infections in the vagina, because of the sugar in their urine – sugar feeds the yeast. Thrush in the mouth is also more common in diabetics.

In the gut, the main symptom of candidiasis is said to be bloating and wind, because as the yeast ferments its food it produces prodigious quantities of carbon dioxide gas. Diarrhoea and abdominal pain are also common symptoms, probably a result of toxins produced by the yeast. In some people there maybe constipation.

Much more rarely, Candida can invade the eye, kidney, liver or brain, doing serious damage. However, such infections only occur in people with a severe immune defect, a serious disease affecting their hormones, or some other fundamental disorder.

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