Diagnosis of Candida Infection

There is no single test that can provide a diagnosis of candida infection. You and your doctor are likely to gather information from multiple sources.

Candida yeast infection is still difficult to diagnose despite all the new research and findings. In part, this is due to the reluctance of the medical community as a whole to accept the existence of candida infection in immunocompetent individuals. Most conventional physicians believe that candida can only affect severely immuno-compromised individuals such as AIDS and cancer patients.

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The average doctor will usually outright tell the person they don’t have candidiasis because there are no extreme visual signs on the exposed mucous membranes.

However, despite much speculation, even immunocompetent individuals can develop candidiasis. Millions of women who have had a vaginal yeast infection and anyone who has had diarrhea from antibiotics can certainly confirm that.

Fortunately, many open minded physicians are becoming more and more aware of the main indicators of candida infection and are more accurately diagnosing this condition.

Diagnosis of Candida Infection - Factors to Consider

There isn’t one test that can tell you whether you have candida infection. To determine the diagnosis, your doctor will evaluate a mixture of information from your medical history, symptoms and physical examinations to reach a conclusion:

  • presence of symptoms: the diagnosis of candida infection is suspected in patient with chronic fatigue, digestion problems, recurring vaginal yeast infection and other combinations of the many possible candida symptoms. Care should be taken to rule out other health disorders that have similar symptoms.
  • patient history: candida infection is primarily a result of other favorable conditions like antibiotics, high sugar diet, extreme stress, or taking birth control pills. Your practitioner will ask about your medical history and perform a physical evaluation.
  • stool test: an exam of stool sample in specialised laboratories will tell you whether your levels of yeast fall within a normal range. However, the content of the stool may differ considerably from the level higher up the GI tract so this may not be an accurate reflection of the true picture.
  • blood test: routine blood testing usually doesn’t reveal anything unusual. However, blood tests may be done to check if you have developed specific types of allergic responses to Candida organisms
  • trial of anti-candida regime: with no concrete method of diagnosis available, this is usually the most useful test. If you have been suffering from various symptoms of unknown origin, perhaps your doctor will help you in a trial of anti-candida therapy.

REMEMBER: While it can be tempting to label every symptom as being linked to candida, it is always important to keep an open mind to other possibilities.