Candida Yeast Infection Signs and Symptoms – The Common And Not So Common

It has been stated by many health-care professionals that virtually everyone exhibits minor symptoms of candidiasis, while about one third of the population (at least in the West) is severely affected, and in my experience over many years I support this remarkable assertion. In many cases, a definite diagnosis is very difficult, if not impossible.

Sometimes only a series of vague symptoms shows the patient that everything is not all that well, and at times no end of medical tests, examinations or pathology (lab) tests will confirm a definite “disease”.

Sometimes an inexperienced practitioner will overlook many of the the vague symptoms described below and treat the patient for something other than Candida.

I know this all too well, after having helped countless patients with Candida for years who had visited other practitioners of natural and Western medicine and were diagnosed with indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, parasites, constipation, gallstones, inflammatory bowel disease, anxiety, insomnia, and a whole host of other complaints. Some of these patients were truly desperate to get help and had become disillusioned about treatment and wondered if they would ever get well. Some of these patients have proven to be quite difficult cases to deal with, but their journeys have shown that recovery is possible.

It’s imperative to know the severity of your symptoms, before you start any treatment or consider that you have candida overgrowth. That is why I ask all my candida patients to take my candida quiz to find out their score and only then move forward with any treatment. You can take the quiz here.

Spot the Candida Patient

I have in most cases found that when a patient comes into my clinic with a very restricted diet and multiple digestive complaints, complaining of many food allergies and sensitivities that there is a big chance they will have a major candida problem.

Many such patients will often have a bag full of supplements including various products such as probiotics, digestive enzymes, parasite cleansers, immune support products, bowel products such as psyllium, glutamine and more. Is this you? Then you are in the right place at the right time.

Perhaps you are a practitioner who is reading this? Then please suspect Candida in your patient and try some of the tests and get a feel for the signs and symptoms below.

The Most Common Signs and Symptoms of a Candida Overgrowth

Candida overgrowth can potentially cause so many symptoms, there are several however that we see recurrently in the clinic.

Here is a list of the most common signs and symptoms I have seen in my naturopathic practice spanning twenty years. You may well recognise some right away, others you may need to think about. Check your toenails, do you have any itchy parts of your body? Does you digestion frequently cause you trouble? These are all tell tale signs.

Here are the most common signs and symptoms:

• Fatigue, bloating, flatulence (gas),
• Food allergies, carbohydrate craving,
• Vaginitis (thrush)
• Impaired memory, poor concentration, a “foggy” brain with feelings of unreality, and general weakness
• Tiredness or malaise.
• Toenail fungus
• Cystitis/urethritis (urinary tract infection – painful, burning or “stinging” sensations when trying to urinate),
• Menstrual irregularities,
• Stiff, creaking and painful joints,
• Muscle pain,
• Indigestion,
• Diarrhoea/constipation,
• Inhalant allergies, multiple chemical sensitivities,
• Mucus or catarrh, hay fever, sinusitis, persistent cough,
• Heart arrhythmias,
• Discoloured nails, acne and other skin eruptions ( nail and skin issues are classic tell-tale symptoms of candida),
• Earaches, headaches, and dizziness.

Candida May Contribute To Different Diseases

Candida may also contribute significantly to the causation of a number of medical conditions as diverse as premenstrual tension, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, urticaria (itchy skin/hives), adrenal fatigue, ileocaecal valve dysfunction (pain in the gut), and childhood hyperactivity.

The role and specificity of Candida in some of these conditions is discussed below under the headings male, women and children. Now let’s look at these symptoms in more detail.

Candida Albicans – Common and Not So Common Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms listed occur with digestive and candidiasis, they are not all found at the same time in a person and many have been experienced by Candida patients to some degree.

In medicine, symptoms and illnesses are grouped together according to the organ or system affected. This suits Western medicine, because then the patient can be sent to the appropriate specialist to solve the presenting problem associated with his or her specialty. This is not how we work as professional natural therapists however.

The Candida toxins can affect just about all cells of all organs and systems of a person’s body thereby causing any or all the symptoms listed below. I have grouped them together simply for your convenience:

A candida infection, especially when chronic, is enough to drive anybody crazy. I personally suffered for years with anxiety and depression as a result of my own personal battle with candida albicans.

My doctor thought I was nuts and it drove me crazy that nobody would take me seriously when I spoke of having a foggy head, poor concentration and having a feeling that my head was tingling.

Can you relate to any bizarre or strange symptoms that nobody can seem to get a handle on? Maybe you should read this page carefully and see what other signs and symptoms you have because there is a big chance that you may be suffering with a candida infection like I was for years.

• Alterations or disturbances of smell, taste, sight or hearing
• Blurry vision, spots before the eyes
• Eyes: erratic vision, spots in front of eyes (eye floaters) and flashing lights off to the side of vision, redness, dryness, itching, excessive tearing, inability to tear, etc. Many and varied eye/visual symptoms can be present.
• Feeling of swelling and tingling in the head, brain fog.
• Loss of self-confidence or self esteem
• Irritability, can have a very short fuse, impatient.
• Nervousness, agitation and panic attacks.
• Poor concentration
• Headaches – dull, background headaches
• Earaches, itchy ears
• Confusion
• Mood swings
• Dizziness, light-headed
• Drowsiness, especially when inappropriate
• Numbness, tingling or weakness. This can be the tongue, hands or feet.
• Poor memory – especially short term
• Hyperactivity – especially with children
• Agitated
• Crying or emotional spells
• Depression – especially the week before a period in women
• Feeling of “cotton wool” in the head
• Feelings of “unreal” or spacey
• Feeling of being drunk or inebriated

Got any of these symptoms?

While we all experience the symptoms listed every now and then, the severity is totally different if you are suffering from candida infection.

Gastrointestinal Candida Infection Symptoms

Candida infections cause an incredible about of digestive complaints, in fact over half of all patients I see in my clinic presenting with digestive problems have a candida infection. One of the “best kept secrets” of being successful in my clinic is to help patients overcome their digestive problems – by tackling their candida infection.

Do you have an unresolved digestive complaint? You may well have a candida infection and if you read through the bullet points below you may recognize several of these complaints:

• Bloating or abdominal distention, needs to loosen the waistband regularly
• Flatus, lots of gas
• Indigestion, easy after meals. Foods upset easily
• Heartburn, some foods can be real triggers. You may know them well.
• Abdominal pain. You may have one particular spot that raises concern.
• Persistent diarrhoea or constipation or alternating bouts of each.
• Mucus in stools.
• Hemorrhoids with itching.
• Burning tongue, tongue symptoms are common with many.
• Appetite can be affected, a person may feel a low grade nausea.
• Cravings or addictions for sugar, bread, pasta and other high carb foods, and also particularly alcohol in the forms of wine and beer or fruits. (this is a big one)
• Mouth sores or blisters, canker sores, dryness, bad breath, a white or yellow coating on the tongue in the middle or back (thrush)
• Blocked salivary glands and even recurring stones in the sub-mandibular or parotid glands I have seen associated with a few chronic Candida cases.
• Stomach complaints: helicobacter pylori bacteria, heartburn, indigestion, hiatus hernia, acid reflux, belching, vomiting, burning, stomach pains, needle-like or sharp, “darting” pains, food that seems to sit in the stomach like a lump. Any fullness after meals which is not related to hypochlorhydria (an under active tummy)
• Patient is suffering from recurring bacteria gut infections, i.e. salmonella, E. coli, h. pylori, etc

Genito – Urinary Candida Infection Symptoms

Did you know that a candida infection can affect your urinary system?

It is important to remember that yeast like to multiply and thrive in areas that are dark, warm and moist. And your digestive and urinary systems are perfect places for yeasts to hang out. Do you suffer from recurring urinary tract infections, prostate issues or have a child or adolescent with a bed wetting problem, and have you ever considered candida to be a causative factor?

• Kidney & bladder: infections (especially recurring), cystitis (inflammation of the bladder with possible infection), urinary frequency or urgency, low urine output, smelly or consistently strange coloured urine, difficulty urinating, burning pain when urinating.
• Male-associated urinary/sexual problems: jock itch, loss of sex drive, impotence, prostatitis, infections, difficulty urinating, urinary frequency or urgency, painful intercourse, swollen scrotum, etc. Is the male a beer drinker? Suspect candida if he is an drinks beers regularly and complains of prostatitis, itchy skin, burping, bloating, and other symptoms listed here.
• Female-associated urinary/sexual problems: infertility, vaginitis, vaginal thrush or irritations, unusual odours, napkin staining, endometriosis (irregular or painful menstruation), cramps, menstrual bleeding or irregularities, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS – especially cravings for sweet, hydration and depression two to three days before period), discharge, painful intercourse, loss of sexual drive, redness or swelling of the vulva and surrounding area, vaginal itching, burning or redness, or any persistent infections.
• Fluid retention, puffiness around the body.
• Cystitis – burning on urination is a very common symptom, especially if recurring in male, female or child.
• Bed-wetting

Skin and Nail Candida Infection Symptoms

I have seen many and varied skin rashes, itches and “funny” patches clear up on people’s body after a successful application of my candida cleanse and treatment program. Many of these patients were diagnosed with skin conditions with strange and weird names by a dermatologist and were prescribed a cream to “treat” the complaint. Isn’t it obvious that you won’t treat a skin complaint without treating the cause?

Here are some of the more common manifestations of skin and nail related symptoms:

• Jock itch, groin infection in men.
• Oral candidiasis, oral thrush.
• Dryness, red or white skin patches.
• Intertrigo – skin fold problems (under breasts for example) and related skin irritations
• Athletes foot, or Tinea (red, itchy feet and toes)
• Nail problems – discoloration / brittle, thickening nails.
• Itchy scalp and dandruff
• Red, scaly eyelids
• Psoriasis
• Seborrhoea
• Contact dermatitis (I treat ALL dermatitis cases for Candida first)
• Acne rosacea and vulgaris. (many acne cases respond well to dysbiosis control)
• Babies: colic, diaper rash, thrush (coated white tongue), and cradle cap.
• ANY fungal infections of the skin or nails, i.e. ringworm, seborrheic dermatitis, dark and light patches on the skin (tinea versicolor), etc. Nails may appear patchy, crusty or discoloured.
• Odours: of the feet, hair or body that are not relieved by washing or deodorants. Several patients over the years have come back 12 – 18 months after my candida treatment program and commented on how they “don’t smell that bad anymore” from the armpits and body in general. Do you have a strange odour you can’t seem to wash away? Then suspect a Candida overgrowth.

Musculo-Skeletal Candida Infection Symptoms

A little known fact is that candida overgrowth infections can cause symptoms of the muscles and joints. I’ve seen many patients over the years with “unexplained” aches and pains which disappeared once their candida infection was treated.

A lot of my referrals at my clinic came from osteopaths and chiropractors, specially athletes.

You will often find that many of these complaints below occur in conjunction with digestive complaints described above.

Can you relate to a problem affecting your muscles or joints that no doctor or specialist can come close to diagnosing of helping you with? Have you considered candida?

• Muscle aches and pains (especially if unresponsive to other treatments
• Joint pain, stiffness and swellings – both the small and large joints.
• Creaking of joints.
• Numbness, burning or tingling sensations in muscles.
• Lack of strength and co-ordination.
• Bruising easily
• Cheekbone or forehead tenderness or pains
• Cold hands or feet, low body temperature.
  

Nose, Ear, Throat and Respiratory Candida Infection Symptoms

Do you have itchy ears or a dry scratchy throat? What about a persistent cough, coughing up small amounts of mucus in the mornings yet do not smoke? You probably have a candida infection.

• Persistent nasal congestion or stuffiness a key symptom
• Sinus inflammation, swelling and excessive mucus or infection
• Flu-like symptoms, coughs (low-grade the will not go away, can be worse in warm, cold or stuffy environments) and recurring colds
• Excessive mucus in the throat, nose and ear canals (ears “popping”), sinuses, bronchial tubes or lungs. This can be particularly worse after meals or on rising.
• Joint pain and swellings – both the small and large joints.
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus), funny “fluttering” sounds in the ears, ear infections, swimmer’s ear, dryness, itchiness, ear pain, ear aches, ear discharges, fluid in ears, deafness, abnormal and/or a continual wax build-up. I have found many ear and hearing problems associated with candida infection.
• Sore throat, hoarse voice, constant tickle in the throat, laryngitis (loss of voice)

Other Candida Signs and Symptoms

• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and diabetes. I always treat the diabetic for candida at some stage.
• Cysts and polyps, abnormal formation of, in different parts of the body, especially around the ears, neck, throat, and ovaries, and in the bladder, groin or scrotal region.
• Glands: swollen lymph nodes.
• Sleep: insomnia, waking up frequently, nightmares, restless sleep, etc.
• Sick all over feeling.
• Can feel like nobody understands you and why you feel so terrible in spite of all the doctor’s tests coming back as “normal”.
• Fatigue (chronic fatigue syndrome or Epstein Barr) or a feeling of being drained of energy, lethargy, drowsiness.

This covers most of the signs and symptoms of candida I have seen over the years.

Experiencing Candida symptoms can feel overwhelming, but learning from others who have faced similar challenges can be a game-changer. To help you gain deeper insights, we’ve documented 30 case studies on our YouTube channel, showcasing real stories of individuals who found relief and reclaimed their health. Click here to watch these inspiring journeys and see how different strategies have helped others combat Candida.