Yeast Infections—Uncommon Infant and Newborn Problems

It can be scary when your baby is sick, especially when it is not an everyday problem like a cold or a fever. You may not know whether the problem is serious or how to treat it. If you have concerns about your baby’s health, call your health care provider right away.

Learning information about your baby’s condition can help ease your worry. Do not be afraid to ask questions about your baby’s care. By working together with your health care provider, you make sure that your baby gets the best care possible.

• Brief resolved unexplained event — BRUE (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Crying – excessive (0-6 months) (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Failure to thrive (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hyperglycemia – infants (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal sepsis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neutropenia – infants (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Candidiasis, Moniliasis

Candida is the scientific name for yeast. It is a fungus that lives almost everywhere, including in your body. Usually, your immune system keeps yeast under control. If you are sick or taking antibiotics, it can multiply and cause an infection.

Yeast infections affect different parts of the body in different ways:

• Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches in your mouth
• Candida esophagitis is thrush that spreads to your esophagus, the tube that takes food from your mouth to your stomach. It can make it hard or painful to swallow.
• Women can get vaginal yeast infections, causing vaginitis
• Yeast infections of the skin cause itching and rashes
• Yeast infections in your bloodstream can be life-threatening

Antifungal medicines get rid of yeast infections in most people. If you have a weak immune system, treatment might be more difficult.

• Candida infection of the skin (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Thrush (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Vaginal yeast infection (Medical Encyclopedia)