Question

Are yeast infections a sign of a weak immune system?

7 May 2010. Related: All topics, Opportunistic infections, Starting treatment.

I have been having recurring yeast infections for the last 2 years. I have also been having urinary tract infections (UTIs) prior to that and was on and off antibiotics for a while.

I have read somewhere that yeast infections are a sign of a weakened immune system in someone with HIV. My doctor checked my Complete Blood Count (CBC) and everything seems normal.

Is it possible that with normal levels on my CBC my immune system is still weak? Do I need to start medications straight away?

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

I am assuming the yeast infections are vaginal and not oral, is that correct? Yeast infections in the mouth, often called oral candidiasis, is a sign of a weakened immune system and can be a signal that you should start medication.

Yeast infections in the vagina can be slightly different. Often when women take broad-spectrum antibiotics such as those commonly used for urinary tract infections, they get yeast infections. This is often called Thrush. The antibiotics are designed to kill many different types of bacteria, both ‘good bacteria’ that our body needs and ‘bad bacteria’ that cause the UTI.

‘Good bacteria’ exist all over our body including in the vagina where it is able to keep the yeast levels to a minimum. The antibiotics for the UTI can sometimes kill the ‘good bacteria’ as well as the ‘bad bacteria’. This allows for the yeast infection to take hold. After a yeast infection has set in it often takes a long time to get the levels of ‘good bacteria’ back to normal again. This could explain some of your symptoms.

If you are HIV positive and your CD4 count is still high (above 350) and your viral load relatively low you can decide to wait and start treatment when you reach the recommended time to start. Current recommendations are to start HIV treatment when you have a CD4 count of around 350. You should discuss your symptoms with your HIV doctor.

For more information on when to start treatment please follow this link to the i-Base ‘Introduction to Combination Therapy’ guide.