White sores may form on the tongue, gums, and inside the cheeks. In a baby, the white spots of oral thrush may resemble milk spots. Oral thrush in an infant can spread to the mother's nipples by breast-feeding, and can lead to a situation in which mother and baby continually reinfect each other. Thrush may also infect a baby's buttocks, appearing as a diaper rash. Candida infection may also take the form of athlete's foot or jock itch.
Systemic candidiasis is an overgrowth of candida eve-rywhere, throughout the body.
In the most severe cases, candida can travel through the bloodstream to invade every organ system in the body, causing a type of blood poisoning called candida septicemia. Virtually all people with AIDS have some type of fungal infection. Anyone who has been on long-term antibiotic therapy, or has taken antibiotics often, probably has an overgrowth of candida somewhere in his or her body. As it proliferates, the fungus releases toxins that weaken the immune system further. Other factors that increase the chances of contracting a yeast infection include pregnancy and the use of corticosteroid drugs.