- With Mayo Clinic internist
James M. Steckelberg, M.D.
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James M. Steckelberg, M.D.
James Steckelberg, M.D.
Dr. James Steckelberg is a consultant in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a professor of medicine at Mayo Medical School.
A native of Fremont, Neb., Dr. Steckelberg was a Rhodes Scholar and graduated from the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine as a resident in internal medicine and a fellow in infectious diseases, and is board certified in both. He is the former director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory at Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Steckelberg belongs to numerous professional organizations. He is a founding member of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He has served on many Mayo Clinic committees and is a member of the Department of Medicine Leadership Committee and of the executive committee of the Division of Infectious Diseases. He also served on the editorial boards of "Mayo Clinic Proceedings" and "Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy" and has been an editorial reviewer for more than a dozen publications.
Dr. Steckelberg's research interests include experimental models of infection, epidemiology of infection, and antimicrobial resistance and therapy of bacterial infections.
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Question
Male yeast infection: Can I get it from my girlfriend?
Can I get a yeast infection from my girlfriend? I thought only women got yeast infections.
Answer
from James M. Steckelberg, M.D.
It's possible for a man to contract a genital yeast infection if he has unprotected sexual intercourse with a partner who has a genital yeast infection. However, just because your girlfriend has a yeast infection doesn't mean you will get one too. Sexual transmission of yeast infections is uncommon.
Many people are under the impression that only women get genital yeast infections. Regardless of your sex, though, prolonged antibiotic use increases your risk of a yeast infection. Also, men and women with diabetes or impaired immune systems, such as those with HIV, are more susceptible to yeast infections.
Signs and symptoms of a male yeast infection include a reddish rash, along with itching or burning at the tip of the penis. Fortunately, most male yeast infections are easily treated with an over-the-counter antifungal treatment, such as Monistat (yes, men can use it too). Apply the medication directly to the affected skin twice daily for a week. If the rash doesn't go away, or if it recurs frequently, consult your doctor.
If you and your partner have symptoms of genital yeast infection, it's important that you both be treated. Otherwise, you may keep reinfecting each other. Also, it's generally recommended that you refrain from sexual contact until all signs and symptoms of the infection are gone.
- Vaginal yeast infection. National Institute of Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/vaginalyeast/Pages/Default.aspx. Accessed April 8, 2010.
- Superficial fungal infections. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com. Accessed April 8, 2010.
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