Candida is such a difficult condition to diagnose because it can affect each sufferer in a different way, on a different part of their body, in a way that may even be unique to that person.
For this reason, Candida is often misdiagnosed and the symptom is treated instead of the underlying cause, rather like taking a lozenge for a throat infection! Practically, patients often have to diagnose themselves because the symptoms of Candida are so confusing. The consensus is that many more people are suffering from Candida than those few who are diagnosed correctly.
A person with Candida overgrowth may have only 2-3 of these symptoms, or may identify with many.
Mental/emotional/nervous system:
- Headaches and migraine headaches
- Depression
- Crying spells
- Sleep problems — difficulty falling asleep, or waking up in the middle of the night with a mind that won’t calm down (typically between 1 and 3 am)
- Irritability and confusion
- Anger
- Poor memory
- Anxiety attacks, panic attacks
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Heart beating too fast or irregularly
- Sexual problems — impotence or lack of desire, or excessive sexuality
- Attention deficit, hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD)
- Dizziness
- Numbness
- Feeling of floating or not quite being in your body
- Indecisiveness, difficulty organizing and cleaning messy areas
- Poor co-ordination
Digestive system:
- Cravings for sugar, chocolate, milk, cheese, vinegar, pickles, alcohol, bread, nuts or fruit
- “Metabolic syndrome” which includes the following: large abdomen (“beer belly”), adult-onset diabetes, high cholesterol or triglycerides, high blood pressure
- “Beer belly,” also called truncal obesity — excess weight centered around the abdomen
- Water retention
- Acid reflux/GERD (heartburn)
- Indigestion
- Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
- Bloating, flatulence or abdominal pain
- Burping after meals
- Nausea
- Rectal itching
- Constipation and/or diarrhea
- Excessively thin or anorexic/bulimic
Skin, eyes, ears, hair:
- Skin and nail fungal infections (current or past), including: athlete’s foot, vaginal yeast infections, fungal toenails, ringworm, jock itch, tinea versicolor or itchy eyelids
- Eye pain, itchy eyes, sensitivity to light, blurred vision
- Bags under eyes
- Ringing in ears
- Body odour
- Skin problems like eczema, rashes, psoriasis
- Acne
- Prematurely graying hair
- Pupils always dilated
- Unusually green eyes, or eye color has turned greenish
Mouth:
- Thrush (white coating on tongue)
- Swollen lower lip
- Halitosis
- Metallic taste in mouth
- Canker sores
- Bleeding gums
- Cracked tongue
Respiratory System and Immune disorders:
- Asthma and allergies/ sensitivities to food, fragrances and chemicals
- Recurring infections — colds, ears, bladder, sinus
- Sore throat
- Persistent cough
- Mucus in throat
- Chronic post-nasal drip
- Hay fever symptoms
- Autoimmune disease (lupus, hypothyroidism, arthritis, others)
- Penicillin allergy
Whole body:
- Fatigue
- Muscle or joint pain, fibromyalgia
- Cold feet, cold hands, sometimes cold nose
- Sweating, especially at night
- Uncomfortable at any temperature
Women’s health issues:
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
- Endometriosis (chronic pelvic pain)
- Infertility (female), some miscarriages, toxemia of pregnancy (preeclampsia)
Symptoms seen particularly in children up to about 8 years old:
- Early allergy to foods like milk
- Infections as a baby
- Child had or has frequent ear infections, tonsillitis, strep throat or bladder infections, especially if these infections were treated with antibiotics
- Cravings for milk, cheese, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, or peanut butter
- Asthma
- “Drama king” or “drama queen” — complains quite vocally and often
- Poor sleep patterns — difficulty going to sleep, sleeps too lightly or has frequent nightmares, and wakes up too early (or sometimes too late)
- Too thin or overweight
- Attention deficit with or without hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD)
- Aggressive, poor social interactions, can’t stop moving, frequent fights or arguments, frequent crying
- Autism
- Pale complexion, dark circles under the eyes
Two points should be understood with regard to the above list of signs and symptoms of Candida overgrowth. First, while all of the symptoms listed are definitely seen in Candida patients and evidence indicates Candida causes or strongly contributes to the development of these problems, there are other contributing factors that can also bring about some of these problems (such as mercury or other metal toxicity, consistent excess electromagnetic field exposure, underlying viral infections, petrochemical exposure, etc.). Second, treatment for Candida alone will usually bring about significant improvement in these symptoms, but will not be adequate in all cases to restore health. Often additional treatments aimed at improving liver, adrenal or thyroid function, or correcting immune and allergic problems, are necessary to regain health.
Candida Misdiagnosis
Your doctor might confuse any of the following conditions with Candida. The reason is that the symptoms are often exactly the same, and Candida may manifest itself in any combination of those symptoms.
We have listed here some of the possible misdiagnoses, together with the symptom that your doctor has focused on. Remember, your doctor is relying on you for an accurate description of your symptoms, so make sure you tell him everything!
IBS – abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, indigestion
Arthritis – joint pain
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – constant fatigue
Diaper Rash – rashes and itching in infants
Athlete’s Foot – Fungus on toenails
Crohn’s Disease – abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, indigestion
Gastroenteritis – abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, indigestion
A Candida misdiagnosis may actually worsen your Candida overgrowth. If your doctor believes that you have IBS, Crohn’s Disease or Gastroenteritis, he may prescribe the anti-inflammatory Cortisone. This introduces steroids to the gut, which can increase the growth of Candida colonies.
Sweet Like Candi(da) 
A comprehensive and easy to read list! Very helpful, thanks for sharing 🙂
My pleasure 🙂