My Candida Story

Below are some simple yet effective home remedies that can restore the balance and get rid of yeast infection.

Tea Tree Oil – is an effective yeast infection home remedy. The solution can be prepared by mixing one spoon of tea tree oil with one spoon of rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. Mix the solutions until the colour turns milky white. It’s best to use a dropper bottle as it easier to apply. Add ten drops of this solution to a pint of water and use this daily for one week. It is not recommended to use tea tree oil during pregnancy and it is advisable to consult your doctor if you intend to use any kind of treatment during your pregnancy.

Sugar Free Yogurt – is another excellent home remedy used to get rid of yeast infection. It is the active bacterial properties found within it that help get rid of the yeast. This very simple yeast infection home remedy can be used for vaginal yeast infections. Simply dip a tampon into a sugar free yogurt and insert into the vagina. Do this twice daily until your symptoms disappear. For other types of yeast infection, simply apply the yogurt on the affected surface area and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. The reason for sugar free yogurt is because yeast feeds on sugar.

Garlic – is another yeast infection home remedy. Simply insert one garlic cove into the vagina and leave it in for a few hours. Do this for two days and you should see an improvement.

All causes of infection are the same for any fungus infection and an excessive intake of antibiotics and other drugs simply weakens your immune system. What to do? Find out if you’re infected with a simple saliva test. If your saliva just dissolves and dissipates there is likely no infection.

THE “ITCHERS”

Balantis (commonly referred to as “the itchers”) affect the male genital organs. It causes you to experience burning and hot sensations, feels tender to touch, creates soreness and is red in appearance.

CANDIDA OR TURF FIGHTERS

The candida or turf fighters are fungi which affect the whole body. You must rid your system of this bacterial type immediately as it is considered quite severe and, in certain extreme instances, may even prove life threatening.

HOW PREVALENT IS THIS INFECTION?

Americans spent about $24 billion on over-the-counter anti-infection products in 2004. The amount spent has increased exponentially since then and has become a very lucrative business, making ever-increasing billions in sales each year. Hundreds of different manufacturers produce thousands of products consumed by over 17 million people in the United States alone.

HOW YOU GET INFECTED

Studies show the intake of certain foods is one important cause of yeast infection. These foods include bread, other bakery products, alcoholic beverages, beer, wheat products, corn products, peanuts and barley. When ingested molds from these food groups take up residence in your digestive system and become systemic.
The fungus thrives in the warm moist areas of the body. Tight clothing and underpants make the wearer perspire and create a very favorable habitat for these bacteria.

COMMON SYMPTOMS

Common symptoms include bad breath, bloated indigestion, memory loss, athletes foot, jock itch, and prostate problems.

CURES AND TREATMENTS

Over The Counter (OTC) medicines can be used to help relieve itchiness and burning feelings until yeast infection is cured. Change underclothing as often as possible. To treat apply OTC medicine directly to the infected area on the penis twice daily for a week.

If the infection is extreme I recommend you see a doctor for a prescription of Diflucan or Nizal.

THREE NATURAL CURES THAT RELIEVE AND ERADICATE SYMPTOMS

ONE — Vinegar. That’s right. Diluted vinegar. It’s important not to apply pure vinegar directly as this may irritate the genital area. Never apply straight to the area without diluting first with water.

TWO – Organic Coco Oil. Take one or 2 teaspoons a day for one month. The organic coco oil, an oral medication, works by exploding the nucleus and plasma of the inside of the yeast cell, thus killing it.

THREE – Unsweetened yogurt (4 oz) may be eaten 2 or 3 times per day to counteract the bacteria. You may also experience rapid short-term relief by applying unsweetened yogurt directly to the area.

This of course brings us to the growth of the health club phenomenon. There’s no doubt that a health club is a popular way for many to increase the activity in their lives. Unfortunately, they also have been responsible for increasing the incidence of many foot borne conditions such as athletes’ foot and toenail fungus.

This isn’t to say that there’s a direct relationship between going to the health club for exercising and a foot fungal infection. You can contract both athletes foot and/or nail fungus from many places. It should be recognized however that public areas such as those found in many health club locker rooms and showers are ideal places to pick up these very common problems. You may want to follow the link below to learn more about nail fungus and treatment options.

Both tinea pedis (athletes foot) and onychomycosis (nail fungus) are the result of contracting a fungus that grows on your skin and nails. These conditions are much easier to pick up in public shower and locker areas if only because there is more opportunity for you to come into contact with others who may already have the problem. This fungus can be transmitted from one person to another in that almost perfect environment found on many public shower and locker room floors.

One indicator of the potential risk is mold. If the shower area, shower curtain or even the ceramic tile floor appeared to have black mold growing, it’s a good indicator that these areas are not being cleaned effectively.

A person with athletes foot or onychomycosis can innocently spread the condition by walking around in the locker rooms and shower areas with bare feet. You can then pick up the fungi, which will develop into either or both of these conditions in the dark, damp and sweaty environment of most athletic shoes.

It’s possible to limit your exposure to this potential risk by using that high-tech footwear known as the flip-flop. If your feet do not come in contact with the public floors, your risk of picking up any foot related condition will be minimized. Flip-flops are great because they dry quickly and can be worn even in the shower area.

Another suggestion is to be certain to dry your feet and try not to use the same footwear for exercising as you do during the day. Remember that fungi like dark and damp. By keeping your feet dry, you’re less likely to provide an ideal growing environment. By using a different pair of shoes, your feet won’t be bathed in the sweat and moisture created from exercising.

If you do come down with a case of athletes foot or toenail fungus and realize that both are very common and unfortunately chronic in nature. It’s important however that you take action as soon as the fungus is noticed as it will continue to grow and become quite unattractive and even painful. There are many treatment options for a fungal infection that you may want to consider. These range from very expensive anti-fungal prescription drugs to more natural solutions.

Remember that Candida Albicans is an opportunist. Candida yeast numbers millions in a healthy gut but if it is not kept in a healthy balance it will invade every inch of the six feet long human gut. Candida yeast does no harm; it is a non invasive organism that ferments sugar. Once it crosses the line and become fungi it develops long root like structures or rhizoids. In fungi, these rhizoids grow as they feed on digested sugars. The rhizoids eventually penetrate the intestinal walls, causing leaky gut syndrome.

How Candida precisely works against your body does depend partly on your genes and your lifestyle, with the latter having a greater impact. If there is a strong genetic propensity that you will inherit a compromised immune system, that does not mean that you will have a Candida overgrowth. No symptom, disease or illness is caused by one factor alone. If you take care of your diet, drink moderate amounts of alcohol, exercise regularly and moderate your stress levels and get plenty of sleep you can overcome a genetic tendency. Unfortunately, for many people this is simply too much effort and they allow themselves to fall victim to an unhealthy body system.

Another factor which affects how the Candida yeast infection works against our bodies is age and gender. It is a common misconception that men do not get yeast infections, they do, but compared to women theirs is not as severe. Seventy percent of sufferers are women and typically, they will have thrush or another vaginal infection.

Children are more likely to suffer from oral thrush, white sores in the mouth which are highly infectious. Small children are more at risk because of the fondness for stuffing anything and everything into their mouths. When a child places a toy that has been in the mouth of a child with oral thrush, they could get it too. The mouth offers a perfect host to yeast infections, it is warm and moist. It is also possible to catch Oral thrush at any age, it is common in patients with a seriously compromised immune system such as those that have Aids or are HIV positive.

Cutaneous Candidiasis is a fairly common skin infection generally caused by a Candida infection; again it targets the warm moist areas, such as the groin, and the armpit. The obese are more at risk because of the excess number of warm skin folds available for the yeast. It is also common inside a diaper in small tots. Candida can also cause onychomycosis, a fungal nail infection whereby the nail gradually works its way from the finger.

You can try immunotherapy. When using immunotherapy you are to steer clear of sugary foods and all yeast foods. You will be given oral drops or an injection to improve your immune system and decrease your allergic response. However, this will not keep candida infections away at all times. The best way to cure a yeast infection naturally is to get rid of the yeast issue internally.

To start off you will need to follow a diet that is also healthy for you. As mentioned, in your diet you should stay away from sugary foods, carbs, molds and yeast foods. Keep away from dairy unless you choose to use goat’s milk or sheep’s milk. Beta carotene may help fight off yeast infections. You can find beta carotene in apricots, cantaloupes, carrots and broccoli and spinach. The rule of thumb is orange fruits and green leafy vegetables.

Eat foods to keep your body’s balance intact as far as alkaline and acid. Foods with acid your body needs are the majority of meats, fish, grains and dairy. (Remember to stick with sheep milk and goat’s milk.) Foods with alkaline include, but are not limited to, foods with calcium, potassium, magnesium, cesium, sodium, almonds, green juices, and most fresh vegetables.

By following a healthy diet you are helping to prevent yeast infections naturally and safely. Not only will you cure yeast infections naturally, but you will feel better overall from changing your diet and bettering your health. You will have more energy and we all could use that in this fast-paced world.

Imagine not having to go to the doctor for reoccurring yeast infections that are so uncomfortable and embarrassing to most people. You will not have to risk taking antibiotics and once treatment is done, you may end up with a candida infection. Your body needs good bacteria and when you take antibiotics they kill the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria.

Change your diet today to successfully cure yeast infections naturally.

What Causes This Infection?

These infections can appear anywhere there is an imbalance, like skin folds, armpits, breast, etc. these skin problem need to be treated right away. Otherwise, complications arise as pain appears, and the infection gets much worse.

There are many causes of yeast infection. This skin infection may be cause by the use of antibiotics, which usually kill the bad bacteria and the good ones, too, producing an imbalance that needs to be treated to get the body back to normal. It can also be passed on from another person who is infected.

Cures For The Skin

The first thing to do when treating yeast infection in the skin is to try to eliminate the cause for the infection. A cause may be the sweat that is hidden in the skin folds, which can be avoided using nystatin powder to keep these places dry. Wash the area and make sure it is dry before applying the powder.

If you do not like powder, there is a great variety of creams and ointment you can apply in the affected area to fight fungus. You also need to wash and dry your skin before applying it. Be careful when following the instructions on the package, and wash your skin again before reapplying it.

Another treatment for yeast infection is to consume yogurt because of the live bacteria cultures that it possesses. This product will help the body get the bacteria balance back to normal besides helping the digestive system. However, this is not reliable as the only treatment for skin yeast infection.

If you do not wish to see a doctor, there are a few things you can do at home. First of all, you can go to the pharmacy and buy some antifungal creams. Apply the cream to the infected area. You should also pay attention to your hygiene. In particular, you should keep the infected area dry most of the time. This is because yeast grow in area that is moist. Also, make sure that you clean the infected area properly. This may sound common sense but many people are not doing so. If your self treatment doesn’t work and you are still experiencing itchiness, you should definitely see your doctor.

“That stuff” on your foot isn’t dog poop. That stuff is tenia pedis, a.k.a. athlete’s foot (a/f). A/f is an infection of the skin caused by the invasion of a fungus. Think of it like mushrooms taking up residence in your skin. As the fungus takes root, it produces damaging effects on the skin such as cracking, peeling, scaling, itching, and in severe cases bleeding.

How do you get it?

A/f can happen to anyone, not just athletes. A/f is acquired through physical contact with infected surfaces. These can include the tiled floors of showers and bathrooms, or the skin of an infected person. In addition, a/f can be spread through the sharing of garments like socks and even towels with infected individuals. This is crucial because the parasitic fungus that causes the infection is able to spread and survive on other body parts, like the groin for example. When this happens, a/f morphs into its ever so popular cousin, jock itch. He’s a big hit with all the ladies (yeah right!)

How do I know if I have it?

The easiest way to determine if you have a/f is to look at your feet. Visual inspection of the surface of the skin is the number one way to see if you’ve got it. The presence of cracking skin, blisters, and exposed tissue are all signs you have a/f. Not to mention the pain, itchiness, irritation, inflammation, and swelling that accompany these things. If you’ve taken a visual stock of the affected area and still aren’t sure, the best thing to do is seek professional medical help– Most likely in the form of a dermatologist.

Treatment & Prevention

Grandma used to say “prevention’s better than the cure” so let’s start there. The key to a/f is moisture, so keeping dry is an essential. Make sure to dry your feet (and the rest of your body) thoroughly after showering. Do not use wet towels to dry off, and do not share towels, socks, and under garments. Disinfect the shower/tub after each use to help kill any present fungi. Wash your sheets and socks in warm water (140 degrees F) and change them often. If your feet sweat, try adding a little talcum powder, baking soda, or gold bond powder to your socks to absorb any additional moisture and try to change your insoles regularly. Oh, and before I forget, here’s a little trick to help prevent jock itch. Put your socks on before your underwear. I know it sounds cheesy, but work with me people. Now if you find yourself beyond the prevention stage, don’t fret there’s still hope. A/f can be treated with various topical antifungal agents like creams or aerosol sprays like “tough actin’ Tinactin”.

In extreme cases, doctors have been known to prescribe a series of orally ingested antibiotics. So that’s the long and short of it. Keep up on your hygiene and you should be good to go. If not, see a dermatologist and determine which method of treatment is best for you. Whatever you do, don’t urinate on the infected area. People have tried to pee on their feet in the shower in an effort to kill the fungus and rid themselves of the infection. All they ended up with was athlete’s foot and stinky feet too!

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