Good Day Solutions

What Are Yeast Infections?

In a report from the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, July, 2004 by Dr. Alan Broughton classifies the varieties of yeast infection fungus as follows:

Superficial

This is a superficial infection that usually involves areas of the skin and mucous membranes such as the axilla, toes, and fingers (including the nail bed), the groin, mouth, and vagina. The diagnosis is made by clinical examination and a swab with direct microscopy identifying the yeast form.

Mucocutaneous

This is a serious condition and is mainly associated with a genetic defect of T cell function ("T" for thymus, a small lymphocyte developed in the thymus which orchestrates the immune system's response to infected or malignant cells.)

Systemic

Systemic invasion by yeast is a very serious condition and occurs in patients with profound immunodeficiency. This immunodeficiency is usually secondary to AIDS, chemotherapy for malignant disease and terminal leukemia. These patients can have lesions in the lungs, liver, kidney, and brain.

Yeast Overgrowth

Intestinal yeast overgrowth was first described in 1957 and has remained a controversial subject. Associated symptoms are bloating, itching and skin rashes. It has been implicated in a variety of ailments from chronic fatigue to immune deficiency.

Dr. Broughton's report goes on to discuss the relationship between yeast infections and leucocyte phagocytic function. That's a mouthful of medical terminology, but its really quite easy to understand. Leucocytes are white blood cells which belong to the wider class of phagocytes, cells that engulf and absorb waste material, harmful microorganisms, or other foreign bodies in the bloodstream and tissues. The presence of chronic yeast overgrowth is associated with difficulty in the first phase of phagocytosis, namely the phase in which an unwanted bacterium, or whatever, is captured by a white blood cell so that it can be ingested, destroyed, and expelled as harmless waste material.

This malfunction is seen not only in yeast overgrowth, but also in other intestinal diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These defects in phagocytosis prevent the normal destruction of the yeast by the leucocytes, and in spite of antifungal therapy the patients only have transient improvement at best.

One way to assist your body in the the destruction of unwanted yeast by leucocytes after it gets into the blood stream, is by daily supplementation with strains of beneficial bacteria--particularly Bacillus Coagulans, Bacillus Subtilis, and Enterococcus Faecalis, contained in ThreeLac. These friendly bacteria will help to destroy unwanted yeast while it is still in the intestine, before it gets into the bloodstream.

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Scientists estimate that 70 percent of people have Candida colonies in their intestines or mouths or on their skin. In most cases, the organism is commensal — it does not harm people, even though it depends upon them for food. However, colonies of Candida sometimes grow too large, as happens in the case of yeast infections. Vaginal yeast infections are a common and painful problem for a significant percentage of women. The oral form of Candida infection, known as thrush, is a common problem for infants.
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