We often think of yeast issues as being primarily a women’s issue but this is certainly not the case. While women tend to get localized yeast infections more often, men can easily get systemic yeast overgrowth from the same causes as women such as antibiotic use, steroids, and of course sexual transmission. The problem is that often men do not have a lot of overt external symptoms as women do and hence feel that they do not have this problem. Typical symptoms of systemic candida in men would include jock itch; nail fungus, digestive disorders, penile discharge, fatigue, and fuzzy thinking. In recent months we have seen a rapid rise in candida overgrowth in some children. It seems that certain conditions such as autism, immune disorders and compromised digestive issues as examples, can predispose children to both local and systemic yeast overgrowth. It is also possible that a child can pick up the yeast problem during birth if the mother had significant yeast overgrowth in the birth canal. While children most often “outgrow” their yeast problems as their immune system develops, some other conditions, if present, can reduce or even prevent the body from dealing with candida on its own. These are reasons why if one member of a family has yeast issues, all members of the family should take our evaluation test, which you can find the link to on our home page. Parents should be easily able to complete the test for their younger children and see the results. If the yeast symptoms seem to be isolated exclusively in the digestive area, it is likely that the overgrowth may still be confined to this local area. Classic symptoms of a systemic candida situation include, fatigue, sinus irritation and infections, fuzzy thinking, poor memory, skin rashes, nail fungus, and headaches for no other reason. Check back next month for information about the yeast free diet.
