While searching for news today, I found this new article called Yeast Infection The Mouth. It covers general information, and many causes of oral thrush and mouth yeast infection in people from many walks of life, and most importantly: how to treat them. It also underlines how it is very important to get a proper diagnosis of your yeast infection before seeking treatment. Check it out here.

And remember you can get to digitalscryer.com’s Yeast Infections Treatment Page here. And their catalog here.

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I found this new article on Infection Pregnant Yeast. It covers general information, and many causes of yeast infections in pregnant women, and how to treat them. It also underlines how important hygiene is. Check it out here.

And remember you can get to digitalscryer.com’s Yeast Infections Treatment Page here. And their catalog here.

Technorati Tags: Infection Pregnant Yeast, Pregnancy, Yeast Infections, Yeast Infections Pregnancy, Yeast Infections Treatment

Today DigitalScryer.com released their official Yeast Infections Treatment Page. You can access it by going here or get to their catalog directly by going here.

We highly recommend you do.

Yeast Infections Treatment

Yeast Infections Treatment Catalog

This article I found today greatly underlines how important it is to get a concrete diagnosis of having a yeast infection before beginning a Yeast Infections Treatment. If you begin treating for something you don’t have you can make yourself sick, or aggravate any appartnet or non apparent problems you may have.

Check it out here: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=470758&publicationSubCategoryId=64

Technorati Tags: Diagnosis, Misdiagnosis, Natural Yeast Infection, Yeast Infection, Yeast Infections Treatment

Aspergillus is one of the most prevalent fungi in the environment. Although these fungi are ubiquitous outdoors, they appear in high concentrations only in hot arid southern climates. The fungi are filamentous in presentation and are usually found in soil and decaying vegetation.  They produce abundant airborne spores during dry seasons.  There are over 200 species of Aspergillus; however fumigatus is the most pathogenic to humans. 

Aspergillus infection is termed aspergillosis. The clinical presentation and severity of the disorder depends upon the species of Aspergillus and the physiological state of the patient.  The presence of Aspergillus in sputum may represent recent inhalation of fungal spores rather than a true pathogenic process. When the immune system is suppressed due to factors such as chemotherapy, disruption of normal flora, or underlying debilitating disease; Aspergillus can invade the human body and colonize organs such as the lungs, nasal passages, and the eyes. Yeast Infections Treatment can be used to help with other fungal infections like these.

Aspergillosis may present as three distinct clinical entities— 1) non-invasive bronchial allergic form, 2) invasive or disseminated aspergillosis, and 3) aspergilloma.  These may represent various degrees of fungal invasion but not necessarily progressive stages of infection. 

Aspergilloma or Fungus Ball

Aspergilloma, represents a saprophytic (any organism that lives on dead organic matter, as certain fungi and bacteria).colonization of preexisting cavities in the lung.  Also known as mycetomas or fungus balls, aspergillomas account for approximately 60-75% of cases of pulmonary aspergillosis and frequently require surgery. The aspergilloma lies free in the lung cavities, but can be located anywhere. Many times the fungus ball grows in a part of the lung which had a previous tuberculous infection

Course of Aspergillomas

Aspergillomas usually occur in individuals with pre-existing cavitary lung disease like:
-    sarcoidosis
-    pulmonary tuberculosis
-    lung abscess
-    bronchiectasis
-    cystic fibrosis
-    lung cancer
-    chronic obstructive lung disease. 

Medical conditions that may predispose to aspergilloma formation include diabetes mellitus, cancers, long term steroid therapy and other immunosuppressed states that increase the individual’s susceptibility to aspergilloma formation. Pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common predisposing cause of aspergillomas. Multiple aspergillomas have also been reported.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION

Individuals with aspergilloma may be asymptomatic, and many times the lung lesion is incidentally discovered by routine chest x-ray. The most common presentation is hemoptysis (coughing up of blood), occurring in 50-80% of patients, and may be alarming and life threatening. 

Other less common symptoms include:
        -chest pain
        - fever
        -a chronic productive cough (with a foul taste and odor)
        - shortness of breath
        - weight loss
        - chills

Physical findings of failure to thrive and Blue nails (clubbing) are usually related to the underlying chronic lung disease.

Course of Aspergilloma

Occasionally an aspergilloma will experience natural breakdown and spontaneous resolution. However, most lesions remain with more than 50% giving rise to coughing up of blood (hemoptysis).

The degree of hemoptysis may vary from frequent minor and moderate episodes to a single massive hemorrhage.  The risk of massive hemoptysis does not appear to be related to the size or duration of the disease process, the underlying lung disorder, or the presence of previous major episodes of hemoptysis. 

Death from massive hemoptysis occurs in 5-30% and can occur in both simple and complex types of aspergillomas.

X-Rays

On a chest x-ray an aspergilloma typically appears as a round density 3-6 cm in
diameter.  Changes in the position of the patient cause the density to move within the cavity.

CT scans are useful to determine the boundaries of the fungus ball within the cavity.  Calcification along the edges or within the fungus ball may be visible in chronic lesions.  Occasionally, an aspergilloma may present as poorly visible cavity or as empty cavities.

End Of Part 1, Part 2 soon to come.

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DIAGNOSIS

Aspergillus can be usually identified in the oral cavity.  It is easily identified in oral secretions and grows readily on culture.  The diagnosis of aspergilloma is frequently first suspected because of the typical chest x-ray appearance.  

The sputum of a patient presenting with hemoptysis should be examined under polarized light for calcium oxalate crystals frequently detected in pulmonary aspergillosis.

Because aspergilli are ubiquitous saprophytes, an accurate diagnosis of aspergillosis cannot be made by culturing the fungi unless the specimen was obtained under sterile conditions.

Sputum culture is not useful in confirming diagnosis because a single positive result has little specificity.  Falsely positive sputum cultures may occur even when the cavity does not communicate with the bronchial airways.  Positive sputum cultures are more common in complex than in simple aspergillomas.  

Frequently one may have to look inside the airways with a special scope and collect the fluid to analyze for Aspergillus

TREATMENT

Medical Treatment

Although systemic therapy with anti fungal drugs (amphoterecin-B and 5-flurocytosine) is efficacious for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, it is ineffective for aspergilloma because of poor penetrance into the fungus ball.

Percutaneous Techniques

Sometimes a needle is advanced under x-ray though the skin and into the chest and the drug is delivered directly into the fungus ball

However, these techniques should be undertaken with discretion, since massive bleeding can result.  These methods may be useful as a last resort in patients who are inappropriate surgical candidates.

Management of Hemoptysis

Initial medical treatment for a patient with aspergilloma presenting with mild to moderate
hemoptysis includes bed rest in the up-right sitting position, oxygen via a face mask and anti-cough medications.  Most patients receive systemic anti-fungal agents and antibiotics however this has been unsatisfactory.  When the hemoptysis is severe, an aggressive approach must be utilized.  

The biggest threat during coughing up of blood is aspirating into the other lung.  There are a variety of ways to initially control the severe hemoptysis.

SURGICAL INTERVENTION

Asymptomatic aspergillomas usually do not require treatment unless the patient presents with a mass of unknown etiology.  

Although there is the ominous implication if major hemoptysis occurs, routine elective surgery is not undertaken to remove aspergillomas. This is because a significant number of patients have advanced chronic lung disease with limited lung reserve and are not surgical candidates.

Indications for Surgery

It has been suggested that the presence of an aspergilloma is in itself an indication for surgery, however most surgeons recommend resection only for complications in patients with adequate lung function.  Because the complication rate following surgery is high, symptoms of hemoptysis or severe cough should be significant enough to justify the risks of surgery.

SURGICAL COMPLICATIONS

Because surgery is often arduous and the aspergillomas are generally secondarily infected with bacteria, postoperative complications are common.  

The literature demonstrates a variable mortality rate ranging from 10-43% after surgery.   

Factors found to contribute to the increased mortality include failure to thrive, loss of weight, widespread disease, and extensive secondary bacterial infection.

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Blastomycosis is a fungal infection caused by the organism blastomyces dermatitidis. It is a very common infection in certain parts of the USA. Blastomycosis is usually acquired by inhalation of the fungi from dry air. Once the fungus is inhaled, it gets trapped in the lungs and provokes an inflammatory reaction. Often the infection is mistaken for tuberculosis. The yeast continue to multiply in the body and generate what is called a granuloma (thick swelling containing inflammatory cells). Thus they require a Yeast Infections Treatment.

Not everyone who inhales blastomyces gets symptoms. Nearly 50% of individuals have no symptoms. The symptoms often do not show up for 4-6 weeks.

Even the symptoms of the infection are quite variable. In some cases one may only have a dry cough, whereas in others there may be a skin rash with ulcers and a severe shortness of breath.

Besides the lung, Blastomycosis also affects the skin, bone and prostate gland. Rarely the fungus may infect the brain and other organs.

Endemic Area in USA

In the USA, Blastomycosis is quite common in central and SE part of the country (Mississippi river, Ohio River and Great lakes). The real incidence is not known as many people are asymptomatic and there are no reliable methods to make a diagnosis. In some areas of the Mississippi where the fungi is endemic, rates as high as 40 per 100,000 have been reported.

Blastomycosis is a global disease. Cases have been reported in Canada, Africa, South America and India.

Blastomycosis is a rare cause of death. Healthy individuals rarely die from an infection but individuals who are immunocompromised do have a high mortality.

Blastomycosis is more common in men than women, but this is more likely due to the fact that more men work outdoors. The majority of individuals who do acquire Blastomycosis are in the 3-5th decade of life but the infection can be acquired at any age.

Symptoms

Flu like illness with a dry cough general fatigue, muscle ache and headache is a common presentation. These symptoms usually resolve in a few days in most healthy individuals.
Some individuals can present with a productive wet cough, high fever and chills.

Others may develop a wet cough, coughing up blood, intermittent fevers, chills, weight loss and sweating at night. This presentation is often mistaken for tuberculosis.

When the bones are involved one may have joint pain. Prostatitis may present with difficulty urination.

Skin lesions are generally asymptomatic and often present as a dry ulcers.

Physical exam is often unremarkable. Rarely one may observe small round swellings which are blue to purplish on the face, neck or legs. The skin may have an open sore or ulcer like features.

End Of Part 1, Stay Tuned For Part 2

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Diagnosis

The diagnosis of Aspergillus bronchitis is quite difficult; often the symptoms are mistaken for a virus infection, allergy or a sinusitis. The chest x ray may show lesions in the lung but there are only seen in less than 10% of patients. Blood work may reveal elevation of certain types of white blood cells (eosinophils) which may provide a clue to the physician that he/she is dealing with an allergic induced infection. Very rarely there may be antibodies provided towards the fungus.

Analysis of the sputum may reveal Aspergillus but often this may be a contaminant.

Treatment

If the patient has no symptoms, one can observe. There is no need to treat any asymptomatic patient. There are some individuals who have minor symptoms like cough or wheezing and these can be treated with bronchodilator therapy. Often these individuals will improve with time.

In any case, fluids and rest are highly recommended for individuals who have symptoms. There are many over the counter decongestants and cough syrups that can help, as well as other Yeast Infections Treatment.

However, there are individuals who develop severe wheezing following allergic Aspergillus bronchitis. These individuals do require treatment.  Neither systemic anti-fungals nor antibiotics are ever needed for these patients.

Corticosteroids remain the mainstay of treating symptomatic individuals. Corticosteroids can dramatically reduce the symptoms but the duration of therapy is not known. Most physicians administer a high dose of corticosteroids for a short period and observe the response. If the chest X ray is clear and the symptoms have subsided, the corticosteroids can be discontinued. If the chest x ray continues to show evidence of lung injury, the corticosteroids have to be continued.

If blood work reveals that the white cell count of eosinophils is increasing or that the wheezing is getting worse, then corticosteroids should be continued.

If you continue to wheeze, the physician may give you a prescription for an inhaler.

Prevention

Most healthy individuals do not acquire the allergic Aspergillus bronchitis. Individuals who have a history of asthma, allergies or sinusitis are more prone to this infection. To prevent the allergic bronchitis, it is important to follow some precautions:

Keep the doors and windows closed during the summer.  This will prevent the spores from coming in the home. When mowing the lawn wear a mask, or better still let someone else mow the lawn. If you smoke, stop; avoid second hand tobacco smoke exposure. If you do work outdoors, take your asthmatic medications just in case you develop wheezing.

Get yourself the annual flu vaccine. Sometimes this may help protect you from a concomitant viral infection.

Technorati Tags: Aspergillus, Bronchitis, Yeast Infections Treatment

This is a great and indepth video posted by healthyinformation.com about the basics of yeast infections. I like this video because Dr. Whiting goes into great depth regarding how many different ways yeast infections can affect our bodies. Their symptoms are wide ranging and varied, and so this illustrates how they are responsible for either a myriad of diseases or how they are responsible for the misdiagnosis of these diseases.

His cricisms about diets as a Yeast Infections Treatment is very interesting. It really jibes with my own personal feelings regarding masking symptoms versus removing their actual underlying causes. He then goes over the causes of yeast infections, where you can get them etc. A lot of this information is completely applicable to men as well as women, even though the video is focused on women.

He also gives out a free yeast evaluation test, which is awesome. The sales pitch at the end is okay, I don’t completely agree with oxygen flushing as the be all end all as a Yeast Infections Treatment, but it couldn’t hurt. All in all a good video, very informative.

Technorati Tags: Cure A Yeast Infection, How To Cure Yeast Infections, Natural Cure Yeast Infection, Yeast Infection, Yeast Infections, Yeast Infections Cure

Aspergillus is one of the most prevalent fungi in the environment.  Although these fungi are ubiquitous outdoors, they appear in high concentrations only in hot arid southern climates. The fungi are filamentous in presentation and are usually found in soil and decaying vegetation.  They produce abundant airborne spores during dry seasons.  There are over 200 species of Aspergillus; however fumigatus is the most pathogenic to humans.  Aspergillus infection is termed Aspergillus. The clinical presentation and severity of the disorder depends upon the species of Aspergillus and the physiological state of the patient.  The presence of Aspergillus in sputum may represent recent inhalation of fungal spores rather than a true pathogenic process.  Nosocomial infections can result from contamination of hospital air with Aspergillus spores in inadequate ventilation systems.  When the immune system is suppressed due to factors such as chemotherapy, disruption of normal flora, or underlying debilitating disease; Aspergillus can invade the human body and colonize organs such as the lungs, nasal passages, and the eyes. Fortunately Aspergillus has much in common with yeast and can be managed with Yeast Infections Treatment.

Aspergillosis may present as three distinct clinical entities— 1) non-invasive bronchial allergic form, 2) invasive or disseminated aspergillosis, and 3) aspergilloma.  These may represent various degrees of fungal invasion but not necessarily progressive stages of infection.

Aspergillus Bronchitis

The allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is a non invasive infection.Aspergillus is acquired by inhaling the spores of the fungus. Many healthy individuals who work outdoors are exposed to the spores and do not develop an infection. However, individuals who are susceptible may develop symptoms of bronchitis. It is very rare to acquire this type of Aspergillus while working indoors. Transmission from person to person is unheard off. Most individuals who acquire the fungi work outdoors. The bronchitis is more common in adults than children and is often mistaken for asthma or a viral infection, Yeast Infections Treatment can be helpful.

Symptoms

The symptoms of the allergic Aspergillus bronchitis include the following
-    low grade fever
-    productive cough
-    wheezing
-    chest pain while inhaling
-    tenderness in the chest
-    tired and fatigue
-    sore throat
-    nasal congestion
-    shortness of breath

Some individuals may develop a runny nose but the mucus is often clear.Not all symptoms occur in all individuals, but a cough and wheezing are common.

Technorati Tags: Aspergillus, Bronchitis, Yeast Infections Treatment