--- In rosacea-diet-users-support-group@yahoogroups.com, "Brady
Barrows" <bradybarrows@h...> wrote:
> Nadia,
>
> Can you give so details on what prescription fungicide and
> natural herbal anti-yeast products?

OK. Here's my summary of observation and self-experimentation over a
decade or so.

I've paid I good deal of attention to candida over the years because,
like most women, I have had yeast infections. Researching candida, I
noticed an overlap of symptoms of systemic candida with rosacea.
Candida is also strongly linked to high carbohydrate consumption.

I had also noticed that antibiotics I took some years ago for a kidney
infection improved my skin. This is plausible since antibiotics
designed for bacteria could also kill yeasts (fungi); they can be
rather indiscriminate. (However candida is strongly linked with
antibiotic use, so I definitely try to avoid anti-bacterials
except when absolutely essential.)

Four years ago I took a single course of DIFLUCAN® (Fluconazole
Tablets). It is usually prescribed for vaginal candida, but I
approached a gastroenterologist with the request for a systemic
fungicide. (I see Diflucan and Nystatin, another common systemic
fungicide, are also available without prescription from Rx mail order
sites on the web.)

After the Diflucan, seeing good effect, I continued with specific
natural herbal fungicides (detailed below) for three months. There
are many products and companies to choose from, both for single
preparations and proprietary formulae under names like "Candida
Clear". I make no recommendation of any of particular brands -- you
should go with whatever you have good experience of.

I currently take preventative "food fungicides" daily: garlic (also
for the heart) and sage leaf (also for hormonal balance) with an
occasional intensive treatment. A white furry tongue is often my sign
for an intensive treatment.

For intensive treatment, I use several single remedies rotated in four
day cycles, because a recent finding is that the fungi adapt and
develop resistance to agents. So rotating through several products
should be a more effective treatment for systemic candida (also known
as "candidiasis").

I rotate four or more of grapefruit seed extract, capryllic acid, pau
d'arco, sage leaf (or oil), teatree oil and oregano leaf (or oil) in a
four day cycle. You should be able to find all of these easily on the
web or from your health food store. There are other anti-fungal
agents, such as olive leaf extract, oregon grape and 10-undecenoic
acid derived from castor bean oil, but I use those readily available
to me in Europe.

The liquids are nasty (bitter and or burning) and are most
conveniently taken by purchasing empty gelatine capsules from a
pharmacy and filling them (each time, not for storage) with 5-10
drops. They should be taken with water after food so as not to
irritate internal membranes. Or you can drop the liquids into water or
inside a little piece of bread and quickly swallow without chewing.

If you are uneasy about taking the essential oils internally (this
practice is an established part of the European naturopathic system
but I see strong warnings against this on US websites), then take dry
preparations or find other choices. Check with your naturopath if you
have any doubts.

These products may be "natural" but they should be used with
discrimination and care. Don't assault your body unneccesarily. Check
the web or with a herbalist to see if there are other bioeffects of
any of the agents you propose taking that would make them not suitable
for you. In my case, taking sage leaf is a bonus (in my case!!)
because it is beneficial for regulating female hormones; I decided
against colloidal silver because of the continuing debate over its
safety and efficacy.

Simple candida is quickly eliminated; but if longstanding, then the
fungi have converted from single cell to thread-like growth in the
gut. This causes leaky gut and inflammatory symptoms (eg see Leaky Gut
Syndromes: Breaking the Vicious Cycle). One rule of
thumb is that you should continue anti-candida treatment for one month
for every year of infection. Be consistent and thorough but don't
overdo the "killing part". Your objective is not to completely
eliminate candida -- Candida albicans is normally found in most
people's systems -- rather to enable healing and rebalancing by
moderating "candida overgrowth" (triggered by such things as
contraceptive pills, antibiotics, steroids, immune system disorders,
overconsumption of sugar, alcohol etc.).

When elimating bad bioflora, you will also be removing good ones from
your gut. The ecological approach is to supplement with (probiotics
or "friendly bacteria", eg see
http://www.phototour.minneapolis.mn.us/candida/summary.html) to
repopulate your system with good bacteria and to rebuild your
resistance to candida dominance. Take probiotics at night or at
least some hours distant from when you are taking the antibiotic agents.

It is a good idea to take herbs to soothe and heal the lining of
the gut (like slippery elm, goldenseal, etc), and supplementary
dietary fibre (like ground psyllium seeds) to speed the elimination of
toxins in the stool. You could also consider supplements that support
the immune system (Vitamins C and E, selenium, zinc, beta carotene
etc) and fresh foods that contain these.

A supportive diet is beneficial at this time. The Roseacea diet
without mushrooms or anything fermented, matured, preserved or liable
to have yeasts or mould (=fungus) should be fine. Or look up "candida
diet" on the web to get ideas. Turnips, broccoli, cabbage, onions and
garlic are regarded as antifungal foods. Artichokes and turmeric
support the liver (which has to deal with extra toxins). Green tea has
antioxidants. Cold-pressed oils containing gamma-linoleic acid (GLA),
such as olive, flax, sesame and borage seed oils, are also
recommended, reputedly they prevent the conversion of candida from the
single cell yeast to the invasive fungus form.

You should see an effect within two weeks. If there is no
change in your rosacea symptoms within four weeks then candida is
probably not contributing to rosacea.

One early confirmation that you may have systemic candida are the
lousy "flu-like" symptoms of "yeast dieoff" or Herxheimer reaction.
This is caused by the toxins released from the dying fungi. Some say
that this is a sign you should cut back on the dose of fungicides,
and, more importantly, support the eliminative processes of the body
with lots of water, digestive aids and detoxifying supplements like
molybdenum, zince and copper, and herbs like goldenseal and neem, eg
see http://www.modernherbalist.com/dieoff.html and
http://www.health4her.com/library/concerns/detoxification.asp.

Some people think that candida can be blamed for all chronic illness,
which is not a healthy attitude. Read up, be observant (keep a
notebook) and scientific about it. I had a history that suggested I
could have candida. If you think this applies to you, there are
various self-assessment forms on the web, eg
http://www.bodyecologydiet.com/pages_new/candida_quiz.html or
http://cassia.org/candida.htm

All the best
Nadia