antibiotics | Health And Wellness Tips

What Really Causes a Yeast Infection?

Yeast: A Necessary Fungus

Yes, you read that correctly. Yeast is necessary for our bodies, and is always present in a small concentration. However, too much of this fungus will lead to an infection. It is important to understand what causes a yeast infection in order to avoid this painful condition in the future.

Shut Down Yeasts Habitat

Yeast lives in warm, damp areas of the body. If you want to really slice your chances of getting a yeast infection, you should make sure you always wear clean, dry underwear. Tight panties made of synthetic materials are the absolute worst choice if you want to avoid yeast infections. Instead, wear cotton; it breathes much better. You should wear clean panties each day.

Women who do not control their diabetes well enough are more likely to get this condition. This is directly related to the sugar in the urine. Even if you do not have diabetes, it is a good idea to cut back on your sugar intake.

Scented toilet paper, tampons, and feminine deodorant sprays can also cause yeast infections. After exercising or swimming, it is a good idea to change out of the wet or sweaty clothing.

Dont Kill the Yeast-Fighters

This is the tricky part. If you take antibiotics for another kind of infection, you will kill not only the offending bacteria, but the bacteria that would ordinarily get rid of much of the yeast. If you use some types of soap, such as the antibacterial kind, you may be killing these good germs in your quest to deodorize. Do not use soap on your vaginal area; the dyes and perfumes can really mess up your pH balance and harm the sensitive tissues. Clothing detergents can cause the same kind of problem, so choose your detergent with care. Do not use douches, as they get rid of the good bacteria. Every time you use antibiotics or antibacterial deodorants, you are clearing the way for yeast to take over and cause an infection.

Other Causes

HIV can also allow yeast infections to occur because it weakens the immune system. If a womans vagina is injured, a yeast infection may follow. Taking steroids can also heighten your risk of getting this irritating condition.

A woman who has taken chemotherapy can also get a yeast infection. Immunosuppressive drugs are sometimes useful, but they will contribute to your chances of getting a yeast infection. Drugs that belong to the cortisone family will also put you at a greater risk of getting a yeast infection.

Women who are pregnant or on their period are also more likely to get a yeast infection than they are at other times. Whether you wear pads or tampons during your period, you should change them frequently. Stress and sickness can also have a marked impact on your chances of getting this infection.

While some of the factors that can cause a yeast infection cannot be prevented, many of them can be eradicated or reduced.

The Yeast Infection: Its Causes and Symptoms

What Causes a Yeast Infection to Occur?

An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure, especially when it comes to yeast infections. Once you learn the yeast infections causes and symptoms, you will be armed in the fight against it. While you may not be able to avoid all yeast infections in the future, you will know how to protect yourself from most of them.

Yeast infections are caused by levels of yeast that have gotten out of control. This can happen due to a number of factors. Fingers and toes that develop yeast infection in their webs were infected due to excessive sweating. Invest in some loose, cotton socks; they help your feet get more air and dry the sweat that invariably occurs when feet are confined in shoes.

Vaginal yeast infections can come about when a woman is having her period or is pregnant. This is due to hormonal changes that occur in her body at these times. Birth control pills and steroids also contribute to vaginal yeast infections. A stressed-out emotional state or a compromised immune system can also allow a yeast infection to spring up. Yeast infections have been known to occur due to vaginal injuries.

All types of yeast infections can be caused by taking antibiotics. In the normally functioning human body, the yeast fungus is kept to reasonable levels because our good bacteria kills some of it. However, if we take antibiotics to kill off bad bacteria, we often get rid of the good stuff along with it. This leaves the yeast with no natural predator; so much yeast is allowed to grow that an infection takes place. This is a good reason to take antibiotics only when absolutely necessary.

How Can I Recognize a Yeast Infection?

The answer depends on which part of the body is being attacked. Oral yeast infections, also known as thrush, are fairly common in babies. Thrush will appear as a red patch of skin in the mouth; often, this rash will be coated with what appear to be milk curds. However, this is not milk; do not try to clean it off, or bleeding will result. A rash on the skin from a yeast infection will usually have a scalloped shape and may have several patchy, red areas on the surrounding skin.

A vaginal yeast infection will have symptoms including redness, irritation of the tissues, and swelling. There may be a white discharge that is noticeably thicker than the discharge that occurs with ovulation. In some cases, it may be clumpy to the point that it resembles cottage cheese. There may be discoloration. Urination is likely to cause burning pain, and intercourse may also be uncomfortable. The vaginal area will probably be very dry and itchy.

I Have a Yeast Infection; Now What?

Not so fast you still need to see a doctor to make sure that you do, indeed, have a yeast infection and not some other kind of infection. Your doctor will be able to prescribe a medication to help your body fight off the yeast infection.

What You Must Know About Yeast Infections in the Ears

What Causes this Infection?

A yeast infection in the ear can be very painful. We all have small amounts of yeast in our bodies at any given time. However, too much yeast leads to an infection that can become a major irritant. The ears are the perfect place for a yeast infection to form, because the yeast grows well in damp areas. The Eustachian tubes can support yeast infections at their openings; as anyone who has had an ear infection knows, this will be highly unpleasant.

Yeast and bacteria usually work in harmony with each other within the human body. The good type of bacteria that you have in ordinary circumstances kills yeast, keeping the yeast population under control. This system can get out of whack if you take antibiotics. Often, a person takes antibiotics to kill bacteria that are causing an infection in the sinuses or elsewhere. Unfortunately, the antibiotics kill the good bacteria, as well. This leaves a wide open door for the yeast to multiply and cause a raging yeast infection.

What Are the Symptoms?

If you suspect a yeast infection in either your ears or your childs ears, you must look for the right symptoms. Ear infections vary widely as to cause, so be sure that you know what you are treating before you start administering medication.

A yeast infection in the ear will cause an itchy feeling inside the ear and on any outside surface that is affected by the condition. There will most likely be a lingering soreness. Yeast infections often cause a white discharge, and the ears are not immune from this side effect. Some have said that the discharge is similar in appearance to the cotton you will find on the end of a swab.

If your child is too young to tell you what is wrong, you may notice him or her tugging at the ear. Often, children have difficulty sleeping when they have ear infections. Redness is a symptom that adults and children share. Children may cry or show other signs of distress, such as crankiness.

Yeast infections can also cause shooting pains in the affected ears.

How Can it Be Treated?

You should see a doctor to confirm that you or your child are indeed suffering from a yeast infection of the ear and not another type of ear infection. It is wise to seek medical help as soon as you suspect a yeast-based ear infection, as the condition can be quite painful if left untreated. Sometimes, a yeast infection can hitch a ride in the bloodstream and cause infections in other areas of the body.

Sometimes, it is hard for doctors to diagnose the ear infection correctly. This is due to the similarity of symptoms between a yeast infection and other ear infections. In most cases, children can get over an ear infection without having to take antibiotics. As already discussed, these medications can actually make a yeast infection worse.

Don’t Touch That Pork: A Few Swine Flu Truths And

Don’t Touch That Pork: A Few Swine Flu Truths And Myths

With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth involved with the latest flu outbreak, I think it’s time we set a few things straight about the swine flu. Think of it as a little public service announcement just to shock some of you out of that panic and get you thinking straight.

First of all, pork is safe. Yes, I know it’s called swine flu but it’s nothing like mad cow disease. That’s why there’s a flu at the end instead of disease, of course. The disease spreads via the same way normal flu spreads: contact with a contaminated area or person then contact with either the eyes, nose, or mouth of the prospective infected. Cooked pork can’t possibly be ever infected because cooking and preparation make sure that the meat is clean and healthy for consumption. So, yeah, no need to worry about the ham and bacon in the supermarket.

Secondly, there’s a treatment. Zanamivir and oseltamivir are neuroaminidase inhibitors which is a fancy description of what they do; they’re a type of antiviral drugs that inhibits cell reproduction of viruses so that they won’t spread in the patient’s body. The Center for Disease Control has highly recommended their use for the treatment and control of the disease. Actually, if you find yourself sick, you can do initial treatment via the normal over-the-counter antibiotics that you use when dealing with the normal flu. These can help make the symptoms more bearable and help your body resist the disease better. Those and quite a bit of bed rest can go a long way to make you feel better.

Thirdly, it’s not gonna kill us all. Even at the height of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, with its more than fifty million worldwide death count, the human race wasn’t exactly in danger. Plagues and diseases have been a part of human civilization and history for years. Humans have a way of surviving and infections eventually burn out, one of the disadvantages of killing your hosts too quickly. The bodycount may pile high but no natural disease can eliminate the human species that easily. Besides, like I mentioned earlier, it is treatable and you can recover from it.

Fourth, it’s not that contagious. Okay, yeah, it’s contagious, but like all diseases it has its particular infection vectors and if you know those vectors, a disease can easily be avoided. In this case, swine flu it may be, but it’s still the flu. This means it spreads through the contact points I said earlier. Regularly washing your hands before eating is a step in the right direction and, also, not hanging around sick people, though that one should be pretty obvious.

Fifth, it’s still the flu. The description maybe a bit vague and the name exotic, but it’s still the flu in the beginning. You’ll know you’re from it the same way you know you’re sick from the flu: colds, coughs, chills, and fatigue. That’s the initial stuff though. If you were smart, you’d have taken your antibiotics and lessened the effects. If you’re okay after a few days, that was just the normal flu. However, if the symptoms persist, and you start to vomit or start to suffer from diarrhea, then it’s swine flu and you better call for a doctor.

Well, that’s all then. Hopefully, these bits of information help clear up a few things about the swine flu and help you to undestand the currect situation the world is in.