Understanding Male Yeast Infections
Yeast infections seems to be thought of as primarily as a "women's complaint". A male patient who came into our clinic for treatment with his yeast infection had consulted a medical doctor, only to be told that "only women get yeast infections". Nothing could be further from the truth, male yeast infections are widely and commonly misunderstood.
In my experience, it is easier for women to discover they have a yeast infection, much more easily than men. Why? Because women are more happy to visit their doctor when their health starts to deteriorate much more quickly than a male will. many guys seem to think they are "bullet proof" and continue on feeling lousy until they experience major health problems. Like the 38yr old man who saw me a few years ago complaining of bleeding from the bowel. This symptom occured for over one year before he consulted me, and I immediately called a gastroenterologist I know and made an appointment, who soon after diagnosed bowel cancer in this man. Why did this man not see a doctor earlier? The reply was "I didn't feel any pain and didn't think that it was an issue".
Many guys will go through their lives with flatus, gas, burping, diarrhoea or constipation, itchy skin, and a host of other symptoms and think nothing of it. This makes a candida or fungal infection extremely difficult to detect since men are built different than women. Once a woman develops a vaginal discharge, she knows generally that things are probably amiss and visits her doctor. Guys on the other hand (in general) may have absolutely no idea they may have a male yeast infection until it creates other problems in several areas of their body. In most cases, it will be the male's partner who alerts him to the fact that something is "not quite right" in his private department, because the chances are that she has an infection too. Her doctor, if he does correctly diagnose a yeast infection, will want to treat them both to stop the cross-infection from occurring.
Common Causes Of Male Yeast Infections
The most common ways for men to not only get but to maintain a yeast infection are lifestyle and diet. I have found that dietary habits such as beer, alcohol, sweets, chocolate, cookies (biscuits) and various snack and sweet foods are some of the main triggers. Other factors include the use (and abuse) of antibiotics and prescription drugs, sexual relations (without adequate hygeine there after) and stress or burn-out.
Stress and Burn-Out
A little know cause of a yeast infection is stress and burn-out (which lowers immunity and causes adrenal fatigue). I can highly recommend that you read my articles on stress, burn-out and adrenal fatigue online as these are some of the most powerful causes in the 21st century of many different health complaints. Men are working harder and under more stress than ever. Guys, are you really looking after your body?
A weakened immune system allows a yeast infection to proliferate and this will occur by way of several mechanisms. For example, the hormone called cortisol will become low which is vital for a powerful immune response and a body which is slightly acidic will allow a yeast infection to continue unabated. The "good" bacteria become weakened and overpowered by the bad bacteria and yeast, allowing an overgrowth to occur in the intestinal tract.
Snacks Can Lead To Yeast Infections
Guys are prone to refrigerator snacking, my father was a big man and couldn't resist a snack or two most nights. He was always on the hunt for something out of the kitchen cupboards (usually home baking, cookies, a chocolate bar, etc) or out of the refrigerator (ice cream, cold cuts, sausages, left-overs, etc). Dad had a bad case of candida yeast infection and had several trips to the doctor and was also referred to the gastroenterologist due to his constant diarrhoea, gas and bloating. He was always scratching his groin and I can remember the gas and his feet were very offensive to the nose indeed!
Do you snack? Are the yeasts "calling your name" at night or after a meal, are you the guy who wants something sweet quite regularly? Then you will almost certainly have a yeast infection. Bear this in mind: that snack you took from the refrigerator which was left overnight has probably started to grow molds and spores on it. You probably didn't warm it thoroughly in that microwave and bingo - you just transferred bugs into your susceptible digestive tract. More yeast, and so the cycle continues on. The yeast parasite demands to be fed on a regular basis and you will more than likely feed it, until you realise you have it, and do something about it. This will only come when you have read about a yeast infection or actually had a stool analysis which screens for candida. You had a BIG problem if your stool test can actually culture candida, which tells me you are passing live and active yeast into your bowel motions.
These common food products in your fridge are universally contaminated with molds and fungus. We all unknowingly eat them thinking they are perfectly safe, they maybe to those with a strong digestion, but for those with a yeast infection they are food. Yeast is naturally occurring in your body, and it is only when the good bacteria to yeast ratio in your digestive system becomes unbalanced, allowing the yeast fungi to thrive which then spread to other parts of your body.
Men Who Drink Beer Are More Prone To Yeast Infections And Prostatitis
You are most probably aware that alcohol is produced by yeast fermentation. Wine has an alcohol content of about 12 percent which is sufficient to kill the yeast. The heat produced to distill spirits like whiskey, vodka and cognac kills any yeast residue. With beer, the alcohol content rarely exceeds 6%, so there is often live yeast left behind. When you drink beer containing live yeast, it can remain live in digestive system and translocate into your body and affect your immune system. Most guys who drink plenty of beer will have their own "mobile brewery" happening inside their digestive system.
Some men never really seem to be affected by this brewer's yeast, or are only affected by certain brands of beers, whilst others can start to suffer pretty bad only days after only a few beers. Do you drink beer and suffer from prostatitis? The live yeast can may make your life quite miserable, and it won't be until you quit that beer habit for some time that you really notice the connection.
The type of enlarged prostate from beer consumption is different from other forms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate, or BPH) in that it will subside once the prostatitis (and alcohol consumption) is remedied. At times you may well have prostatitis and yet your Urologist will do all the tests and tell you everything is OK. This can be truly bewildering, especially when the pain is intense. Many cases of prostatitis test negative, and you well could be in pain and discomfort but the lab test say there is nothing wrong. So, if you enjoy a regular good brew, and you suffer from prostatitis, prostate pain, or irritation, it could very well be the yeast residue in your brew that is causing your problems. My advice? If you have a prostate problem AND drink beer, then stop all beer for some time and focus on restoring your digestive system and allow time to eradicate yeast from your system properly.
Antibiotics
Incredible as it may seem, some patients I see with yeast infections have been treated dozens of times with an antibiotic. In fact, many cases of yeast infections have their origin after an antibiotic was prescribed by a doctor. Personally, I would never prescribe an antibiotic for a patient, and if I ever did it would be for a case of pneumonia of bacterial origin. Every medical clinic I have worked in, antibiotics are routinely prescribed - even by doctors who have studied natural medicine and who claim to be "natural doctors". It is almost that they fall back instinctively on their "germ theory" training and believe that the only way to get a patient right is to "kill those nasty germs" with an antibiotic.
How many times did you go to your doctor for a chest cold, a case of sinus, a skin infection or what ever it may have been, and you were prescribed an antibiotic? You obeyed your doctor and took the prescribed course of antibiotics for ten days, but what you may not have been aware of at the time is that those drugs wiped out significant amounts of beneficial bacteria as well as the bad. You didn't kill all the good guys, just lots of them, and you weakened your immune system too. You continued on and discovered that your cough or chest cold went away pretty quick, great you thought to yourself: "that doctor was right, those drugs did work".
Little did you know that you only weakened your system further, making you increasingly susceptible for a further infection in time. Meanwhile, your life continued on - a beer here or there, the same amount of stress, a few cookies or snacks from the fridge. More beneficial bacteria die and more yeasts start to thrive, the scales are slowly tipped in favour of the bad. Then you get sick again - more antibiotics. The bottom line is that you slide down a slope towards a yeast infection, it does not happen overnight, it happens gradually over a period of time and your immune system gradually gets worn down by the main causative factors along with a constant introduction of molds into your body. That is when you begin to experience some of the symptoms of a yeast infection.
Common Male Yeast Infection Symptoms
Common signs and symptoms males experience with a yeast infection are male-associated urinary/sexual problems: jock itch, loss of sex drive, impotence, prostatitis, penis infections, difficulty urinating, urinary frequency or urgency, painful intercourse, sexual dysfunction, a swollen scrotum, etc. Is the male a beer drinker? Suspect candida if he drinks beers regularly and complains of prostatitis, itchy skin, burping, bloating, and other symptoms listed here.
Other signs and symptoms of male yeast infection are constipation, bad breath, bloating, indigestion, frequent intestinal gas, frequent diarrhea, very loose stools, irritability and mood swings, fatigue or lack of energy, memory loss, dry itchy flaky skin. As I mentioned earlier, the male will also probably develop a craving for sweets, pastas, chips, etc. In addition, check out the signs and symptoms of a candida yeast infection page.
The Solution To Male Yeast Infection
The best way to tackle a yeast infection if you are a male is to tackle it systemically, which means you will need to treat the "whole person" and not just the presentation. You need the right diet and lifestyle. Stay with your walking program, and do seek professional help if need be
Eric Bakker is a registered Naturopathic Physician with a Bachelor Degree of Science majoring in Complementary Medicine. Eric is past Vice President of the New Zealand Natural Medicine Association with 20 years of clinical experience in natural medicine.
Eric runs a busy online naturopathic practice in New Zealand and specialises in distance patients. He has many patients throughout the world in countries such as America, England, Australia and several other English speaking countries.
Patients keep in touch via Skype or the telephone and can easily book consultations online through his popular website. Patients can login as Members and have access to a full range of "Practitioner-Only" products and many free member-exclusive handouts and reports. Products are dispatched daily and we pride ourselves on our fast and professional service. Eric can help you with many chronic health conditions and is a highly experienced naturopath, particularly with candida yeast infections.
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