Coming to an accurate Candida Albicans diagnosis has been surrounded
by a lot of controversy. Candidiasis, an infection caused by a
fungus known as Candida species is, from a doctor's perspective,
mostly a disease of hospitalized patients. And it's no wonder,
considering that Candida accounts for 15% of all hospital-acquired
infections and between 8% and 15% of all hospital-based blood
infections.
The reality is, however, that anyone can become
harmfully infected by Candida. Those particularly at risk
women on birth control pills, those taking steroids, cancer and
HIV patients and those taking antibiotics frequently.
Individuals
with a poor diet, those who eat meat raised on antibiotics and,
likely, those whose only risk factor is exposure to environmental
toxins are also at risk. Stress, too, is an important risk factor to
consider.
Doctors, in particular, resort to checking
cultures of the blood for the presence of Candida. This test is
almost exclusively confined to the evaluation of hospitalized
patients. Even this test has its limitations. Only 50% of
patients with documented Candida infections show a positive blood
culture. While it is a very specific yeast infection test for
Candida, it isn't always very useful as many Candida-infected
patients go undetected.
The Allopathic vs. Pleomorphic Perspective
Understanding the real underlying cause of Candida
helps frame this discussion on comming to an accurate
Candida Albicans diagnosis. Looking from the perspective of
allopathic medicine an accurate Candida diagnosis is crucial in
deciding on a treatment plan.
From a pleomorphic point of view, Candida is the natural
consequense of intestinal dysbiosis and
healing will require treating the underlying imbalance instead of
focusing on Candida alone. Symptoms associated with Candida overlap
and are similar to all degenerative diseases with an underlying
condition of intestinal dysbiosis.
Taking the Candida questionaire, even though
it does not diagnose Pathogenic Candida perse, will
confirm whether your Candida symptoms are congruent with those associated
with Intestinal Dysbiosis.
The Challenge of an Accurate Diagnosis
Historically, an accurate and reliable Candida
Albicans diagnosis has been somewhat elusive. Since Candida in its
healthy form is part of our normal body flora, the mere presence
of Candida on, for example, a stool sample may or may not indicate
an active infection. More recently, however, practical and
accurate Candida tests have been developed to help healthcare
providers come to an accurate and reliable Candida Albicans
diagnosis.
Any Candida Albicans diagnosis always begins with
a careful screening history of the Candida symptoms. Some symptoms
in patients with significant Candida infections include abdominal
pain with bloating, diarrhea or constipation, allergic symptoms and
fatigue.
Even patients with autoimmune disorders like lupus or
thyroid disease can be related to an infection caused by Candida.
The multi-symptomic nature of Candida is one of the reasons why
conventional medicine has such a hard time coming to an accurate
Candida Albicans diagnosis is so challenging.
The Difference Between Benign and Pathogenic Candida
Several good yeast infection tests have been developed to help healthcare
providers come to an accurate Candida Albicans diagnosis. A
Candida test looks to see wether its presence is of the safe type
and amount or if the Candida has become overgrown and has undergone
what is called a "dimorphic change".
This happens when the Candida organisms develops tiny spikes
called filamentous forms that invade and damage the tissues
of the gut and allow the gut to become "leaky". When Candida
undergoes this change, it becomes an unhealthy
infective organism. Again it is important to understand that
Candida only undergoes this change when somebody is suffering
from Intestinal Dysbiosis.
In other words a positive Candida diagnosis confirms
that the intestinal flora is out of balance being
ultimantely the real cause for Pathogenic Candida.
Patient, Know Thy Approach!
One yeast infection test is based on the fact that Candida is a fermenting
organism, releasing alcohol as one of its byproducts. The test
measures a baseline blood alcohol level and, following that, the
patient is given a heavy dose of sugar which promotes fermentation
if enough Candida is present in the gut.
The level of alcohol in the
blood is measured after fermentation has had a chance to take place.
While it is likely that Candida is the cause of an increase in
alcohol after ingesting sugar, there are some bacteria that ferment
to alcohol also, so the results aren't always very specific.
Another method of making a Candida Albicans diagnosis is
through a yeast infection test developed by Michael Biamonte CNN. He
uses a stool and urine sample to evaluate the degree of Candida
invasion. A stool culture under special conditions is performed and
Can even tell the difference between the different types of Candida
species.
The urine test measures organic acid metabolites present in
the urine. Humans excrete organic acids as a normal part of our
metabolism but the organic acids we produce are different from those
that Candida species excrete. Finding Candida byproducts to a high
degree in the urine is consistent with Candida overgrowth providing
a relatively accurate Candida Albicans diagnosis.
The "Elisa" Test
An expensive but highly specific method of coming to a Candida
Albicans diagnosis is through a yeast infection test called the
Candida Saliva ELISA Test. This Candida test relies on the fact that
once Candida becomes an infection, your body secretes antibodies to
the organism in response to the infection.
The type of antibodies in the saliva, known as
IgA antibodies, is highly specific for an
active Candida infection. This yeast infection test involves
chemically-coating a plastic plate with Candida and then adding a
patient's saliva on top of that.
The IgA antibodies bind only to the
Candida on the plate and, after adding other reagents, a color
change is produced on the plate, the degree of which can be
accurately measured. A stronger color reveals a greater degree of
infection with Candida leading to a positive Candida Albicans
diagnosis.
Saliva Sample Study
One simple yeast infection test involves
looking at a swab of the mouth under the microscope and looking for
the specific filamentous form found in invasive infections. While
the test is simple, it may not reveal the extent of the
infection.
Limitations of Allopathic Approach
Treatment which focuses on
Candida instead of supporting healthy intestinal environment will
miss the mark and actually worsen the situation. Conventional
Candida Medication tends to have an acidifying effect on the body
and destroys healthy pro-biotics in the process.
The important thing to understand is
how conventional Candida medicine is based on diagnosing a specific
condition before it can treat it. Regardless of how effective this
approach is when faced with an emergency and a critical time span
when treating a patient, it falls short in dealing with conditions
which are the result of systemic imbalances such as Candida.
Treating any degenerative condition such as Candida without
addressing the underlying imbalance will result in symptom
management at best.
