Clay detox for candida/ thrush

[Andyroo66]

Hi

Due to persistent genital thrush over many years I decided to try a bentonite clay.

Took it for 3 weeks had a week off then another week but stopped as I wa's not sure it was a really good idea. Did feel good the first two weeks.

I didn't up my fluids whilst taking it which possibly wasn't a good idea.

For info my healt isn't always so good as I have sensory nerve disturbances in my legs, migraine aura and vaso vagal syncope. Sort of like ME/CFS

Anyhow 3 or 4 weeks after stopping I developed awful abdominal pain in the night seemed to be from my stomach and the doc said was gastritis. Just had an upper endoscope and everything was fine.

Around same time early Jan (3 weeks after stopping clay) I decided to cut out sugar yeast and gluten. Developed sensory nerve problems and migraine auras at night . Itchy and dry back too and blocked sinuses so seemed like a detox.

Whole thing has been a real trial.

I had to start taking gabapentin to sleep through the nerve disturbances at night.

Thing is I get this horrible sweaty feeling and feel agitated when I'm still. If I'm moving around its not too bad. This happened before the gabapentin

So I think I've triggered some sort of neuro detox unless it's the stress of it all

How can I stop it now? Thinking milk thistle or charcoal

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

Bentonite clay seems to be actively marketed for the treatment of candidiasis for some reason, presumably an attempt to bind substances in your gut if you are eating this clay. In medicine this substance is handy if you have taken something toxic, or if you have a bought of diarrhoea and is harmless if taken for a day or two.

I am not aware of any real benefit this might have with regard to genital thrush but it will have many other impacts, depending on how much you are taking. The people marketing this for 'detoxing candida' are no doubt trying to claim that it is removing a 'toxin' but they have no verification for their claims and may even be doing harm if they are asking people to take clay for longer period of time.

Bentonite clay acts on anything in your gut (not just 'bad' things) so will absorb lots of chemicals you need to keep healthy and stop you benefitting from them if you use it for long periods of time. This clay will also disrupt your bacterial community in your gut and we rely on those bacteria to stay healthy. The result may well have contributed to the pain that you reported. Personally, I wouldn't take this stuff for longer than a couple of days. Nor would I consider taking charcoal.

'Detox' diets are a myth that make a lot of money for marketers, save your money and your health nhs.uk/Livewell/tiredness-a...

[Chelis1]

I think you sould try Kefir, it is good to regulate candida.

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to Chelis1]

Kefir is thought to be really good for maintaining a healthy gut microbial population, and we are increasingly finding out that that can have far-reaching impacts on our health, including our respiratory health, emotional wellbeing. It is suspected that it is especially useful to take a probiotic such as Kefir if you have recently been on a course of antibiotics.

[Saassii]

Careful you don't have mold in your home. That triggered terrible thrush for me and when I drink milk or eat yoghurt and ferments triggers it again. Dietary change and avoidance of all mold were the fix. Put a few drops of pure essential tea tree oil into virgin coconut oil, mix and apply... Better than any pharmaceutical

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust in reply to Saassii]

I think what you may mean is that we need to be careful that our homes do not become damp - moulds grow as a consequence of damp as do many other microbes aspergillosis.org/damp-homes/ that can cause health problems. It is not at all clear that moulds themselves cause these problems directly but we do know that preventing damp is effective. Preventing damp is about awareness of the causes and ventilation - see the link.

I would not be at all sure why milk products would be linked to moulds for example, which makes me suspect that your self-management regimen might be telling you something different.

[Saassii in reply to GAtherton]

I can only tell you the order of events for me, but I'll keep it short. I had relentless occurrence of thrush that started right after the dishwasher burst causing a water damage. I did not realise there was mold still underneath on the floorboards. I also had recurrent bladder infections. Approx 3 years later a pipe in the laundry burst. Troubleshooting revealed the first site. The insurance company said they'd made it safe. But it was not safe. I became horribly unwell and family members also.

Since this exposure everything changed for my body. Now if I drink milk I get thrush or eat ferments, hives etc. I have been diagnosed with mast cell activation syndrome. If a person's body is not detoxing well the histamine builds and is not easily broken down as before.

I used to be able to eat dairy and ferments, loved them and made all my own at home including kefir. Now I can't tolerate any of it. I don't get any thrush or bladder infections at all... So long as I don't eat certain foods and beverages. I'm on a low histamine diet, it's the only way I can manage, but it does work. My point is, mold changes everything. Beware!

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is not yet linked to exposure to moulds as a cause but no doubt it can be one of the sources of allergens a patient can react to as they react to many things. I wouldn't restrict your search for causes and irritants to moulds as it may not be the complete answer, but of course, it is part of the answer for you.

MCAS explains why you are reacting to so many different foods. This is not a mould problem as far as we know, though we don't really know what causes MCAS as yet. It appears to be strongly linked to stress.