I'm not so sure that finding candida in the stool is abnormal. I may be wrong, but I understood that candida normally lives in the large intestine, so it would be excreted in stool. Just like having candida living over every inch of your skin is not especially abnormal. What's abnormal is overgrowth. I would be very interested to know what the finding of candida in two stool specimens led to so far as treatment.

The main thing that keeps candida from overgrowing in the intestine is the abundant other microbes growing there that out-compete the candida. If antibiotics are taken for -say - a respiratory infection, then the normal gut bacteria get wiped out and the fungus/candida to take over. This can cause diarrhea (antibiotic induced colitis.) Loose stool, containing lots of fungus (condida) will terribly irritate skin around rectum. Irritation is caused by the loose stool and by the candida itself. (I think I've got this right.) I've see this many times. Anti-fungal paste/cream/ointment get applied to the peri-**** rash, which can be awfully sore.

The reason antibiotic treatment leads to fungal overgrowth is because antibiotics tend to kill bacteria, while leaving fungus pretty unaffected. Fungus is very tough to kill. (Fungal cells are more similar to human cells. So what would be lethal to fungal cells tends to be bad for our own cells, which we don't want to kill.)

Practitioners of non-mainstream medicine have been pushing the idea of "systemic fungal overgrowth" for a long time. What main stream doctors question is NOT the idea that there can be fungal overgrowth. It so happens they treat it all the time. However the question is this: fungal overgrowth where??? Mainstream doctors are skeptical of the idea of fungal overgrowth all through the systems of a body.

So, if a "specialist" has told you that you have candida overgrowth as a disease entity, a general condition, I would like to know what the specialist means. Like - where is this overgrowth located? What is the treatment? (I've read of stuff like not drinking beer to treat this supposed ailment. I've seen no convincing evidence of that as a measure that accomplishes anything. This thinking is part of alternative medicine thinking and not, to my knowlege reflective of science.)

Candida is all over human skin, producing the typical skin-on-skin rashes that we see under breasts . . . sometimes in armpits . . . under belly apronfolds of the abdomen (where ever skin-on-skin produces dark and moisture that allows candida to thrive. Fungus (especially candida) exists in the GI tract. Every part of the body, with the expception of the skin and the GI tact (from mouth to rectum) and the vaginal canal and the surface of the penis can host fungal populations that may cause no health problems. Every other part of the body - like inside organs and inside the bloodstream are normally sterile. If fungus shows up in the blood, it's an emergency and is aggressively treated by mainstream doctors. The specialist to consult about this would be an "Infectious Disease Specialist." They tend to know what they are doing. Usually, you need to be in a hospital to meet one. Anti-fungal meds are ordered by them via I/V therapy.

My understanding make be obsolete. I would welcome any feedback to correct any misconceptions I may have.