Itchy bottom

[dut]

I'm probably going to ramble but here goes.....

 

Our dd's last episode seemed to be set off by a bad cold rather than strep. We have been virtually symptom free for about 3 weeks since the end of that episode. This week she came down with a urinary tract infection. I have also seen some super mild PANDAS behaviours in the last few days and thought that now just any infection or illness was triggering things.

 

But - today she started complaining of an itchy bottom. She also did this at the start of the last episode and it lasted maybe a week or two. After her awful, first episode back in Spring she had what we and the dr. believe was perianal strep. I'm now wondering if she has strep permanently hiding out in her GI tract that the abx/immune system are just holding at bay and when another infection or illness comes along, and she gets low or her immune system is busy, the strep opportunistically gets worse.

 

Any ideas/opinions?

 

We did culture her itchy bits today but she's just started a course of Keflex for the UTI so maybe it won't culture?

 

Thanks, Danuta

[Chemar]

you may also want to have her tested to see if this is Candida albicans infection

[dut]

She does have some candida and is being treated with high dose nystatin (2 million units 3 x a day), probiotics 50+ billion/day and s. boulardii. We're also sugar restricting to some degree, cakes, sweets, fruit juice.... the obvious ones. So we're hoping that the candida is under control.

 

I feel fairly confident it's not candida because of the timing. When she had the itching during her last PANDAS episode, it went after a couple of weeks on the full course of antibiotics and she wasn't on antifungals at all then and the itching has only just come back and she's 6 weeks in to the nystatin treatment. She also says she thinks it has stopped again and we're day 3 of a course of Keflex abx.

 

I hope it isn't candida.. otherwise we'll have to do the full blown candida diet and the poor girl is very forbearing with all the abx/supps/nystatin powder (which is just gross). I'm worried we'll have a revolution if we have to change or add anything else!

 

Thanks, Danuta.

[Chemar]

you could try applying an antifungal cream(the ones used to treat female yeast infections) and see if that stops the itching

[dut]

Good idea, I'll try that if/when it starts back up again.

 

In your experience, can candida still survive and thrive despite the efforts we seem to be taking. I'm aware that some people just seem worse at fighting it off but as her levels came back elevated but not too high I hoped that she + nystatin, probiotics etc would make it toast....

[Chemar]

we had a hard time getting rid of candida. went on the diet recommended by Walker and Trowbridge in The Yeast Syndrome ( their good recipe section sure helped with that! )

 

did not use Nystatin or probiotic supplements but instead used kefir and stonyfield farms natural yoghurt as probiotics and first used capryllic acid (Solaray's caprylate) and then best of all Candida Clear supplements by NOW in conjunction with Monolaurin (lauric acid)

 

It wasnt till we introduced those last 2 antifungal products that we finally saw a dramatic improvement.

 

I have heard mixed reports on Nystatin...some very positive and others not so.

[Indigo]

Maybe you should try some Monistat if she has a yeast infection....

 

I know gluten can cause itchy bottoms as well, but if there is yeast issues that is more likely.