CANDIDA QUESTIONNAIRE

 

 

NAME_____________________________________                                  DATE______________

 

This questionnaire is designed for adults.  It lists factor sin your medical history which promote the growth of Candida Albicans (Section A), and symptoms commonly found in individuals with yeast connected illness (Sections B and C).

 

For each “Yes” answer in Section A, note the number of points given for that question and add up all of the points and put them in the designated place at the end of Section A.  Then move to Sections B and C and score as directed.

 

Filling out and scoring this questionnaire should help you and your doctor evaluate the possibility that Candida is contributing to your health problems.  Yet, it will not provide an automatic “Yes” or “No” answer.

 

SECTION A:  HISTORY

 

_____Have you taken tetracyclines (Symycin, Panmycin, Vibramycin, Minocin, etc.) or other antibiotics for acne for one month or longer?  25 points.

 

_____Have you, at any time in your life, taken other “broad spectrum” antibiotics for respiratory, urinary or other infections for 2 months or longer or in shorter courses 4 or more times in a 1 year period?  20 points.

 

_____Have you taken a broad spectrum antibiotic (Keflex, ambicillin, amoxicillin, Ceclor, Bactrim, and Septra)-even in a single course?  6 points.

 

_____Have you, at any time in your life, been bothered by persistent prostatitis, vaginitis or other problems affecting your reproductive organs?  25 points.

 

_____Have you been pregnant 2 or more times?  5 points  1 time?  3 points.

 

_____Have you taken birth control pills for more than 2 years?  15 points.  For 6 months to 2 years?  8 points.

 

_____Have you taken prednisone, Decadron or other cortisone-type drugs for more than 2 weeks?  15 points.  For 2 weeks or less?  6 points.

 

_____Does exposure to perfumes, insecticides, fabric shop odors and other chemicals provoke moderate to severe symptoms?  20 points.  Mild symptoms?  5 points.

 

_____Are your symptoms worse on damp, muggy days or moldy places?  20 points.

 

_____Have you had athlete’s foot, ringworm, jock itch or other chronic fungus infections of the skin or nails?  Have such infections been severe or persistent?  20 points.  Mild to moderate?  10 points.

 

_____Do you crave sugar?  10 points.

 

_____Do you crave breads?  10 points.

 

_____Do you crave alcoholic beverages?  10 points.

 

_____Does tobacco smoke really bother you?  10 points.

Total Score for Section A:  _____

 

SECTION B:  HISTORY

 

For each of your symptoms, enter the appropriate figure to the point score column:

Occasional or mild:                                3 points

Frequent and/or moderately severe:         6 points

Severe and/or disabling:                          9 points

 

Add total score and record it in the box at the end of this section.

 

_____Fatigue or lethargy

_____Feeling of being “drained”

_____Poor memory

_____Feeling “spacey” or “unreal”

_____Depression

_____Numbness, burning or tingling

_____Muscle aches

_____Muscle weakness or paralysis

_____Pain and/or swelling in joints

_____Abdominal pain

_____Constipation

_____Diarrhea

_____Bloating

_____Troublesome vaginal discharge

_____Persistent vaginal burning or itching

_____Prostatitis

_____Impotence

_____Loss of sexual desire

_____Endometriosis

_____Cramps and/or other menstrual irregularities

_____Premenstrual tension

_____Spots in front of the eyes

_____Erratic vision

 

Total Score for Section B: _____

 

SECTION C:  OTHER SYMPTOMS

 

For each of your symptoms, enter the appropriate figure in the point score column:

Occasional or mild:                                3 points

Frequent and/or moderately severe:         6 points

Severe and/or disabling:                          9 points

 

Add total score and record it in the box at the end of this section.

 

_____Drowsiness

_____Irritability or jitteriness

_____Poor coordination

_____Inability to concentrate

_____Frequent mood swings

_____Headaches

_____Dizziness/loss of balance

_____Pressure above ears, feeling of head swelling and tingling

_____Itching

_____Other rashes

_____Heartburn

_____Indigestion

_____Belching and intestinal gas

_____Mucous in stools

_____Hemorrhoids

_____Dry mouth

_____Rash or blisters in mouth

_____Bad breath

_____Joint swelling or arthritis

_____Nasal congestion or discharge

_____Postnasal drip

_____Nasal itching

_____Sore or dry throat

_____Cough

_____Pain or tightness in chest

_____Sneezing or shortness of breath

_____Urinary urgency or frequency

_____Burning on urination

_____Failing vision

_____Burning or tearing of eyes

_____Recurrent infections or fluid in ears

_____Ear pain or deafness

 

Total Score for Section C:  _____

Total Score for Section B:  _____

Total Score for Section A:  _____

 

GRAND TOTAL SCORE:  _____

 

The grand total score will help you and your doctor decide if your health problems are yeast-connected.  Scores in women will run high as 7 items in the questionnaire apply exclusively to women, while only 2 apply exclusively to men.

 

If your score is:                                                              Symptoms are:

180 (women)                                                                  Almost certainly yeast connected

140 (men)

 

120 (women)                                                                  Probably yeast connected

80 (men)

 

80 (women)                                                                   Possibly yeast connection

40 (men)

 

60 (women)                                                                   Probably not yeast connected

20 (men)

 

Candida Albicans is a single cell fungus, which belongs to the vegetable kingdom.  This yeast normally lives on the mucous membranes of the intestines/digestive tract and the vagina, so do billions of friendly bacteria.  Unfriendly bacteria, viruses, allergens, and other enemies also find their way into these and other membrane lined passageways and cavities.  But when the immune system is strong, they are not able to break through into the blood stream or deeper tissues causing problems.  A primary factor in this defensive system is the proper gut microflora ratio of lactobacillus acidophilus.

 

In “The Colon Health Handbook,” Robert Gray states:  “The bacteria in a healthy colon ideally should be at least 85% lactobacteria and no more than 15% coliform bacteria.  The typical colon bacterial count in our society shows 15 lactobacteria and a monstrous 85% coliform bacteria.  This imbalance of the microflora not only is a factor in Candida Albicans, but is considered a major link in the high incidence of colon cancer in western societies.”

 

The primary cause of this imbalance of the microflora is because of the widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in animals, food and people.  Also contributing is high beef, high fat, high sugar, high refined foods, and low fiber diets.  The use of birth control pills, cortisone, cortisone-like drugs and immunosuppressant drugs also contributes to the imbalance of the microflora.

 

The broad-spectrum antibiotic kills off not only the unfriendly disease-producing bacteria but also the “friendly” intestinal and vaginal bacteria.  This imbalance leads to growth of the Candida Albicans.  Diets rich in sugar and yeast, birth control pills, cortisone and cortisone-like drugs and immunosuppressant drugs also stimulate the fungal growth.

 

Immunosuppressant drugs are often used in cancer therapies and organ transplant cases.  Now, the fungus and its toxins can wage a war locally with irritation to the gastrointestinal tract and vagina as well as distant locations by sending its toxic products to various tissues and organs by way of our circulatory system. The person may suffer from intestinal symptoms like diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, bloating, pain, distention, or vaginal pain, burning and discharge.  The person may also suffer a myriad of signs and symptoms based on the organ or tissues attacked.  If the nervous system is vulnerable, the individual may have depression—a major symptom.  Anxiety, migraines, irritability, irrational behavior and crying outbursts are also possibilities.

 

In his book, “The Missing Diagnosis,” C. Orlan Truss, M.D. described patients with multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, sarcoidosis, schizophrenia, myasthenia gravis, and anorexia nervosa, whose recovery followed Candida Albicans therapy.

 

E. W. Rosenberg, M.D. writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, told of the improvement of both psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease in patients on Candida Albicans therapy.

 

Equally baffling are the multiple sensitivities to foods and chemicals that develop in patients with Candida Albicans.

 

At a meeting of the Society for Clinical Ecology in 1981, Patricia Lucas, Ph.D. and immunologist, presented scientific data to support the theory that Candida causes many allergies by first damaging the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.  She believes that keeping the Candida off this tract will let the immune system recover.

 

COMMON SIGNALS OF CANDIDA OVERGROWTH

 

Gastrointestinal Tract:

Chronic heartburn, gastritis, colitis, distention and bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea.

 

Central Nervous System:

Depression, headaches, lethargy, agitation, hyperirritability, memory loss, inability to concentrate.

 

Allergic Symptoms:

Hay fever, sinusitis, earaches, hives, asthma, food and chemical sensitivities

 

Genitourinary Tract:

Yeast vaginitis, menstrual irregularities, cramping, endometriosis, cystitis, urethritis, and kidney and bladder infections.

 

Generalized Symptoms:

Fatigue, migrating joint pain and stiffness, cold hands and feet, increased body hair, numbness and tingling, food cravings, loss of libido.