Candida And Hyperventilation

When one thinks of hyperventilation, it is often thought of as an emotional condition—one in which someone gets so anxious or stressed that they over-breathe and develop hyperventilation. 

When one is hyperventilating, he or she often feels anxious, short of breath and feels numbness, tingling and muscle stiffness.  It is an uncomfortable condition to have.

Most cases of hyperventilation are due to an underlying anxiety state or to over-breathing due to stress or athletics.  

Some people, however, can blame candidiasis as part of why they are hyperventilating, especially if the hyperventilation occurs repetitively. 

Candida is becoming an increasing problem in medicine today.  Its prevalence is mostly a result of society’s own practices. 

The overuse of antibiotics, uncontrolled diabetes, the use of antibiotics in animal feed, the rise in immunodeficiency states and the use of steroids and birth control pills have all contributed to the increase in candida related conditions. 

Even the development of powerful anti-candida medications has only served to increase the incidence of fungal organisms that have developed a resistance to these medications. Candida blood infections, once rare, are some of the most common hospital-acquired blood infections.

Candida overgrowth of the colon can, in some cases, lead to mental and emotional symptoms such as hyperventilation. Candida yeast normally lives in small numbers in our colon along with healthy bacteria that live in symbiosis with us.  All of the risk factors for candida (above) can create favorable candida growing conditions. 

Anytime candida yeast has a chance to dominate the colonic environment, the organisms can puncture the lining of the colon, resulting in a colon that is more permeable or “leaky” and can lead to a systemic yeast infection.

A leaky colon can allow toxins from candida, from unhealthy bacteria and from environmental toxins to pass through its lining and enter the blood stream.

Toxins in the blood stream can cause many candida symptoms.  An affected person can feel tired or weak, can have aching muscles or joints, can feel generally ill, develop allergic symptoms or can have an increase in headaches, including migraine headaches. 

If left unchecked, emotional symptoms can result from toxicity affecting the brain.  The affected person can feel anxious, depressed or can develop anxiety-related conditions, such as hyperventilation.

Most cases of hyperventilation are simply due to an episode of anxiety or over-breathing, such as occurs sometimes in musicians in concert or in athletes during an intense game. 

When someone develops anxiety and hyperventilation in the absence of any particular cause or if they have never had the condition and suddenly develop episodes of hyperventilation, the underlying cause of candida overgrowth of the colon (intestinal xandida) must be considered.

This is particularly true in those at risk for candida in the first place or who have had a known candida infection, such as vaginal yeast infection, in the recent past.  Those who have had recurrent candida infections and hyperventilation definitely need to consider that the two conditions might be related.