Research is continually discovering how more and more health problems are associated with imbalances in the microbial population living in our intestines, a situation referred to as intestinal dysbiosis.
I have reported about links between imbalanced gut microbes and diseases as diverse as acne, diabetes, anxiety, depression, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease. But there’s more.
Current research links recurrent bladder infections in sexually active women to the presence of imbalanced vaginal microbes, a condition called bacterial vaginosis. And the imbalanced vaginal microbes of bacterial vaginosis are typically associated with imbalanced microbes in the intestine, which is called intestinal dysbiosis.
About half of all women will experience urinary tract infections in their lifetimes, and despite treatment, about a quarter will develop recurrent infections within six months of the initial infection, according to research. Many women suffer a urinary tract infection after every sexual encounter.
Looking at the other end of the body, many people suffer from bouts of cold sores, which are sometimes referred to as canker sores. These are among the most common oral lesions, and are called Recurrent Apthous Stomatitis by doctors. There is no established effective treatment for these lesions, which are often confused with Herpes blisters, but do not respond to antiviral treatment.
It turns out that one important factor in the development of cold sores is an imbalance in the microbial population of the oral cavity. And interestingly, the oral cavity microbes can be affected by changes in our immune systems due to changes in the microbial population of the intestine.
Thus the state of our intestinal microbes can influence these problems on both ends.
You can do a lot of good for yourself by improving the quality of the micro-organisms that live in and on you. At the least, a good probiotic supplement will possibly help you on many levels and likely not hurt.
If that doesn’t help, we can evaluate you for the factors that might be adversely affecting your microbes.
Feel free to call us at 303-394-4204 and we’ll be glad to help.
