Canine Yeast Infection Complications | Dog Yeast Infection Complications
Dog yeast infections are become more serious when a dog has a weakened or compromised immune system. Yeasts are single cell organisms, which are found on the surfaces of all living things, including your dog’s body. Yeasts normally live on the mucous membranes of the digestive tract. One family of yeasts called, Candida Albicans, lives in the digestive tract and consumes substances such as sugar and fats in order to survive. With a fragile immune system, the good bacterium lessens and the Candida Albicans change from a non-invasive yeast to a full scale dog yeast infection. Yeast is fairly easy to detect because of the odor as this pesky smelly fungus tends to be brown, thick and greasy in nature.
It is more noticeable in a dog’s ear than anywhere else which many owners innocently think is merely a wax build up due to the brownish yellow color. Wax has a hard texture while yeast is softer and greasier. It thrives in moist areas of your dog’s skin such as the anal glands, the ears and the feet. Yeast causes the dog to have complications in their ear canal, which can throw off their balance and cause loss of hearing. If you notice that your dog has trouble standing up or seems to be a bit wobbly when walking, then the infection might have spread to the inner ear and it is highly recommended to get your pet to the hospital at once.
When our dog’s immune system is healthy, the body is able to destroy the yeasts and keep them under control. However, when the immune system is weak the yeast, being an opportunistic feeder, may produce in mass amounts causing toxins that breakdown the immune system and prevent it from functioning properly. At this point, the system becomes altered which can lead to a host of health problems. An overgrowth of canine yeast toxins will affect your pet’s immune system, digestive system, nervous system, and their endocrine system. Since these systems are all inter-connected, yeast toxins play a major role in causing allergies, bladder infections, skin disorders and many other illnesses.
Yeast infections in dogs are usually found in the skin and ears and are caused by an organism called Malasezzia pachydermatis or malasezzia for short. Malasezzia, was first discovered about 10 years ago but may have been around a lot longer. Yeast is ever present and normally not a cause for great alarm unless the dog’s defenses are down and the organism becomes opportunistic.
Many times dogs who suffer from malasezzia will have lesions or sores appear on their skin. These lesions can be one or two random lumps or be localized in patches and in some severe cases cover the body. These sores are usually red and are accompanied by areas of increased pigmentation, hair loss, and scales or greasiness. These scales and greasy area have a yellowish tint indicative that malasezzia is the culprit. The dogs are also usually very itchy and have a musty type odor. The most common sites for these sores are the underside of the neck, the belly and the feet, especially between the toes.
Candida Albicans is another yeast-like fungus that normally lives in a healthy balance in the body. When the balance is upset- infection results. This is known as Candidiasis and the fungus can travel to all parts of the body carried by the bloodstream.
Normally the large intestine hosts a balance of beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus) along with benign yeast. The harmful Candida is usually kept in check by the Lactobacillus bacteria, partially by the production of lactic acid and by taking up space where the yeast could reside. Candida actually provides growth factors for Lactobacillus. They exist in a natural balance, until something happens to upset this symbiotic relationship.
Although there is no “single factor” responsible for turning this naturally occurring organism into an agent of disease, the candidal species is notorious for being an “opportunistic” pathogen: “They incite disease in hosts whose local or systemic immune attributes have been impaired, damaged, or innately dysfunctional”. Candida has a tenacious ability to adhere to mucosal surfaces. This is a necessary step for the initiation of candidiasis and adherence depends on the immune status of the host. Candida secretes enzymes which destroy membrane integrity leading to dysfunction. Candida also secretes toxins which activate the immune system, overload the liver, and deposit in body tissues.
Many different types of traditional remedies are being used to treat yeast and other skin problems. Although drugs are temporally effective for the symptoms they do not eliminate the cause of the symptom. It is advised to get at the root of the situation by looking at the whole picture and examining all of the pet. Once the cause is found a PREVENTION PLAN can be initiated.
