Hitting Home

A river runs through a community a few miles north of our main office. Many local people and tourists use the river, especially in the summer, to kayak, canoe, tube, swim, and fish. Activity on the river has been abundant since the discovery of the river over a hundred years ago.

A few decades ago, there became a pattern among a few residents and their pets. They acquired symptoms such as coughing, fatigue, mild fluid in the lungs, and fever, which resemble symptoms for a number of other diseases. Of course, doctors prescribed antibiotics with no luck, the symptoms persisted and evolved into more serious conditions involving the skin, bones, urogenital tract and central nervous system.

The mystery disease was Blastomyces, a fungal disease, which has often been misdiagnosed as tuberculosis, chronic histoplasmosis, or a bacterial disease. If not treated properly, the symptoms could become fatal. Humans and dogs acquire this from inhaling the fungal spores in areas with high organic content, such as along riverbanks.

Unfortunately, the only remedy for a fungal-related disease is an antifungal. Antibiotics amplify the symptoms because they are only effective on bacterial infections. Some of the best natural antifungals available are olive leaf extract, oregano oil, caprylic acid, grapefruit seed extract, garlic, neem, curcumin and apple cider vinegar. Probiotics, positive bacteria, also work against the fungus by multiplying in the intestinal tract, crowding out any negative microorganisms that have taken hold.

Blastomycosis has become a familiar name in this area of the United States, as have other fungal diseases. It can really hit home in a small community when some of these diseases affect so many people, and are the result of enjoying nature in your backyard.