A factor worth acknowledging is the yearly courses of antibiotics for thrush (Flucloxacillin). While they’re helpful in the moment, they don’t differentiate between good and bad bacteria, so each round likely wipes out both. Over time, that can subtly disrupt gut skin communication.

Your digestion gives us some strong clues about what’s happening beneath the surface. Although your bowel movements are regular, which is great, but having sensitivity to spicy food, sugar, and dairy points toward an underlying gut imbalance. When bloating flares reliably in response to these foods, it usually indicates that the microbiome isn’t as diverse or resilient as it needs to be and if the gut is irritated, the skin usually follows suit.

At this stage, functional gut testing would give the clearest picture. It can reveal things blood tests can’t, microbial diversity, inflammatory markers, yeast overgrowth, and any signs of imbalance created over time through antibiotics or medication changes. Before investing in testing, though, there are powerful steps we can take to naturally increase microbiome diversity and richness.

A key focus will be increasing prebiotic and probiotic foods, alongside a broader range of plant fibres.

Because bloating has been a recurring theme, adding in something supportive for digestion can make the whole process easier. Artah Digest & Debloat is a great option, it’s designed to help break food down more efficiently while reducing that uncomfortable build-up that can trigger inflammation downstream.