IS MOULD MAKING YOU SICK? SIGNS, SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT FOR MOULD TOXICITY
With any type of chronic illness, you need to consider your home environment. The climate here in QLD is damp and humid - the perfect conditions for mould to grow. In fact, one in three homes are estimated to be water damaged (water damaged by definition is a building that is exposed to water ingress or condensation for 48 hours or longer). Key word here is water - if you are living in a wet environment - which can be from the climate, leaks, flooding, poor ventilation - mould has the opportunity to grow, along with a whole bunch of other microbes which can also cause health issues. Fungi are also extremely resistant, and there’s estimated to be up to 1.5 million species in the world, and unfortunately the pathogenic types of fungi can be extremely debilitating on your health. Mould produces mycotoxins, which are compounds that they create and release in order to protect themselves from other invaders, and are most commonly associated with mould related illness. Mycotoxins initiate a inflammatory response in the body, with a staggering 24% of the population having a genotype where the body is unable to create antibodies to mould. This means that the mould is unable to be eliminated effectively from the body, and as a result, can lead to long term chronic inflammation and the development of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). CIRS is different to a mould allergy - a mould allergy activates a mast cell reaction that results in typical allergic symptoms like you would experience in hay-fever. It is usually short lived, and has a sudden onset after exposure to a mould allergen.
So, chronic inflammation. How is it affecting your health? In a susceptible person (i.e you have the genotype, or you’re living/working in a water damaged environment), the mycotoxins from the mould initiate a rather chaotic and disordered innate immune response, which is not effective and antibodies are not created. This leads to the adaptive immune system not clearing the toxins, and the continuation of the initial inflammatory cascade, leading to a pro-inflammatory state. This leads to hormonal and neurological changes, and multi-system changes, which can eventually lead to brain inflammation and atrophy.
COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Please note that a lot of the symptoms are very general, and overlap with many other syndromes. I highly recommend you work through your health issues with a Naturopath before diagnosing yourself. The history of the symptoms will be the clue itself. Did your onset of symptoms occur when you moved into your new apartment? Did you begin to feel better when you went away on your three week holiday? Do you feel that you just ‘don’t like’ a particular room in your house? Does your house have a past or present history of water damage?
Specific symptoms include: increased frequency of static electric shocks, or having a feeling of ‘vibrations’, and severe anxiety.
The feeling of being generally unwell.
Gastrointestinal: cramps, appetite swings, abdominal pain, diarrhea, increased urination, excessive thirst, food cravings, especially for sweets.
Neurological: headaches and migraines, brain fog, light sensitivity, memory impairment, decreased word finding, concentration difficulties, disorientation, sleep disturbances, light headedness, vertigo, hypersensitivity to bright light, blurred vision and visual disturbances, burning or red eyes, tearing, depression, anxiety, the tendency to get angry easily, OCD.
Hormonal: deficiency or imbalance of hormones, particularly the thyroid, poor temperature regulation, night sweats, dehydration.
Dermatological: skin sensitivity, tingling, inability to thermoregulate, athletes foot, jock itch, skin rashes, itchy scalp, thrush, anal itching.
Immune: chronic immune suppression and vulnerability to disease, immune sensitivities from food or environmental causes.
Muscles and Joints: joint pain, weakness, aches, morning stiffness, cramps, irregular body pains.
Energy: chronic fatigue, weakness.
Respiratory: shortness of breath, asthma-like symptoms, cough, chronic sinus congestion.
Mould related illness is also associated with frequent miscarriages, infertility, autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, and heavily associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Remove the exposure. You need to put your detective hat on! You should be looking thoroughly around the home, work, and car, and smell for odours and look for signs of dampness and mould. Carpets and air-conditioning units are the biggest culprits. Any porous materials that hold water should be thrown out - paper, magazines, books, cardboard, carpet, drywall, particle board, ceiling tiles, soft leather, suede, soft furnishings, cushions, plush toys, mattress, pillows, doonas and blankets.
If the mould is extensive please consider remediating your home using a professional mould remediator. This will be costly but worthwhile. A building biologist will assist in assessing the extent of the damage and provide remediation procedures and quotes. It is important to find a building biologist with IICRC certification - they can be found here https://www.iicrc.org/page/IICRCGlobalLocator
Clean! Anything that smells mouldy or is in a damp area - clothes, curtains, fabric furniture and rugs etc can be washed with normal detergent and dried in the sun. Small amounts of mould on surfaces can be removed with a microfibre cloth and vinegar solution (80:20 water). Please wear protective equipment and masks when doing this, and ensure the room is adequately ventilated. When removing mould, they will produce more mycotoxins as they are threatened. It is also important to find the water source that is facilitating the mould growth, and eliminate it.
Remove your clutter! Clutter restricts air flow, and increases dust accumulation and mould exposure.
Ensure you are vacuuming regularly - at least weekly, and particularly vacuuming your carpets, using a HEPA filter.
Consider buying a dehumidifier to ensure your home is kept dry.
Clean your air-conditioner at least every 12 months.
Regularly maintain your residence.
Look for mould colonisation in and on the body - such as skin infections, respiratory symptoms, fungal infections, thrush, oral thrush, raised lymph nodes, sinusitis.
Grains, coffee and dairy are high in mycotoxins, so removing them until you get on top of your toxicity will be beneficial.
Find a support network - it is hard for friends and family members to understand what you’re going through if they aren’t experiencing it. A great support group is “Toxic Mold Support Group” on Facebook.
TESTING
First of all, a Naturopath will assist in identifying signs and symptoms related to mould toxicity.
You can remove yourself from the building for 1-2 weeks if you suspect mould toxicity, and assess how you feel generally once returning to the home. Consider going camping (ideally not in the back yard of the affected home!), going to a friend or families home that hasn’t been water damaged, or rent out an airbnb. Once you remove yourself, you will be able to detect rooms, building, symptoms etc much easier when returning to the affected area.
A deficiency in visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) can be an indication of a mould-related illness. A test for VCS can be performed by an optometrist or at vcstest.com (free). This test assesses your ability to define differences in shades of grey, and is a beneficial (but random!) test as cytokines (which are increased in mould toxicity) affect the optic nerve. Dr Shoemaker suggests it is 92% accurate.
HLA-DQ/DR gene testing - this is a simple blood test which can be ordered through your GP or Naturopath. HLA susceptible genes are found in 25-75% of the general western community, so it is quite common - but they are found in 95% of mould toxicity patients.
Urinary mycotoxin test - this is a integrative test which can be ordered through your Naturopath, and tests the various mycotoxins found in your urine. There are always going to be some levels of mycotoxins due to our environmental and dietary exposures, however it is beneficial to do to assess if there are any excesses which could suggest mould toxicity.
Blood tests - hormones (Low - MSH, VIP, ADH, ACTH, VEGF), estrogen (often high), testosterone and DHEA (often low), cytokines (high - C4a, TFG-B1, MMP-9, Leptin, antibodies), ESR & CRP, anti-gliadin antibodies (often high), anticardiolipin antibodies (often high).
Nasal swab - often tests positive to candida or staph infections, contributing to inflammation in mould toxicity.
In home testing - building biologists cost around $500 - they will use thermal cameras, moisture detectors and mapping tools, and may take samples of the air and surfaces.
Tick borne illnesses produce similar symptoms to mould related illness. The following checklist is provided by Dr Horowitz and can assist to differentiate the two https://www.lymedisease.org.au/horowitz-msids-38-point-symptom-checklist
WHAT WILL A NATUROPATH DO?
Naturopathic treatment aims to support, enhance and modulate the immune system to dampen inflammation, strengthen and tone body systems to promote self-healing, remove toxins and exposure. As always, treatment is individualised, and will not follow a set ‘protocol’. There’s so many treatment protocols online and I really recommend you get under the care of an educated professional, and not follow online advice, as it can be a very expensive and also dangerous way to self diagnose and prescribe. There is also the potential for fungi, virus and bacteria to become ‘resistant’ when you are using herbs and neutraceuticals without knowing how they work in the body.
Have you experienced, or are currently experiencing a mould related illness? Please leave a comment, I would love to chat and find out how it has affected you!
REFERENCES:
Beshara, M. (n.d). The Shoemaker Protocol. Retrieved from https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/Beshara_CIRS_protocol_paper_for_certification.pdf
Pizzorno J. (2016). Is Mold Toxicity Really a Problem for Our Patients? Part I-Respiratory Conditions. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.), 15(2), 6–10.
Shoemaker, R. https://www.survivingmold.com/diagnosis
Shoemaker, R et al., (2018). Diagnostic Process for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS): A Consensus Statement Report of the Consensus Committee of Surviving Mold. Internal Medicine Review. Retrieved from https://www.survivingmold.com/Publications/CIRS_diagnostic_protocol_final_5_1_2018.pdf
https://www.buildingbiology.com.au/
Tagged: Mould, CIRS, naturopath, Functional medicine, Naturopathy, Mould toxicity, Mold, Mold toxicity, Illness, Chronic disease, environment, environmental illness