Mold Sickness Symptoms | Health Tips | Mold Illness

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mold exposure can cause symptoms such as nasal stuffiness, eye irritation, wheezing, and skin irritation. People with serious allergies to molds may have more severe reactions including fever and shortness of breath; and those with chronic lung illnesses, like obstructive lung disease, may even develop mold infections in their lungs.

More severely, the term "mold illness," or Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), refers to an inflammation within the body that is caused by an immune system gone haywire, in which the body displays mold sickness symptoms.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines CIRS as an acute and chronic, systemic inflammatory response syndrome acquired following exposure to the interior environment of a water-damaged building with resident toxigenic organisms, including, but not limited to fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes and mycobacteria as well as inflammagens such as endotoxins, beta glucans, hemolysins, proteinases, mannans and possibly spirocyclic drimanes; as well as volatile organic compounds.

Many patients don't necessarily "look" sick. But people suffering from CIRS are struggling with an illness that causes them to lose their quality of life, and often times don't know that the cause is a genetic susceptibility to develop this illness based on their immune response genes (HLA-DR). They don't know that the inflammation that makes them ill is due to an assault by their own unregulated innate immune system responses. Because of exposure to mold, they have series of abnormalities in innate immune responses that refuse to self-heal; will not abate in severity - instead, they actually increase; and will continue to cause illness from blood- and tissue-based inflammation as well as alteration of the regulation of fundamental genomic activity.

The WHO further explains that at the core of why one person becomes ill from mold exposure, exhibiting mold sickness symptoms, and another doesn't is simply gene susceptibility (or predisposition). In short, it's what's built into a person's DNA. Every person's immune system is innately personal and genetically coded, meaning that it works differently for each of us. When our bodies are faced with a foreign substance, it immediately begins to process that substance. It recognizes it, determines if it is good or bad, and throws it into the antigen presenting machinery that will normally generate an effective antibody response.

Unfortunately, there is no precise formula for rebuilding perfect health if you have experienced mold sickness symptoms. No one set of interventions will work for everyone, and treatment depends on many factors, such as the type of mold you were exposed to, length of exposure, your overall health, medications, allergies, genetics, etc.

Your best approach in recovering from mold sickness symptoms is to find a well-informed physician whose expertise is in environmental medicine so that together you can devise an appropriate treatment plan, based on your own unique physiology and situation.

Probably the most important supplement for recovering from mold sickness symptoms is a good probiotic, according to Professor Michiel Kleerebezem of NIZO, the world's leading company in contract research for better food and health.

Kleerebezem explains that the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) is your body's first line of defense against mold sickness symptoms, and having a GI tract filled with beneficial flora is crucial for optimal immune function. The science is that probiotics help repopulate your GI tract with these beneficial bacteria.
The good bacteria help keep the bad bacteria, as well as other organisms like mold and yeast, balanced - which explains why, alternatively, antibiotics are counterproductive if you have a fungal infection.

Without the proper microflora, fungi and their toxins can break through the walls of your intestinal tract and enter your bloodstream. When your bowel is toxic, the rest of your body soon follows. Sensing this toxicity, your immune system reacts with a vengeance, trying desperately to overcome this perceived assault, which results in systemic inflammation. And when your blood is full of toxins, your organs responsible for cleansing it (liver, kidneys, skin, lymph) become overloaded and multi-system health problems can occur, which is what many people experience after mold poisoning.

Preventing mold exposure is the best way to avoid mold sickness symptoms. One way you can do that is by improving your home's indoor air quality with a professional air duct cleaning, which rids your home of dust, mold, and other contaminants hiding in your heating and air conditioning system ductwork.

In addition to improving your home's indoor air quality as a way to prevent mold growth and mold exposure, you should also know where to look for already-existing mold. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identifies the following as the most common potential mold-harboring appliances and structures in your home:

• Refrigerators
• Freezers
• Cooking stoves
• Dishwashers
• Hot water heaters
• Washing machines
• Dryers
• Drywall
• Subflooring
• Heating and air conditioning filters
• HVAC ductwork

Do You See or Suspect Mold Damage?