Can Mold Cause Headaches?

Expert Recap: Can mold cause migraines or headaches?

If you spend time in a water damaged building, it is highly likely that mold exposure is causing your migraines and headaches. Although your brain can’t feel pain, the impact that mold exposure has on your body can result in headaches and migraines

How mold causes headaches

Mold may be the cause of many complex, poorly understood illnesses including:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Gulf War Syndrome
• Multiple chemical sensitivities
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Another condition to add to the list is chronic headaches and migraines.

More than 50% of people experience headaches. Often, the cause of the headache is unknown.

However, as more than 50% of buildings have likely experienced water damage, it is highly likely that a majority of people who suffer from migraines and headaches have also been exposed to mold.

Did you know that your brain can’t feel pain?

It’s true – the human brain does not have any pain receptors. However, there are plenty of pain receptors in the tissues surrounding the brain. This includes tissues like your veins, arteries, sinuses, nerves, muscles, and even your teeth.

It’s when mold exposure affects these tissues that you may get a headache. Below is a list of health issues caused by mold exposure that may contribute to migraines and headaches.

1. The nervous system & headaches

Studies show mold negatively affects the central nervous system. Mold can easily enter the nervous system through inhalation, IV drug use, surgery, and even contaminated medical supplies. Headaches can be a symptom of problems in the central nervous system.

2. Rhinitis & headaches

Mold exposure can cause rhinitis, which is irritation/inflammation of the mucous membranes inside the nose. And people with rhinitis suffer from more headaches and migraines.

3. Sick building syndrome & headaches

If you only get headaches at work or at home, you need to look into the health of the building. A building full of toxic mold could be the root cause of your headaches.

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a medical condition where people in a building become sick for no apparent reason. Nearly 30% of buildings may have sick building syndrome.

One cause of sick building syndrome is mold. About half of residential and commercial buildings have mold growth from water damage.

Properly identifying mold in your house or building is no easy task. All too often, mold growth occurs in areas you can’t see, like HVAC systems, crawl spaces, attics, and exhaust fans.

In most cases, symptoms improve after exiting a sick building. But if sick building syndrome illness is anything like toxic mold illness and CIRS, some people will continue to experience symptoms after they’ve left the building.

Be suspicious of your home and work environments. Both have a 50% chance of harboring molds and their dangerous mycotoxins. If either environment has water damage, your headaches may be caused by mold.

4. Asthma & headaches

Mold has been linked to respiratory conditions like asthma for some time. And asthma increases your risk for headaches and migraines by 45%! More than 30% of all asthma cases may be caused by mold. Even conventional medicine recognizes that mold can be a potential cause of asthma and respiratory conditions.

The link between CIRS and migraines or headaches 

As you can see, mold is the common thread of every headache trigger discussed – whether it’s asthma, inflammation, sinus infections or sick buildings.

Mold exposure may be behind many headache triggers. If you’re dealing with chronic headaches, you need to investigate your home and work environments for mold.

Even worse, if you have genes that react to mold, this mold exposure can turn into a mold illness, known as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).

CIRS is a chronic illness characterized by immune dysregulation. The immune system of people who suffer from CIRS is not able to recognize and expel mold toxins. Over time, this results in inflammation that can affect multiple body systems – and symptoms can include headaches.

Headaches and migraines are a common symptom of CIRS. So toxic mold may be causing your headaches whether you have been exposed to mold or have mold illness (CIRS).

 

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Book a consult with our team today.

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Mold is not the cause of everything that ails you. But it could be the cause of some of your conditions. And mold exposure isn’t safe. Exposure to toxic mold may make you sick. Very sick. And toxic mold will make you even sicker if you have the genes that cause mold illness (CIRS).

If you believe your headaches and migraines are a symptom of mold sickness, your number one priority needs to be exiting the contaminated space. If your symptoms don’t clear up, it’s time to contact a mold sickness specialist.

 

FAQs

Can mold cause migraines and headaches?

Although the brain doesn’t feel pain, mold exposure can affect the tissues surrounding the brain such as veins, arteries, sinuses, nerves, muscles and even teeth. These tissues can be affected by mold exposure, which causes migraines and headaches.

 

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Ready to start real recovery?
Book a consult with our team today.

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Mark Volmer has attained the highest level of Shoemaker Protocol certification, and is one of only two of Canada’s Shoemaker Protocol practitioners. The Shoemaker Protocol is the only scientifically proven method of treating CIRS.