Your complicated symptoms may be from mold sickness
Mold sickness symptoms are incredibly wide ranging, and unless you know what to look for they can appear completely unrelated.
Here is a list of common symptoms of mold sickness:
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Aches
- Cramps(s)
- Unusual pain(s)
- Ice-pick pain
- Headache
- Light sensitivity
- Joint pain
- Memory issues
- Challenges focusing or concentrating
- Mood swings
- Appetite swings
- Sweats (especially at night)
- Static shocks
- Numbness
- Tingling
- Red eyes
- Blurred vision
- Tearing
- Sinus issues
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Skin sensitivity
- Challenged to regulate body temperature
- Excessive thirst
- Increased urination
- Vertigo
- Tremors
- Metallic taste in the mouth
On their own, these symptoms of mold sickness seem random and confusing. They’re bound to stump any practitioner not trained in mold illness. But when many of these symptoms are occurring at the same time, the clinical picture starts to look more and more like mold exposure and mold illness.
Mold exposure symptoms don’t fit a clinical diagnosis. In fact, many patients end up being treated for chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia simply because everything else has been ruled out.
Unfortunately, you won’t have much luck receiving effective treatment for mold illness through your doctor. Many doctors don’t know that mold can make you sick.
If you’ve got a number of unexplained symptoms, it’s time to start looking to mold sickness as a potential cause!
If you are experiencing the symptoms of mold sickness, even when you have left the moldy environment, it’s important to get tested for CIRS. Take this questionnaire to find out if your symptoms are from mold exposure.
How does mold exposure cause so many symptoms?
There are two different reactions to mold exposure and it’s important to note the difference.
The first is a mold allergy. Mold allergies happen with mold exposure. Common symptoms of a mold allergy are:
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Post nasal drip
- Watery eyes
- Dry, scaly skin
After you leave the moldy environment, you’ll no longer experience mold allergy symptoms.
The second condition is called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). CIRS is a very different condition causing that long list of symptoms I mentioned earlier. CIRS prevents your immune system from getting rid of the mold. Instead your immune system will continue to react in often strange and unrelated ways.
The biggest difference between mold allergies and CIRS is that if you have CIRS, your symptoms of mild sickness won’t go away even when you leave the moldy environment.
However not everyone can develop CIRS. You need to be among the 25% of people who has the HLA-DR gene. (1) Think of this portion of the population as the canaries in the coal mine – they’re the first to experience symptoms if a building has mold in it! Their body’s immune system shifts into high gear with mold exposure.
Where is the mold coming from?
Yes, when I say mold it includes the same stuff you might see on your food. Mold is even present in a lot of food products that aren’t rotting. Foods like coffee, corn, grains, and dehydrated fruits often have high levels of mold and mycotoxins.
But the main source of toxic mold exposure comes from water-damaged buildings. And they’re far more common than you may think. Studies of residential homes and commercial buildings in the United States suggest that 50% of all building structures have water damage resulting in mold.
You could be living in a moldy home and not even know it!
Your home may be causing your mold exposure symptoms
Mold loves warm, damp environments. When you add a slow water leak to an area of your house, mold will thrive. This can occur on the outside or inside of your house. High humidity in a house also creates the perfect environment for mold growth. Often, mold growth occurs behind walls where water has the opportunity to collect.
Another common source of mold is in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units (HVAC). This is even more common in the HVAC systems of commercial buildings. These systems are the perfect place for water to collect and mold to grow.
If you’ve got any sort of water leak and a place for that water to collect, mold will thrive. And since more than half of all buildings in the US have suffered water damage, mold is extremely common.
Do you think you are suffering from mold sickness symptoms? Contact us today to book a free 15 minute phone consultation with our certified mold sickness practitioner!
The Story of Two Genes…
Meet Jane. Jane does not have the mold genes (HLA-DR). She lives in a water-damaged building, and experiences mold allergy symptoms. Her immune system identifies the mold’s mycotoxins and creates specific antibodies to rid her body of the mold. Once Jane moves, her mold allergy symptoms will go away. Her immune system eliminates molds.
Meet Tina. Tina has the mold genes (HLA-DR). She too was living in a water-damaged building. She had mold allergy symptoms so she decided to move. Her new house does not have any water damage. But Tina’s symptoms continue to get worse each day.
Tina’s immune system functions very differently than Jane’s. Tina’s body is unable to flush out the mold toxins. This triggers her immune system to respond to these mold toxins over and over. Tina’s immune system is never able to turn off because her body can’t get rid of the mold toxins. Always having some mold toxins circulating in her system causes 24/7 activation of her immune system. Tina is unable to protect herself against new mold exposures. And she suffers daily from a crazy array of symptoms. All of which are caused by her immune system constantly fighting the mold.
It is this chronic activation of the immune system that causes so many different symptoms.
How is mold exposure and mold illness diagnosed?
Again, I need to stress that there’s a world of difference between a mold allergy and CIRS. It is key to know that they are two separate conditions caused by the same thing – mold exposure. Outside of that, the disease processes are very different.
A mold allergy will typically be diagnosed by an allergist. To confirm the diagnosis, an allergist will run an IgE allergy, or skin prick test. Different types of mold will be tested on your skin. If there’s a noticeable reaction to one of the test spots, a mold allergy is diagnosed.
If you have a mold allergies you will need to be mindful of mold exposure. That means avoiding damp piles of leaves in the autumn months. And avoiding any areas of damp or wet materials in the spring. During these months, it may be wise to wear a mask when venturing outdoors.
Diagnosing CIRS is a complex, multi-step process. A good first step is to take our questionnaire to see if your symptoms are caused by mold. I then recommend finding a practitioner experienced in mold sickness. They will guide you through the complicated testing and remediation to help you regain your health.
Do you think you are suffering from mold sickness symptoms? Contact us today to book a free 15 minute phone consultation with our certified mold sickness practitioner!
How you can limit mold exposure
Exposure is what will recreate your mold sickness symptoms. Therefore, you need to avoid exposure as much as possible. Often, those who are most sensitive to molds and their mycotoxins will have a sixth sense for detecting musty smells. They’ll be able to pick out water-damaged buildings as soon as they enter. Don’t brush your nose’s experience (or your strange symptoms) off as being paranoid; it’s better to err on the side of caution. If you think a building or house is moldy, leave.
Common areas of mold exposure and growth in a home/building include:
- HVAC systems
- Attics and/or crawl spaces
- Window sills
- Bathrooms
If you live in an area with high levels of humidity, consider investing in a dehumidifier. You’ll want to keep the humidity of your home less than 35%. Any humidity levels greater than 50% will most certainly result in mold growth. You’ll also want to pay close attention to any leaky faucets/pipes/drains. Mold can grow with only a small amount of moisture. Fix leaky pipes immediately.
In some cases, you may need to buy an air purifier. You can attach specific filters to your HVAC system that are certified to protect against asthma and allergen triggers. Other devices can be used specifically in the room(s) you spend the most time in. Before purchase, make note that the air purifier can successfully filter out molds.
Outdoor sources of mold exposure
Water-damaged and/or moldy buildings aside, you’ll need to be mindful of outdoor areas mold likes to grow. Mold exposure can happen both indoors and outdoors. Molds like temperate weather and a source of water – these are the two key ingredients to mold growth. Moisture causes mold. Moisture always comes first.
To best avoid outdoor mold exposure, you’ll want to be aware of moist areas. This could include outdoor areas like swamps/sloughs and any area with rotting vegetation. Rotting vegetation after the snowmelt is a common source of mold. If you’re an avid gardener, consider wearing a mask while working in the dirt. Soil is a perfect home for molds.
How to know if your home or office is making you sick
Since so many buildings are water-damaged, before purchasing or renting a new home be sure to have the house thoroughly tested for molds and their mycotoxins. At the time of this writing, there are two tests you can use that effectively measure the amount of mold in your home:
- The ERMI test
- The HERTSMI 2 test
ERMI test
ERMI stands for Environmental Relative Moldiness Index. The ERMI test uses a specific technique called mold-specific quantitative PCR testing (MSQPCR). Before the ERMI test, evaluating a home for mold consisted of taking small samples of dust in your home and trying to grow mold in a petri dish. (8) If the petri dish didn’t grow mold, your home was thought to be mold-free. The ERMI test looks for mold’s DNA. This type of testing is significantly more sensitive than growing mold in a petri dish. The ERMI test is sensitive enough to test for 36 different species of mold.
This test was originally developed by comparing moldy homes to non-moldy homes. The results of an ERMI test are divided into four quartiles: (9)
- First Quartile
- The ERMI value for this quartile is -10 up to -4.
- This environment has low levels of mold.
- If you have a mold allergy or CIRS, you want your house to fall only in this category.
- Second quartile
- The ERMI value for this quartile is -4 up to 0.
- This environment has low to medium levels of mold.
- Third quartile
- The ERMI value for this quartile is from 0 – 5.
- This environment has medium to high levels of mold.
- Fourth quartile
- The ERMI value for this quartile is from 5 – 20. And sometimes even >20.
- This environment has high to very high levels of mold.
HERTSMI 2 test
HERTSMI stands for Health Effects Roster of Type-Specific Formers of Mycotoxins and Inflammagens. HERTSMI-2 was designed for assessing the risk of re-exposure for known mold patients. (10) Unlike the ERMI test that measures the DNA of 36 different mold species, the HERTSMI-2 test checks for what is known as the big 5 mold species. These five species are the ones most commonly associated with mold illness, allergy, and/or CIRS.
If your HERTSMI-2 test is <10, the home/building is safe to re-occupy. Any value above 10 suggests that the building will continue to trigger symptoms in mold-susceptible individuals. If you have those mold-genes, you need to avoid these buildings at all times.
The ERMI test tells you how moldy your house is compared to the average home. The HERTSMI-2 test tells you whether (or not) it is safe for you to live in your home. Ideally, you would run both of these tests to get a complete picture of mold levels in your home and their potential effect(s) on your health.
Avoiding exposure is the first step to overcoming mold allergy and/or CIRS. If you find that avoiding exposure is not improving your mold sickness symptoms, it’s time to dig deeper. Check out more of my mold-related posts:
Take this questionnaire to find out if your symptoms are from mold exposure
Learn the difference between a mold allergy and CIRS
How NOT to treat mold exposure
Find out if you have mold in your house
Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome related to mold exposure?
Flourish Clinic specializes in treating mold illness – learn more!
Now, I want to hear from you!
What sort of strange symptoms has mold exposure caused in your body?
How did you successfully treat them?
Leave your answers in the comments section below!
I find it alarming that getting exposed to mold could cause fatigue and other symptoms if left overlooked. I heard that my friend plans to move into an apartment so that he’d live closer to his office. I think finding someone who could inspect and remove molds from his future living space is a good preventive measure.