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Mold illness, also commonly called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), can be difficult to diagnose due to the variety of symptoms that can be experienced from person to person. Symptoms such as sinus congestion, allergies, asthma, memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, body and joint pains, and immune dysfunction (to name a few).
Many patients come to EnviroMed Clinic after finding nothing but dead ends with conventional medicine (seen multiple specialists) or naturopathic medicine – doctors who have not been trained in understanding Mold Illness. These patients have been suffering and struggling to get a proper diagnosis, treatment, and investigation. Usually, they have become disheartened and sick of being sick for so many years.
EnviroMed’s clinical care team are among the few doctors who have received extra training in diagnosing and treating mold illness.
Mold refers to the different types of fungi that grow in moist and humid environments both indoors and out. It is usually indoor mold that is the common cause.
Mold has “seeds” called spores, which travel through the air and settle in humid places, taking root in surfaces both indoors and outdoors. Indoor mold is most commonly found in bathrooms, basements, and kitchens. Once there is water damage sitting and left for a 24 hour period, mold is bound to grow and take hold.
Mold releases both spores and mycotoxins which can be inhaled, and it is these two things that are responsible for mold illness.
Spores can trigger an immune response for some individuals, while mycotoxins are toxic to all people – but especially to people who might be genetically predisposed to not clearing these toxins well.
The toxins in your system from breathing in mold spores add to the total amount of toxicity in your body. We call this the Total Body Burden. When your burden is high, you start experiencing symptoms – many which are seemingly unrelated.
For most people, toxins get flushed out from the body when eliminating waste.
For some, the toxic load is so high that it’s too much for the body to eliminate them all efficiently. For others, they may have poor detoxification processes, or they may even recycle or reabsorb these mycotoxins back, as the body tries to eliminate them. Genetics and nutritional status play a huge role in this difference from person to person
In short, multiple symptoms happen because, as we say in environmental medicine – genetics points the gun, and then the environment pulls the trigger.
Regular exposure can cause allergy symptoms, such as:
And long term and/or significant exposure can cause symptoms, such as:
Many symptoms from mold exposure can often be misdiagnosed as other conditions such as:
Mold exposure can also cause a chronic illness known as Mixed Mold Toxicosis.
If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms and have not been able to find relief for your symptoms, you may be suffering from an allergy or mold illness.
Mold exposure can cause a number of symptoms that range from mild to severe, depending on the type of mold you’ve been exposed to, the extent of your allergy, or whether or not you have developed Mixed Mold Toxicosis.
While symptoms to mold exposure are not uncommon (some studies suggest that mold allergies may affect up to 24% of the population), many health care professionals struggle to pinpoint the cause behind these symptoms.
Often only a few people or one person and not everyone, in a home or workplace experience symptoms. Therefore, many health professionals will not be looking at environmental factors as a cause- as they aren’t trained to detect mold-related illnesses. This is frustrating and confusing for the sick person. When their doctors can’t find any reason for the illness, they can start to feel like the sickness is all in their mind.
The first step to treating symptoms related to mold exposure is speaking with a health professional that recognizes the symptoms associated with mold and then testing for it.
At EnviroMed Clinic, we have years of experience diagnosing and treating allergies and illnesses related to mold exposure. Our environmental Naturopathic Doctors can detect the presence of certain kinds of molds in a person’s system by using urine and blood testing.
Next the sources of moisture that lead to mold growth must be identified and fixed by professionals. As this will eliminate the mold exposure. Unless an expert permanently removes the mold, it will quickly return.
Finally, the body needs support to eliminate the toxins and reduce the Total Body Burden. Common treatments for mold-related illnesses include:
Simply said, we work with you until you get well!