Unfortunately, the burden of getting an accurate diagnosis for mold sensitivity or mycotoxin poisoning falls on the patients. And while we have the ability to find lots of literature about the dangers of mold, most articles online are fairly brief and specific to many important topics. Blogs like Hybrid Rasta Mama and Mold Help For You provide a tremendous service educating suffering patients seeking sound advice amongst a sea of profiteers.
A Broader Perspective
I am a semi-retired pharmaceutical executive and been blessed over recent years with the opportunity to work with many different professionals that provide products and services to the environmentally ill (primarily mold). The professionals I work with have dedicated their lives to helping people with severe mold sickness and mycotoxin poisoning. These patients struggle mightily with many more challenges than the normal ill patient with a regularly encountered illness that is diagnosed and treated by traditional medicine. Mold sickness sufferers, however, often follow an endless path of numerous physician specialties, misdiagnosis, unnecessary medicines, and endure numerous expensive diagnostics, all without success.
I currently work with many professionals who are focused on this tragic unmet medical need:
- A Physician (ENT surgeon) who is thought leader in mold diagnosis and treatment
- A Building Science expert who transforms the sickest of homes to have surgical suite quality air
- Microbalance Health Products: All natural products to clean mold from the nose, home, and clothes and homeopathic medicines to support resistance and the immune system
- A naturopathic doctor (N.D) who focuses on environmental illness
- An ENT surgery center that performs surgery that addresses mycotoxin poisoning in the deep sinuses affecting the brain.
- A mold blogger with a family of mold and chemically sensitive members who focuses on mold free living.
The Debilitating Path Of Mold Sickness and Mycotoxin Poisoning
All of these professionals collaborate to treat the very sickest of patients from Chronic Sinusitis to severe debilitating chronic illness. I often get to speak with many of these patients and have learned that chronic illness associated with mold is often associated with tragic stories.
- Patients experience symptoms that overlap with many other chronic illness and physiological issues. This complicates diagnosis, can take “forever”, and leads to frustration and hopelessness.
- When an illness presents itself as mysterious, both doctors and loved one often may not fully believe patients, and thus, cannot empathize. Patient sometimes feel like their symptoms are being dismissed. This is frustrating and can create resentments. In some cases, they are labeled as sickly, psychosomatic, depressed, lazy, ect. These sometimes unintentionally subtle comments hurt! They often create resentments that strain relationships and emotional frustration that can even eclipse the symptoms. Many normal communications can digress with any casual mention of these labels.
- Financial insecurity sets in for the entire family. In many cases, patients do not have the energy to work or care for the family. This contributes to guilt and hopelessness. Endless medical bills accumulate until a proper diagnosis and treatment is identified. Home remediation, necessary HVAC upgrades, or moving is very costly.
- While depression and anxiety are often misdiagnosed and treated in the lengthy process, the timing and physiology is misdiagnosed. Depression and anxiety are real and debilitating; however, they are not the cause. They are the result.
Neurological Symptoms Explained
I would like to highlight and focus what I believe is the most challenging of all the symptoms and least understood, Neurological Symptoms associated with mold sickness and mycotoxin poisoning. These are the “scariest” for patients! There is a logical explanation that his informative and provides some direction to address these alarming symptoms. Neurological symptoms can be manifested in headaches, brain fog, memory problems, numbness in extremities, inability to walk, balance, ext. These are devastating to any individual.
The explanation lies in the sinuses. While mold can be digested or pass through the skin, inhaling mold is the primary path for airborne spores or dust carrying mycotoxins. In the nose, the spores find a dark, warm, and moist environment that is quite suitable for reproduction. An inflammatory response and mucous production follows. Infected sinuses can be microns away from the brain and cerebral spinal fluid. The nose also houses the olfactory system of nerves. There is rich vascularization that leads directly to the olfactory system which is also adjacent to the brain. Also, the ethmoid sinuses (forehead), when infected, are adjacent to the pituitary gland. The pituitary is the “master gland” responsible for many hormonal systems in our body. Sinus infection can cause pituitary disturbance that can result in numerous endocrine system dysfunction.
Getting Started and Mold Hygiene
Regular rinsing of the nasal cavity with a rinse with antifungal properties is the single most important step in mold hygiene that can produce results as the spores inside the body are the ones that make people sick. Microbalance Health Products have a portfolio of products to rinse the nose and support the immune system to help these patients. While mold sufferers are prescribed these products during maximum treatment of sinusitis and systemic mycotoxin poisoning, mold hygiene is recommended to anyone who suffers from mold allergy or sensitivity.
Treatment and Detoxification For Mold Sickness and Mycotoxin Poisoning
Detoxification is the treatment followed by most health care providers familiar with mold. The human body has remarkable healing capabilities. When it comes to detoxification; creating optimal conditions for the bodies to metabolize and excrete these toxins is the only way to get rid of them. First and foremost, the source of mold inhalation has to be addressed first; or detoxification will be futile. I suggest seeking diagnosis and treatment from a physician or Naturopathic Doctor to treat and manage detoxification. You can google “physicians who treat environmental illness” to find these specialists or check out this post on Mold Doctors.
Over the years, my experiences has shown that these physicians and Naturopathic Doctors often have experienced environmental illness which drove them to treating this specific illness. Special diets, supplements, nutritional IVs (bypassing first pass metabolism), and sometimes, chemical binders are utilized to detoxify. With the countless supplements available that make claims to detox, a proper diagnosis with advance diagnostics from a Health Care Professional that treats environmental illness, will provide the most specific and expedient direction toward wellness and avoid dangerous products or combinations.
You can also check out how Jennifer detoxed from mold. She used a great approach!
Support your Immune System
A physician, when asked about diet for mold patients, replied “Quit eating Toxic foods!” Avoiding sugars, grains, industrial seed oils, and soy can go a long way to healing by keeping your immune system a break from inflammation and toxicity that burdens the body with toxic foods.
Sinus Defense by MicroBalance Health Products can help your bodies immediate response to molds. It is transfer factor that seeks out and binds to foreign antigens so that your cell -mediated immunity can immediately address the antigens with our all-important T-Cells. This works immediately and consistently versus allergy shots to develop antibodies over time.
CellTropin by Microbalance Health Products supports your pituitary gland. Since the pituitary sits directly adjacent to the sinuses, infection and inflammation can impact its function. Stress hormones like cortisol can also affect pituitary function. The pituitary gland manages 8 hormone systems in the body including the important adrenal and thyroid systems. Celltropin supports the pituitary to promote cellular healing and stabilization.
Thank you to Cesar Collado for this incredibly informative guest post! Mr. Collado is a key researcher and writer for MicroBalance Health Products. I hope to have him back soon with another amazing post!
Sources for mold related information include but are not limited to:
- Dr. Jack Thrasher
- https://iseai.org/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=Janette+Hope
- http://paradigmchange.me/
- https://www.globalindoorhealthnetwork.com/
- https://www.biotoxinhelp.com/
- http://www.survivingmold.com/
Steve Worsley, Mold Specialist says
This is a great article! I’m on the construction side of this and learned a lot from this info. Mold exposure in our area is rarely taken seriously. Thanks for all the great info!
Donna says
Jennifer, do you know anything that could help a patient that is having bladder and stomach issues from mycotoxins? She took glutathione and could not detox the mycotoxins fast enough and it somehow settled in her bladder causing IC and now stomach issues. Thanks for any advice, Donna
Jennifer says
Hi Donna! Was she using any sort of binders like activated charcoal?