Myths About Black Mold
Its important to address myths some people may have about black mold. One common rumor is that black mold releases toxic compounds called mycotoxins that cause health issues, like memory loss, headaches, and infant pulmonary hemorrhage.
But according to a review from 2017, theres no evidence that exposure to black mold causes particular health conditions.
Furthermore, while a variety of molds produce mycotoxins, these compounds are primarily dangerous for humans only when eaten in significant quantities.
A 2019 review of research into this topic states theres currently no evidence that mycotoxins in the air cause disease.
How Do Molds Get In The Indoor Environment And How Do They Grow
Mold is found both indoors and outdoors. Mold can enter your home through open doorways, windows, vents, and heating and air conditioning systems. Mold in the air outside can also attach itself to clothing, shoes, and pets can and be carried indoors. When mold spores drop on places where there is excessive moisture, such as where leakage may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, plant pots, or where there has been flooding, they will grow. Many building materials provide suitable nutrients that encourage mold to grow. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of some molds. Other materials such as dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, commonly support mold growth.
How Harmful Is Black Mold
How Harmful Is Black Mold?
According to the CEO of Wonder Makers Environmental, Michael Pinto, there is mounting evidence that mold causes sickness:
There is now good science that documents that exposure to fungal contaminants and damp environments not only triggers standard allergenic responses, but pushes certain parts of the immune system into overdrive. In essence, the bodys defense system ends up attacking the host as well as the biological invaders.
In 2009, the World Health Organization, produced a 228 page document entitled WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould and concluded the following:
When sufficient moisture is available, hundreds of species of bacteria and fungi particularly mould pollute indoor air. The most important effects of exposure to these pollutants are the increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms, allergies, and asthma, as well as disturbance of the immune system. Preventing persistent dampness and microbial growth on interior surfaces and building structures is the most important means of avoiding harmful effects on health.
Many mold survivors chronically exposed to mold develop a condition known as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome , defined as:
CIRS is associated with 37 health symptoms, including asthma, dizziness, migraines, and bronchitis.
Also Check: How To Get Mold Off Concrete Walls
Summary Of Health Problems
Many types of indoor mold, not just black mold, may cause health problems in some individuals.
Long-term exposure to high levels of mold in the home, however,
People who are most at risk of the symptoms of mold exposure are:
- infants and children
- people with allergies or asthma
- people with weakened immune systems
The main health risks related to mold exposure are allergies and irritation, which typically cause respiratory symptoms.
People with weakened immune systems may also have a risk of fungal infection.
What Are The Symptoms Of Black Mold Exposure
Black mold, also known as toxic black mold or Stachybotrys, can cause many serious health problems if found inside a home. There are numerous negative health effects from mold exposure, such as mental impairment, breathing problems, internal organ damage, and in some cases, even death. The symptoms of black mold exposure can be separated into different groups depending upon the area affected by mold presence.
You May Like: How To Get Tested For Black Mold Exposure
How Long Does It Take For Mold To Get Out Of Your System
I had so much mold in my body that it took several months for the ebb and flow of flu symptoms to go away. As you kill the mold and there are less organisms in your body, you will start to feel better. It took my husband six months to become free and clear of mold while it took me a year and a half.
Your Brain On Toxic Mold: Seven Effects Of Mold Illness
A brain exposed to toxic indoor mold and mycotoxins is typically not a very happy brain. Research indicates that the spectrum of cognitive impairments caused by mold and mycotoxin exposure are extensive. Many of these mental health conditions are quite prevalent in our society. This should make us wonder how many of these cases might be due to toxic environmental exposures, such as mold.
Read Also: How To Clean Mold Off Walls And Ceilings
Confusion Or Cognitive Impairment
Mold and mycotoxin exposure have been found to reduce memory capacity, attention, and intellectual capacity, as assessed by IQ tests .
Some patients report feeling disorganized and struggling to maintain coherent thoughts. Some people report feeling rage and anger, accompanied by cognitive deficits .
Indoor Mold: A Threat To Our Health
According to the World Health Organization, up to half of the buildings in North America are water damaged and, thus, prime real estate for indoor molds. Molds such as Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus thrive in damp environments rich in porous materials, such as particleboard, wood, and drywall. In the presence of these materials, a small water leak from a poorly sealed window or a hole in a basement foundation is all it takes to trigger a bloom of mold growth, with potentially drastic repercussions for residents health.
Once mold has established itself in a water-damaged indoor environment, it begins to release secondary metabolites called mycotoxins. Examples of mycotoxins include trichothecenes, produced by the Fusarium fungus, and gliotoxin and ochratoxin A, produced by Aspergillus fungi.
Mycotoxins pose a serious threat to human health, particularly when they are inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed via dermal contact in moldy buildings. The adverse health effects of mycotoxins are compounded by the presence of other biotoxins in damp buildings, including bacterial endotoxin, fungal and bacterial cell wall fragments, and microbial volatile organic compounds .
The constellation of symptoms caused by mold and biotoxin exposure is referred to as mold illness, biotoxin illness, or chronic inflammatory response syndrome . While mold and mycotoxins impact diverse body systems, the cognitive effects are among the most disconcerting.
Also Check: How Do You Know If Mold Is Behind Drywall
Taking Mold Off The Table
This quote comes from Dr. Donald Dennis, and ENT who specializes in mold and mycotoxin treatment. His concept is practical and elegant in its simplicity. When a patient comes to his office for the first time, he uses mold screening test plates to test the clothes for mold and a lab determines the species. He also takes a nose swab as well. If there is significant mold on the clothes, it likely came from their home. He follows up with asking patients to test their homes for mold using Mold Screening Test Kits. He then takes a blood sample to test for antibodies to allergens and mold. This is called an immunoglobulin test. Finally, patients take a questionnaire about their environment. You can access that Here. He uses the results to focus questioning during medical history to determine if the environment may be a factor.
How Can I Check For Mold
Its best to hire a professional to help you identify and remove mold, especially if youre allergic or vulnerable to it.
You should also consider hiring help if the mold covers more than 10 square feet or if its hidden behind wallpaper, ceiling tiles, or other areas.
Here are some steps for identifying and removing mold.
Also Check: How Do You Remove Mold From Your House
Mold Rage: How Toxic Mold Can Cause You To Become Crazy And Schizophrenic
Many people who have been exposed to toxic mold complain of behavioral and neurological problems like what has been called mold rage, psychosis, aggressive and erratic behavior, and depression.
I had previously written in my article, Mold Can Cause Depression that researchers have connected depression with people who lived in water-damaged and moldy homes.
The reason why mold causes people to act abnormally is because some molds produce mycotoxins which can be very neurotoxic.
What this means is that the toxins produced by some molds are neurotoxins that are poisonous or destructive to brain and nerve tissue, which causes a condition known as neurotoxicity.
The term neurotoxicity refers to damage to the brain or peripheral nervous system caused by exposure to a man-made poison or in this case, a mold poison.
When mold mycotoxins cause neurotoxicity, it is called myconeurotoxicity, which refers to any adverse effects of exposure to mycotoxins or byproducts of primary and secondary mold metabolism, including volatile organic compounds on the structural or functional integrity of the developing or adult nervous system.
These mold toxins are so dangerous that they are used by militaries around the world as bio-terror weapons!
Dr. Janette Hope of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has said that mycotoxins have been used as biological warfare agents such as Trichothecenes, which are produced by the molds Stachybotrys, Fusarium, and Myrothecium.
How Long Does It Take Mold To Cause Health Problems
These spores proliferate quickly and can take hold in places with poor ventilation and high humidity in less than 24 hours. The problem starts when you inhale these spores. They produce toxic substances known as mycotoxins that can produce an immune response in some individuals and actually extremely toxic themselves.
Also Check: Will Hydrogen Peroxide Kill Mold
An Evolutionary Perspective On Mold Illness
Humans have interacted with environmental molds throughout our evolutionary history. As a result, our bodies have developed natural defense systems for addressing these toxins, including the mucociliary clearance mechanism in the lungs and the innate and adaptive branches of the immune system. However, in an unwitting example of evolutionary mismatch, our natural defense systems are no match for the potent mold strains found in the modern buildings in which we work and live. These buildings are designed in ways that promote mold growth, with poor airflow and myriad opportunities for water leakage. Most peoples defense systems cannot keep up with chronic mold and mycotoxin exposure, causing them to succumb to illness.
The cognitive symptoms of mold exposure also have an evolutionary component. Mold illness triggers an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon called sickness behavior, which includes sleepiness, depression, apathy, and social withdrawal.
Mold-induced sickness behavior is the result of an immune response that is intended to help you survive the current mold exposure and avoid future exposures. However, many people do not make the connection between their symptoms and their environment, instead living in a vicious cycle of constant mold exposure and illness.
Mold Toxicity And Neurologic Symptoms
Mold toxicity and mold allergies do not refer to the same illness. Mold allergies usually occur when you accidentally inhale or ingest mold spores. This can cause cold or flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, wheezing, itchy skin, and watery eyes. On the other hand, mold toxicity is a chronic inflammatory response caused by volatile toxins produced by mold. Prolonged exposure to mold can make it difficult for your body to get rid of toxic vapors produced by mold.
It is frequently misdiagnosed because it can manifest itself in many different symptoms. Toxic mold can cause a chronic inflammatory response such as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, fatigue, and histamine intolerance, which do not often respond well to treatment. Unfortunately, mold toxicity is not always included as part of the differential diagnosis as it is not on the radar for many medical practitioners. Some of the neurologic symptoms of toxic mold include weakness, light sensitivity, sinus problems, blurred vision, concentration and memory issues, tremors and a general feeling of numbness.
You May Like: How To Rid Black Mold
How To Avoid Experiencing Toxic Black Mold Symptoms
Prevention is the best way to avoid experiencing the symptoms associated with toxic black mold. Reducing the presence of this type of mold as well as its ability to spread is, therefore, vital for homeowners.
Here are some tips to consider:
After all this bad news, were left to wonder:
Are Toxic Black Mold Symptoms Permanent?
When youre no longer around toxic black mold, most of the symptoms should gradually decrease. Unfortunately, some of the health problems caused by toxic black mold are permanent. For example: after a person has lived with toxic black mold, their immune system wont be as strong as it used to be and theyll be more sensitive to mold and mycotoxins in the future.
If you have a mold problem in your home, its best to consult a mold removal professional.
Our state of the art dry fog technology is a guaranteed, go-to solution for your mold remediation needs. Our method is non-toxic, eco-friendly and hassle-free.
Symptoms Of Mold Illness
Symptoms of mold illness vary from person to person, although mold has been correlated with a significant increase in asthma.
People who live, work, or go to school in moldy buildings complain of pain, fatigue, increased anxiety, depression, and cognitive defects such as memory loss. Researchers say the symptoms are similar to those from bacterial or viral infections, due to the inflammatory cascades mold triggers.
The effects of mold illness on the brain have gone largely dismissed by the standard health care model due to insufficient research on the neurological effects of mold illness.
However, this study demonstrates what people with mold illness already know it messes with your brain. Hopefully similar studies will follow.
In the study, researchers observed that mice inoculated with mold spores showed increased inflammation in the hippocampus, causing notable losses of memory, increased pain, and more anxious behavior compared to mice inoculated with saline.
Don’t Miss: How To Get Rid Of Green Mold On Mycelium
Mold And Mercury As Cause Of Multiple Sclerosis
When I received Careys lab results, I was shocked by the findings. The comprehensive Lyme disease and co-infection panel from a specialty lab was normal. Her provoked urine toxic metal panel came back with elevated mercury levels. The most commonly used laboratory for heavy metal testing does not have an established provoked reference range. When 30mg/kg of DMSA is used as a provoking agent for a 6-hour urine test, mercury should be below 20 micrograms per gram of creatinine. Careys was 47. Mercury can also cause elevated thyroid antibodies which Carey had.
I ordered a blood mycotoxin antibody and a urine mycotoxin test to rule out mold illness. Careys mycotoxin antibody test came back elevated for 12 out of 12 IgG mycotoxin antibodies, indicating past exposure to mold. However, this demonstrates her immune system was still reacting to mycotoxins in her body. None of the IgE antibodies were elevated suggesting she did not have a current exposure to mold. The urine mycotoxin results were positive for 4 out of 11 mycotoxins.
Mold results before treatmentMold results after treatment
Ways Toxic Mold Affects Your Brain
June 5, 2020
Diet, sleep, physical activity, stress managementas advocates of an ancestral diet and lifestyle, we know well that these factors have a significant impact on our cognitive function. However, have you ever stopped to think about how your indoor environment might be impacting your brain?
This article originally appeared in Paleo Magazine.
The average person living in the modern, Westernized world spends a whopping 80 to 90 percent of his or her time indoors. Given the amount of time we spend inside, we must ensure the safety and cleanliness of our indoor environments. Unfortunately, a shocking number of residential buildings, schools, and workplaces today harbor an environmental contaminant that poses a severe threat to our cognitive healthmold. Read on to learn why the sharp smell of mold and unpleasant musty odors indoors should not be ignored if you care about your long-term cognitive health.
Exposure to toxic mold can cause a number of worrying cognitive symptoms. Check out this article to find out more and to learn how to seek treatment. #functionalmedicine #chriskresser
Read Also: How To Remove Mold From Hummingbird Feeder
Fungal Organisms In Damp Buildings
A host of mold species have been isolated from damp buildings: the most frequently isolated in one study were Penicillium , Cladosporium , Ulocladium , Geomyces pannorum , and Sistronema brinkmannii . There were 66 species of filamentous fungi, and yeasts were found in 94% of dwellings and 13% of CFU on Anderson sampler plates. In contrast to the aforementioned species, Stachybotrys was less common, being found in 12.8% of dwellings and 4.5% of samples. Other studies have reported similar organism frequencies 1) . In most studies, Stachybotrys has had a low prevalence, being present in less than 3% of samples . However, some recent work has suggested that it may be more common than was initially thought . Regardless, Stachybotrys is rarely found in isolation, nearly always occurring in the presence of other fungi . This fact is critical, since many of the other species are capable of producing mycotoxins , and recent work suggests that volatiles from S. chartarum may represent a small fraction of the total amount present in problem buildings where other fungi exist .
Anxiety And Other Hidden Neurological Symptoms Linked With Mold Toxicity
About the Author
CentreSpring MD, formerly known as Atlanta Center for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, provides the best medical care by using an integrative approach to find a patients centretheir coreempowering them to spring forth into health.
How We’re Different
At CentreSpringMD, we do medicine differently. Our focus is on giving you hope and your life back.
Our team of dedicated board-certified providers relentlessly pursue your health until you have the answers that you deserve to change the trajectory of your healthand your life.
Mold can be a silent killer, as it grows and produces harmful compounds called mycotoxins. Often, people exposed to harmful molds develop respiratory symptoms, like a runny nose or difficulty breathing, and most aren’t aware of neurological symptoms associated with toxic mold syndrome. Confusion, memory loss, and changes in mood are just a few of the potential warning signs of mold toxicity. Mold exposure can cause a wide range of health problems, both short-term and long-term.
The ability of mold inhalation to cause respiratory problems may be well documented and widely accepted, but the link between mold and other physiological problemsas well as cognitive and emotional impairmentremains a topic of debate.
If you’re experiencing symptoms of mold exposure, it’s crucial you reach out to a qualified integrative physician as well as a mold remediation specialist.
Learn more about theIntegrative Approach to Mold Toxicity
Recommended Reading: How To Tell If I Have Mold In My Walls
