Use Of Feed Additives To Bind Mycotoxins
Mycotoxin binders are commercially available, but before purchase, determine if the product can be legally used for such purposes. Ask the seller if the product is approved under federal law or regulations for use as mycotoxin binder. If the seller claims such approval is not necessary, or if the seller cannot document approval, consult with staff at the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the U.S. Food and Drug Agency. Its Web site address at the time this NebGuide was published is . Or, contact the regional office listed below:
MINNEAPOLIS DISTRICT
Sneezing And Nasal Congestion
While many things can trigger sneezing, its also a symptom of mold toxicity that should get your attention. If youve never had allergies or hay fever symptoms and youre positive you dont have a cold, those sneezes could be indicative of mold exposure.
Sneezing is the immune systems standard response to allergens. It could also be a warning sign that your home has a mold problem.
Brain Immune Gut Summit
Did you know that you have a second brain in your gut that communicates directly with your brain, or that the majority of your immune system resides in your gut?
New understandings on the link between the gut and the brain show that not only does our brain influence our gut health, but it also works the other way around!
Gut issues can impact your brain and cognition, causing anxiety, depression and other symptoms, just as poor gut health can impair your immune systems ability to respond.
Often, suppressed immunity, autoimmunity, gut symptoms and mental health concerns are treated as separate issues, while deeper dysfunction within the brain-immune-gut axis goes undetected .
But its not just one or the other we have to look at this as a symphony and not one stand-alone thing, or we stay sick.
In order to reverse chronic health issues, we must treat the root cause and optimize the brain-immune-gut axis. The secret is how you sequence the protocol based on the priorities of your body.
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Dogs And Mold Exposure
Pets who are exposed to mold can experience adverse health effects, including:
- lung and respiratory issues.
- allergic reactions
- neurological issues, including tremors and seizures
While the immediate impact of mold is often treatable in the short term, longer term exposure can be more serious and more difficult to manage. When left untreated, mold exposure can lead to organ damage, creating more severe complications.
The dangers of mold exposure for pets came to light in 2007, when a veterinarian found pulmonary hemorrhages in two cats during pre-op procedures. Both cats died after complications. According to the report, the home was contaminated with mold, due to flood damage.
So what should you be looking out for?
What Mold Smells Like
Mold has a damp, musty scent very similar to an old book. Smell is generally not a good way to determine if there is a mold problem. The smell of mold spores can differ on the type and surface of which it grows. Most people dont even notice the smell at all.
Mold Infestation is a serious concern if left unattended. The spores grow rapidly infesting every room and crevice that eventually ruin your health in a variety of different ways. Some people do not notice their symptoms in time or fail to remove all the mold spores entirely. Therefore, the mold mycotoxins spores will repopulate causing further damage to your health, animals and living environment.
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Ow It Affects Your Health
When mold is inhaled into the lungs, it leaves its mark on your body in a variety of ways. Mycotoxins are produced by mold, and many of them can be measured in your urine, saliva, or stool.
Mold exposure can cause health problems that baffle doctors and experts, as they seem to have little in common. On the mild end, you may see inflammation and an uptick in allergies. On the more serious end of the scale, you may experience asthma, oxidative stress, and immune problems.
There are several symptoms you can look for as you try to figure out whether or not youve been exposed to toxic mold. If you suspect you may be a mold victim, look for these symptoms:
- joint pain and stiffness
- difficulty with concentration and memory
- physical fatigue and weakness
- difficulty breathing or sinus issues
- tingling or numbness in the skin
- light sensitivity
Watery Or Irritated Eyes
When allergens are present, the body releases histamines as part of its immune response. This histamine release is what causes the eyes to water excessively when exposed to toxins from mold.
This reaction from histamine may be the bodys way of flushing out allergens and toxins. It can serve as a warning to you that your environment may contain dangerous black mold.
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Detox With Glutathione And Other Supplements
Glutathione is considered the mother of all antioxidants. Its made of three types of molecules known as amino acids. Its also found in every cell in your body. Glutathiones job is to oxidize toxins and free radicals and help other antioxidants work better. Your body is able to make glutathione in the liver. Low levels of this antioxidant have been associated with several medical conditions.
Some of the richest dietary sources of glutathione are spinach, avocados, asparagus, and okra. In addition to glutathione, quercetin and N-acetylcysteine support mold detox.
If youre recovering from mold exposure, you may benefit from a concentrated dose of glutathione through supplement pills, inhalation or IV.
The power of IV therapy is that it allows nutrients to be absorbed quickly and directly into the bloodstream, which boosts your body with higher levels of vitamins and minerals.
Our Detox IV features glutathione and may promote better energy levels, circulation, blood sugar, immunity and more.
Clinical Signs Of Fumonisin Toxicosis
Swine: Dyspnea, cyanosis, and weakness, which develop 4-7 days after fumonisin-contaminated feed begins. Death may occur withing a few hours of onset of the syndrome.
Horses: Depression, blindness, ataxia, aimless wandering, facial paralysis, which may rapidly progress to coma and death. Death may occur 1 to 7 days after onset of signs.
Ruminants: May develop anorexia and suffer mild weight loss if fumonisin concentrations approach 200 ppm. Few other significant or persistent signs.
Poultry: Appear to be more resistant than other species. Inappetence and skeletal abnormalities may develop at concentrations of 200 400 ppm.
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What Are The Mold Health Effects I Am At Risk For If Exposed
The most common effects of black mold exposure will be allergy-like symptoms similar in nature to severe hay fever. The mucous membranes of your respiratory passages will become inflamed and irritated. You may suffer from a cough, runny nose, and irritated eyes. In the event the infestation is more concentrated or you are a person who is already sensitive to respiratory ailments, you may also experience headaches, dizziness, or pulmonary irritation that becomes so severe, bleeding is actually caused. Prolonged exposure can also result in more serious respiratory health issues from mold, such as lung or throat cancer.
Black mold can also attack your central nervous system and cause even more serious consequences. It can result in memory loss and lack of concentration. You may also experience headaches, nausea, unexplained aches or pains, chronic fatigue, and chronic fevers. These are all very serious signs that black mold is present and affecting your nervous system, a critical situation. If unaddressed, permanent brain or nerve damage may be the result.
Many people never regain their full memory capacity or ability to concentrate and stay keen after being exposed to black mold over time, gravely affecting their quality of life. Others even go on to develop various sorts of cancers and other serious ailments. Black mold doesnt stop at the respiratory and nervous systems either. Your liver, kidneys, or other organs can start to fail or develop issues as well.
What Are The Physical Symptoms Of Mold Exposure
Mycotoxin or mold poisoning, unfortunately, is detected pretty late and by that time its done its damage. To make things even more difficult, rabbits are good at hiding their symptoms so you might not know that theyre sick, to begin with. Nevertheless, if you keep a close eye on your rabbit then you may be able to identify certain symptoms that come with mold poisoning.
- Your rabbit will lose their appetite and that will result in drastic weight loss. Some rabbits might accept food initially and then reject it and some might simply refuse the food outright.
- Your rabbits will be in clear abdominal pain.
- They will suffer from sudden upset tummies which will include loose stool.
- Sores around the mouth and face.
- Discharge coming out from the eyes.
- Fever. A low body temperature lower than 101F is too low and is a cause of concern.
- Changes in their reproductive cycle especially in unspayed female rabbits.
- There will also be blood present in their poop. This is the most serious symptom that indicates that it is too late.
These are just the visible signs you can also determine moldy toxicity through testing. For that, you will need to visit your vet who will run the kidney, liver, and blood function tests.
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How To Check For Mold In A House
If you suspect a mold source in your home the first thing you will want to do is test/check for mold in your environment. Even if you do not suspect mold inside your home, you should still do a simple test to ensure mold growth is not occurring in your home, particularly if you are experiencing unexplainable symptoms.
Mold toxicity can be a devious stealer of health. When checking for mold growth you should look for these three characteristics mold growth, moisture/water leaks, and health symptoms.
Surviving Mold: What To Expect As You Begin Your Mold Detox
Editors note: The writer is telling her personal story with black mold poisoning and her healing process, sharing information that she has learned through the articles in this series. She does not have a medial degree, but consults her physician in the writing of these articles.
What can you expect as you begin to detox from mold? How long will it take?
You will get better, but first, you will get sicker. As the treatment attacks the mold in your body, the mold will retaliate by releasing toxins in self defense. After all, the mold has a pretty good setup inside your body and it doesnt want to leave.
The toxins it releases are mycotoxins. They are what cause your symptoms and make you sick. The more mold you have in your body, the higher the amount of toxins that will be released.
You will have predominantly flu-like symptoms. Each person will react differently. My husband didnt have many symptoms, while I was so sick I missed three days of work in the first week I was on detox. I had a 104 fever, upset stomach, stuffy nose and my body hurt all over.
This happened because we killed too much mold too fast. The mold was releasing toxins faster than my body could remove them. I stopped taking the part of my treatment that kills the mold for a few days while continuing to take the toxin binder portion of my treatment, allowing my body to catch up on flushing the toxins before continuing the detox.
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Addressing Mold Toxicity In The Body
If you find elevated mold toxins in the body, you will want to take measures to improve detoxification systems. In addition to this, you will want to ensure the source of mold is remediated properly. Using an air purification system like The EnviroKlenz Mobile UV Air System is the last step in a comprehensive mold mitigation protocol.
When it comes to getting mold toxins out of the body, the following is my go-to stack:
ThyroLiver Protect: A combination of selenium, milk thistle extract, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, and N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine. This combination assists liver detoxification while supporting the production of glutathione. Taking 12 caps, 2 times daily helps your liver neutralize and process the mold spores.
Super Glutathione: For tough cases, extra glutathione can be necessary. This is an acetylated form that is able to be absorbed by the digestive tract. I recommend 12 caps 2 times daily. This is especially important if you are suffering with a lot of symptoms from mold exposure.
Coconut Charcoal: When detoxification systems are upregulated, many toxins are released into the digestive tract. If they are not bound by something like charcoal, they are given the opportunity to reabsorb and cause more problems. Using 12 caps of charcoal between meals and immediately before bed is a great strategy.
Purchase Grain Or Feed That Are Free Of Mycotoxins
Have feed analyzed for mycotoxins before purchase or use. Make mycotoxin analysis a condition of sale. Require that the seller have the feed analyzed by a suitable laboratory before you accept delivery. However, it may be difficult to find feed free of mycotoxins sometimes because they occur naturally.
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Mold Toxicity: The Effects Of Living With Mold
Rapid growth and an overtaking of your environment are a few characteristics that can be used to describe the dreaded but common household issue that we know as mold. Mold is a fungus that can grow on almost anything, with the ability to thrive in many conditions but most specifically in warm temperatures and high moisture environments.
The versatility of mold allows for this fungus to grow in both indoor and outdoor environments, making it an invasive presence in both your outdoor area and most importantly in your indoor areas such as your home. When you are exposed to mold chronically, you can develop mold toxicity symptoms.
Mold has the ability to spread far and wide, as tiny microscopic spores called mycotoxins, are released from the source in an effort to allow additional mold to grow. As mold begins to reproduce, its effect on humans who have been exposed could be significant.
Sensitivities can plague some individuals when contact occurs between mold, with symptoms spurring into overdrive in some cases. The type of mold present can lead to variations of symptoms, with a rough estimate of 1,000 species of mold currently in the United States . The level of hazard existing to human health can significantly reflect based upon on the specific type of mold in the environment and can thus lead to a scary health effect called mold toxicity.
Is Your Home Mold Toxic
Mold loves moisture. Flooding poses a significant risk for mold growth. Landscaping that slopes toward a building instead of away from it encourages water intrusion.
Something as common as a leaky roof, faucet, or dishwasher also invites mold growth. Damp basements and window condensation can also be a haven for mold.
But, how do you know for sure if you have a mold problem?
Often, you can see or smell mold but not always. You may also see areas that have visible water damage. This is a red flag for possible mold growth.
If you suspect you have a mold problem, you can start with a few simple tests yourself. Certified mold inspectors are also available but vary in quality. Heres a closer look at these options:
Regardless of how you identify a mold problem, getting rid of it is essential for your health.
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How Mold Affects Cats
Can cats develop mold sickness? Oh, yes! Mold affects cats much like it affects humans, with two significant differences.
The first difference is that of size. The average cat is about one-fifteenth the size of the average adult human. A full-grown cat might weight about the same as newborn baby, or just a little bit more. A kitten is even smaller. We know that infants are much more susceptible to mold-related illness than healthy adults and that exposure to mold can even cause life-threatening bleeding in the lungs in small babies. While we could not find any research on the subject of pulmonary hemorrhage in cats, the effect of mold in cats and kittens may be similar.
The second important difference between cats and humans when it comes to mold-related illness is simply that humans can generally communicate the fact that they feel sick and they can seek medical care when needed. Cats, like other pets, cant tell you when they feel ill. You may notice changes in your cats behavior, but cats are masters at disguising the fact that they arent feeling well. Veterinarians say this is an instinctual reaction left over from before cats were domesticated. In the wild, an animal that appears weak in any way becomes more attractive to predators. Therefore, your cat may not show signs of illness until he is very sick. For this reason, you should seek veterinary care right away if you think your cat may be suffering from mold-related illness.
The Medical Community Ignores The Mold Problem
It is common for doctors to claim that mold does not play a major role in creating chronic autoimmune disease or inflammatory illnesses. It is important to understand that not only can mold contribute to autoimmune problems, autoimmune problems that are medicated using immune suppressing medications can contribute to mold illness. Mold often overcomes a persons immune system when it is suppressed. So if you have been taking steroids like prednisone or corticosteroids for chronic pain, you should be aware that long term use of these drugs suppresses the immune system making it more susceptible to the mold issue. It is a common practice for doctors to prescribe medications that inhibit the immune system when treating autoimmune disease. So be aware that the longer your immune system is being suppressed, the greater the risk of developing a mold related problem.
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