How Is Mold Poisoning Treated

Consider How Food Affects Recovery From Mold Illness

A low inflammatory diet that eliminates added sugars and processed foods is a good first step. Also, it could be wise to skip foods that may be contaminated with mold:

Enjoy foods that are rich in fiber, antioxidants and that support detoxification. Eating an organic diet as much as possible means lowering the total body burden by reducing pesticide exposure. Increasing your intake of cruciferous vegetables may be helpful. Also, embracing food with antifungal properties such as olive oil, garlic, ginger, onion, coconut and lemon may be beneficial.

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.

Black Mold Symptoms + 12 Natural Remedies

By Annie Price, CHHC

• Black Mold Prevention

Black mold exposure and black mold poisoning can cause a wide range of health problems. Some black mold symptoms can actually be really serious. You may have found this article from googling black mold in shower or mold in house. Unfortunately, mold problems are not unusual in the home, and the shower is a classic location to find black mold flourishing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, molds in general are very common in homes and buildings and they can grow anywhere indoors where there is moisture.

You can help your body recover if youve been exposed to black mold. You can also naturally rid your home of black mold and prevent it in the first place! Black mold symptoms are highly unpleasant so you really dont want to deal with them if you dont have to.

Don’t Miss: How To Treat Mold In Apartment

Principle : Know The Spectrum Of Activity Of Commonly Used Antifungals

The three major classes of modern antifungals used in the treatment of mold infections consist of: the triazole antifungals , the echinocandins and AMB-based therapy. All those classes of drugs have their own limitations in terms of coverage for different molds. For example, voriconazole has excellent activity against Aspergillus species and modest activity against Fusarium species . Voriconazole also has good activity against Scedosporium apiospermum . However, it lacks an important coverage against the Mucorales and Scedosporum prolificans . Unlike voriconazole, posaconazole is active Mucorales, although some isolates have intrinsically high MICs that may be untreatable with the current oral formulation . A new triazole currently under development with both intravenous and oral formulations, isavuconazole, also displays good activity against Aspergillus spp. with some coverage of Mucorales .

Common Signs Of Toxic Mold Poisoning

Symptoms and signs of mycotoxins poisoning are very different depending on many factors. How this poisoning presents itself depends on:

• Type of mycotoxin
• Genetic structure

This means there can be a major difference in symptoms between individuals in the population exposed to it. To some extent it is clear that mycotoxicosis can increase susceptibility to infections, worsen the effect of other toxins present and advance other health conditions.

Although acute poisoning is more obvious and sometimes has grave effects, chronic exposure is much more present in the population in general. Finally, mycotoxin exposure can cause changes in immune, nervous system, behavior, mood and even development problems like stunting.

Recommended Reading: What Does Mold Look Like On Carpet

Is All Mold Toxic

Mold is not the only pathogen that grows from water damage. Fungal fragments, spores, mycotoxins, bacteria, mycobacteria, actinomycetes, VOCs, and other biotoxins can also form in damp buildings. These pathogens combine to produce a toxic soup that can lead to a multi-systemic and multi-symptomatic illness.

Not all mold is toxic, but many mold species from water-damaged buildings produce mycotoxins. It is the indoor concentration of mycotoxins and the rest of the toxic soup that can contribute to chronic debilitating symptoms.

Effective Treatment For Symptoms Of Mold Exposure

Get Your Home Tested Properly

Proper mold inspection requires hiring an experienced Indoor Environmental Professional that uses various testing techniques to ensure there has not been water damage leading to mold growth in your home. When someone is sick in the household, the degree of mold testing needs to be more comprehensive than if someone was doing a general home inspection. I have witnessed mold inspectors miss water damage and mold growth in patients homes because they did not do a thorough investigation, or used the wrong testing methods.

Proper testing for mold helps to establish the scope of work for remediation. It is a conflict of interest to hire an inspector who also does remediation. However, most reputable inspectors can recommend a contractor who specializes in mold remediation.

To find a certified IEP in your area, visit www.acac.org and look for CIEC and CMC certifications. You will also find certified remediators with CMRS and CMR designation.

Treatments for mold Illness

Prescription medications and supplements referred to as binders are used to reduce the mycotoxin burden in the body. Technically these compounds do not bind mycotoxins, but they adsorb like static cling. Mycotoxins are secreted with bile from the gallbladder into the intestines. Mycotoxins adhere to binders in the intestines and then excreted through the stool.

Glutathione in Treating Mold Toxicity

Reduce Inflammation in Mold Toxicity

• Transfer Factors Enviro

Read Also: How To Remove Mold From Skin

Mold Toxicity Multiple Sclerosis

Mold toxins destroy the myelin sheath on brain neurons causing the classic white spots seen in Multiple Sclerosis.

Dr. Sponaugle diagnoses over 20 patients a year with Multiple Sclerosis via MRI of the brain. Many of these patients are middle-aged females who initially assume they are coming to Florida Detox for addiction treatment. Had these women sought addiction treatment at other rehab centers, unknowing rehab doctors would have been blamed for their brain fog on drug addiction or alcoholism. The true cause of their physical and mental demise, Multiple Sclerosis, would have potentially gone undiagnosed for years.

Dr. Sponaugle uses his Brain Wellness Program combined with his Intravenous Mold Toxin Removal Protocol to reverse damage caused by Multiple Sclerosis.

How To Detox Your Body From Mold

Even if youre not especially sensitive to mold, your body still needs help safely clearing out mycotoxins. When these arent removed properly and completely, they can cycle back around, and cause ongoing damage and symptoms.

The best way to clear out these toxins is with proven toxin-binders. Its important to make sure youre working with safe, gentle detoxing agents so they dont overtax your bodys clearance system . At the same time, you must use proven binders that dont allow toxins to be reabsorbed in the intestines rather than excreted from the body.

One prescription cholesterol-lowering medication called Cholestyramine binds strongly to some mycotoxins especially ochratoxin and keeps them getting reabsorbed.

On the natural front, modified citrus pectin has been extensively researched as an effective detoxifying agent. Because MCP works so gently, its safe for long-term use, which is often necessary for completely removing mycotoxins from your system. MCP works especially well when paired with another natural detoxifier: seaweed-derived alginates, natural gel-like substances that bind tightly to toxins.

The combination of MCP and alginate prevents toxins including mycotoxins and heavy metals from being reabsorbed in the intestines. And although they make a strong detoxifying team, MCP and alginate are easily tolerated and their gentle action wont strip essential minerals from your body.

Other mycotoxin detoxifiers include:

Don’t Miss: How To Remove Mold From Car Seats

Proper Testing For Mold Illness

Physicians that specialize in mold illness have narrowed in on tests that are most effective in determining if mold is an underlying cause of someones symptoms. Before considering laboratory tests, there is often a clinical suspicion someone may be suffering from symptoms of mold exposure.

When someone is experiencing any of the above symptoms and no other diagnosis has been made that explains these symptoms mold illness should be considered. There is also the circumstance when someone has another diagnosis such as Lyme disease, but treatments have not been effective in resolving symptoms.

There is no one perfect test to diagnose mold toxicity. I use the two testing methods below to determine if mold and mycotoxins are undermining someones health.

Urine Mycotoxin Test

A urine mycotoxin test indicates whether or not a person is excreting mycotoxins from mold exposure. However, our bodies should excrete mycotoxins after exposure to mold and this does not necessarily mean someone has mold illness. The degree of elevation of mycotoxins in the urine suggests the severity of mold toxicity.

Great Plains Laboratory and Real Time Laboratory are the labs most commonly used by physicians treating mold toxicity. The two labs use different testing methodologies and test for different mycotoxins, so it is hard to compare results between the labs.

Preparation for urine mycotoxin testing

Mycotoxin Antibody Test

Mold And Mycotoxin Testing Options

There are many different kinds of tests available, and they each have their own benefits and challenges.

Some tests look at levels of mold exposure or the burden of mycotoxins on the body, while others analyze how the immune system is reacting to mold and mycotoxins.

Research on all mold and mycotoxin testing is limited, and there is no perfect test . There are currently no FDA-approved laboratory tests for mycotoxins.

Keep in mind that two people may have similar levels of exposure to toxins but very different capacities to detoxify from them.

When selecting a test, ideally with the help of a practitioner, consider your main question. Is it Have I been exposed to mold? or is it How is my body handling a known mold exposure?

Read Also: What Does Mold In Your House Smell Like

Help Your Body Get Rid Of Mycotoxins

Note: you have to get rid of mold in your environment before you can hope to successfully detox from mycotoxins. If you dont, youll just keep accumulating new mycotoxins as you get rid of old ones. You may stall mold poisoning, but you wont start to get rid of it especially considering that it takes 35 days for your kidneys and bladder to flush out the more stubborn mycotoxins.

Once youve gotten rid of the source of mold, its time to get your body back into fighting shape. Mycotoxins mostly target your mitochondria, which explains why mold poisoning affects brain and heart function more than anything else .

To recover from mold toxicity, you want to boost your mitochondria as much as possible, while also clearing out lingering mycotoxins. These mold recovery therapies will help:

Mold exposure can be incredibly frustrating. It can make you feel like you have no control over your environment, your health, your weight, your emotions your life in general. If youre dealing with mold, dont despair. These tools can help you get rid of mold and mycotoxins and return to your healthy, high-performing self.

Principle : Know Your Local Epidemiology

Analysis of the local epidemiology of invasive fungal infections is essential for effective infection control programs and antifungal stewardship. This knowledge is developed through quality improvement processes in the clinical microbiology laboratory that uses traditional and culture-independent diagnostic methods and with an attempt to increase autopsy rates. As an example, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, at least 25% of mold infections are attributable to Mucorales . The relative frequency of invasive mucormycosis increased in the early 2000s after the introduction and routine use of voriconazole in the hematology and transplant populations but even the number of cases had been steadily increasing since the mid-1990s .

Knowledge of the local epidemiology plays a key role for guiding empiric treatment approaches. For example, if early pulmonary mucormycosis is treated as invasive pulmonary aspergillosis with voriconazole-based regimen, the in-hospital mortality doubles, unless AMB-based therapy is introduced in the first 6 days from the onset of the symptoms . Another example is in The Netherlands, where widespread environmental use of azole antifungals has created conditions for a high prevalence voriconazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus . Voriconazole treatment without consideration that patients may be infected with a voriconazole-resistant isolate has resulted in inappropriate therapy associated with very high mortality rates .

Read Also: What To Do If You Breathe In Black Mold

Checklist: Preventing Mold Growth & Toxicity

How do we test for mold in our environment/home/office, and get rid of it?

We still need to develop more comprehensive testing technology for the presence of mold toxins in buildings . There are limitations with all environmental mold testing options. The mold plates available at hardware stores dont usually catch the most toxic mold spores. These molds dont send out very many spores, or they are heavy and dont make it very far, so they dont land on the plates.

Should we all be testing for mold regularly, or only if it seems to be an issue?

How is mold toxicity diagnosed?

How Common Is Mold In Buildings

Molds are very common in buildings and homes. Mold will grow in places with a lot of moisture, such as around leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes, or where there has been flooding. Mold grows well on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, and wood products. Mold can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery.

The most common indoor molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. We do not have precise information about how often different molds are found in buildings and homes.

Also Check: What Can Breathing Mold Do

What Are The Symptoms Of Mold Sickness

If your Total Body Burden is high, or you are genetically predisposed to recycling toxins, regular exposure to mold can cause allergy symptoms, such as:

• Wheezing/shortness of breath
• Long standing or frequent sinusitis

And, serious pain and neurological symptoms, such as:

• Headaches and migraines
• Muscle cramping, aches and pains
• Persistent nerve pain
• Fatigue and weakness
• Poor memory, brain fog, difficulty with focus

In some cases, the spores from mold take root and grow in specific parts of the body, such as the lungs and sinuses. This can cause serious respiratory illnesses and infections.

What Are The Signs Of Mold In Your House

Musty smells are a tell-tale sign of mold. Another common indicator is visible signs of water damage.

As mentioned earlier, mold grows fast. Within 24 hours of a water leak, or a flood, mold will begin to take hold. This mold can grow on anything thats humid walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, and even wet laundry.

When there is a chance of mold, its important to have a professional in to test. Professionals qualified to do environmental investigations can:

• Check the surfaces of your house for mold
• Test the air for spores
• Help you to identify sources of moisture
• Identify where the mold is growing and help you decontaminate your house
• Use natural enzymes to kill mold spores

If you dont get rid of all sources of mold, you risk getting sick from it.

Don’t Miss: How To Clean Black Mold In Toilet

Why Have Cases Of Mold Toxicity Increased In Recent Years

In 2009, the World Health Organization estimated that 10 to 50 percent of homes and buildings have clinically significant mold problems. In new and refurbished buildings, this number increases to 30 to 50 percent. This, unfortunately, is linked to the construction industry and the ability to build air-tight and energy efficient homes and buildings.

Unfortunately, the air-tight aspect of these building practices reduces the airflow in buildings and can trap humid air inside, making it easier for mold to grow and spread. Broken or leaking water pipes hidden behind walls can create a breeding ground for mold, leaving the spores and toxins trapped within the building. While creating energy efficient buildings may be beneficial when it comes to the electric bill, this air-tight environment is also contributing to many health conditions and mold toxicity.â

Studies Look at Buildings and Mold Exposure

A 2015 study in the United Kingdom looked at social housing population and how energy efficiency homes affect mold induced adult asthma. They concluded that residing in an energy efficient home increased the incidence of adult asthma. The study also looked at 1300 office workers and showed that as many as 67% of adult-onset asthma began after the patient worked in a water-damaged office building.

How Do You Test For Toxic Mold Exposure

All in all, there is no simple way to diagnose mycotoxin illness, says McElroy. But testing is typically the first step. She prefers to start patients with at-home tests and also recommends a home inspection by a certified mold inspector. should only be ordered, in my opinion, once the environment is evaluated for the source of mold, explains McElroy. The most direct way to test for mold toxicity is a urine test that measures for metabolites of mold and mycotoxins as well as glutathione levels . That said, as McElroy explains, I never place the entire diagnosis of mycotoxin illness on tests alone. Why? Because mold tests have some major drawbacks, including:

• False negatives and false positives are common
• They are not covered by insurance
• You cant test all toxins there are hundreds
• The levels found on tests dont necessarily correlate with the severity of symptoms

These tests clearly arent perfect. In fact, McElroy says she has seen patients who were really sick have almost nothing show up on the test while the healthy spouses of those same patients register values off the charts, so having a clinician thats willing and able to do some extra investigation into symptoms of mold and toxic mold exposure is key.

Also Check: How Do You Clean Mold Off Concrete