Mold Illness: The Hidden Terrain Stressor Many People Miss

Water-damaged buildings can make some people sick in ways that are hard to pin down: fatigue, brain fog, sinus issues, and more. Here's what mold illness is, the signs, how practitioners test for it, and how to recover, especially in humid Houston.

MK Wellness InsightsFounded by Danielle Cordova, Cypress, TX

If you've been dealing with symptoms no one can explain, like fatigue, brain fog, headaches, sinus problems, or feeling worse at home, mold is one of the hidden stressors worth investigating. In a humid climate like Houston, with hurricanes, flooding, and air conditioning running most of the year, it's especially relevant.

What Mold Illness Is

Mold grows wherever there's moisture: leaky roofs, plumbing leaks, flooded areas, poorly ventilated bathrooms, and HVAC systems. Some molds produce toxic compounds called mycotoxins, and water-damaged buildings also contain bacteria and other inflammatory particles.

Most people are unaffected at low levels, but some people are much more sensitive. Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker described a condition he called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), in which exposure to water-damaged buildings triggers ongoing inflammation in susceptible people. He estimates that about a quarter of people carry genetic variations that make it harder for the body to clear these toxins.

Mold illness is well recognized by functional and environmental medicine practitioners. It's less widely recognized in conventional medicine, so many people see several doctors before someone considers it.

Common Signs

• Fatigue and weakness
• Brain fog, memory, and concentration problems
• Headaches
• Chronic sinus congestion, cough, or shortness of breath
• Muscle and joint aches
• Sensitivity to light, numbness, or tingling
• Mood changes and anxiety
• Feeling better when away from home or work, and worse on returning
• Symptoms that started after a leak, flood, or moving into a new building

Finding It at Home

• Look and smell: visible mold, musty odors, water stains, peeling paint, warped floors or drywall
• Check hidden places: under sinks, around windows, behind the refrigerator, in attics and crawl spaces, and inside HVAC systems and ductwork
• Watch humidity: keep indoor humidity below about 50 percent. An inexpensive hygrometer can tell you.
• Hire a qualified inspector: look for an independent mold inspector who uses air samples and, ideally, dust testing like ERMI or HERTSMI-2, and who doesn't also sell remediation, to avoid a conflict of interest

How Practitioners Test the Body

Functional and environmental medicine practitioners may use:

• Urine mycotoxin testing, which measures mycotoxins excreted in urine
• Blood markers associated with CIRS, such as TGF-beta 1, C4a, and MSH
• A visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) test, a simple online screening test used in the Shoemaker approach
• Nasal cultures, since mold can colonize the sinuses

Recovery

The first step is always removing the exposure. Treating the body while still living or working in a moldy building rarely works.

1. Remediate properly with a professional who contains the area, removes contaminated materials, and addresses the moisture source, followed by clearance testing
2. Clean contents, and in some cases replace porous items like mattresses and upholstered furniture
3. Support detox with a practitioner: binders such as cholestyramine, activated charcoal, bentonite clay, or chlorella are commonly used to help the body clear mycotoxins through the gut
4. Support the drainage pathways: liver, gut, lymph, and sweat. See 5 daily detox habits and Dr. Pompa on cellular detox.
5. Calm the nervous system and inflammation as the body recovers

How MK Wellness Supports Recovery

Once you've addressed your environment, many clients use infrared sauna and HOCATT to support sweating and detox, the Lymphatic Roller for lymph flow, mild hyperbaric oxygen and red light for cellular support, and the NeuroVizr Sound Lounge for the nervous system. Explore our Detox & Lymphatic protocol and Detox & Immune Support guide.

Looking for a practitioner experienced with mold? The Natural Health Network directory, which MK Wellness is a member of, is a good place to start.

MK Wellness services are non-medical and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. This article is general education, not medical advice. Work with a qualified practitioner for testing and treatment, and with qualified professionals for mold inspection and remediation.

The Detox & Lymphatic Support Protocol at MK Wellness

We build this goal around modalities that work better together. The core of the protocol:

Know someone who needs this?

Ready to start your protocol?