Mould-Related Illness
With the prolonged rain events of the past year alone, there has been a significant increase in patients presenting with mould-related illnesses.
An increase in these organisms is prevalent in damp, indoor environments. They may affect the health of the people living there.
Fungi and some yeast replicate by producing many spores that have become well-adapted to airborne dispersal. They can stay airborne for long periods and deposit in your respiratory system. Smaller spores can reach your lungs. However, they can also be inhaled, touched or created by moulds colonised within the body, especially the sinus and gastrointestinal tract, due to previous exposure.
Mycobacteria is very common in moisture-damaged buildings. With fungi, it releases smaller fungal fragments known to contain allergens and mycotoxins.
Mould illness originates in the body from exposure to biotoxins (mould) or toxin-producing organisms from food, water, air, or the mouth. Biotoxins – of biological origin and produced by plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms that are hazardous to humans when inhaled, ingested, or absorbed. Inflammagens – an irritant that produces swelling and inflammation by binding to receptors in your body. Antigens – substances from your environment, such as pollen, bacteria, chemicals or viruses, tick-borne illness or blue-green algae.
With a direct impact on your nervous system, symptoms can include sleep disturbances, cognitive impairment, trouble finding words, fatigue, brain fog, nerve pain or ice-pick pains, static shock, chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders and breathlessness.
You cannot achieve wellness with chronically circulating mycotoxins. Optimising your detoxification and elimination pathways is your first step to restoring your health. Not doing this first will lead to toxicity in your gut and constipation. Constipation leads to the toxins remaining in your gut for much longer, damaging it, and then being reabsorbed in your body to recirculate again.
Mycotoxins also damage your beneficial bacteria, causing a cascade of inflammatory responses in your body. Vagus nerve damage and changes to your autonomic nervous system are the results.
The other is Chronic Inflammation Response Syndrome (CIRS). A chronic multi-system inflammatory syndrome. It starts with exposure to a biotoxin (such as indoor dampness; however, it could also be other biotoxins) and then disrupts multiple body systems. The impact on your immune system is suppressed immune activity. Signs include increased hypersensitivity, asthma, allergic reactions and a reduced ability to fight infections.
Symptoms of CIRS can be joint pain, morning stiffness, weakness, a decreased ability to assimilate knowledge fully, aches, light sensitivity, headaches, vertigo, unusual skin sensitivity, tingling, cough, excessive thirst, urination, confusion, memory impairment, static shocks, sinus congestion, breathlessness, watering eyes, disorientation, metallic taste, poor concentration, red eyes, blurred vision, night sweats and mood swings, post-nasal drip, sneezing, rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, nasal polyps, swollen lymph glands, ear popping, bumps at the back of the throat, hay fever, and allergies. Additionally, iron deficiency anaemia, irregular heartbeat, food sensitivities, sweet cravings, abdomen pain, irritable bowels, irritable bladder, kidney inflammation, bacterial infections, fungal infections, “jock itch”, burning lungs, heaviness in the chest, colds go to the lungs quickly, sensitive or itchy skin, burning sensations and flushing.
The good news is that once the illness is recognised, it can be treated safely and effectively with specific, herbal antifungal treatments via a step-by-step targeted approach.
Always ensure you speak with a qualified and experienced naturopath who can take you through the correct steps safely and effectively.
