Mold illness, often overlooked as a root cause by practitioners, can manifest in various ways, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Mold exposure affects individuals differently within the same environment, and various factors such as sensitivities, pre-existing health conditions, and immune responses contribute to the diversity of symptoms within a family.
Respiratory Symptoms
When it comes to respiratory symptoms, individuals may experience a chronic cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, sore throat, nasal congestion, sinusitis, or exacerbation of asthma symptoms. Skin reactions may manifest as a skin rash, persistent itchiness, redness, irritation, or hives. Allergic symptoms include frequent sneezing, ocular pruritus, and watery eyes.
Neurological Symptoms
Neurological symptoms associated with mold exposure encompass headaches or migraines, memory problems, difficulty concentrating (referred to as “brain fog“), dizziness, and numbness and tingling in extremities. Digestive symptoms may include nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Other General Symptoms
General symptoms range from fatigue, weakness, and unexplained muscle aches to joint pain, sensitivity to light, changes in appetite, weight loss or gain, night sweats, and fever. Psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and irritability may also arise.
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
Mold exposure – even years before the present day – can contribute to developing an immune disorder called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, or MCAS for short. MCAS is a challenging disorder to diagnose because it mimics many other illnesses. To make matters worse, most MDs don’t know about MCAS and routinely tell their patients that they should consult a psychiatrist for “imagined illness.”
Severe Symptoms
Severe symptoms, typically observed in cases of prolonged exposure or in immunocompromised individuals, include respiratory infections, pneumonia, pulmonary hemorrhage, and mycotoxicosis resulting from exposure to mold-produced mycotoxins.
For those who have previously been exposed to toxic molds, Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) can occur, leading to complex and chronic symptoms affecting multiple systems in the body. Understanding the diverse ways in which mold illness can present itself is crucial for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Once you have the mold (mycotoxin) diagnosis that you get through functional medicine testing, you can find the appropriate binders to rid it from your system.