Mold Symptoms

 

Is mold a common problem in Florida?

There are over 100,000 species of mold that can thrive in water-damaged environments. Below is a list of commonly reported symptoms of mold exposure, categorized into three levels of severity.

Mold Exposure Symptoms

Mold symptoms can range from moderate to severe. Both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classify mold toxins as carcinogenic. The health effects can vary significantly based on four risk factors, described briefly below.

Level 1: Early Exposure to Mold

• Headaches
• Eye Irritation
• Sneezing
• Itching
• Skin Redness
• Skin Rash

Level 2: Advanced Exposure to Mold

• Breathing Disorders
• Nose Bleeds
• Ear Infections
• Chronic Sinusitis
• Chronic Bronchitis
• Muscle and Joint Pain
• Asthma
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Coughing up Blood
• Nervous Disorders
• Heart Palpitations
• Blurred Vision
• Swollen Glands
• Weight Loss
• Chronic Fatigue
• Loss of Appetite
• Depression
• Open Skin Sores or Lesions
• Fungal Nails (Hands or Feet)
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Thyroid Conditions

Level 3: Long-Term Exposure to Mold

• Blindness
• COPD
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
• Histoplasmosis
• Long-term Memory Loss
• Bleeding Lungs
• Kidney Failure
• Liver Disease
• Cancer
• Death

Misdiagnosed?

Mold exposure can often be misdiagnosed as other ailments. Possible misdiagnoses include:

• Fibromyalgia
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Inflammation
• Lupus
• Histoplasmosis
• COPD
• Lyme Disease
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis

Four Factors to Consider

1. Mold Spore Levels

High concentrations of mold spores can exacerbate symptoms. Elevated indoor mold spore levels, as compared to outdoor levels, often indicate more severe symptoms.

2. Mold Toxins

Mold toxins, particularly mycotoxins, are linked to severe symptoms. Mycotoxins attach to fine and ultra-fine mold spore particulates, making them hard to remove from the body. Both the CDC and EPA classify mycotoxins as carcinogens.

3. Time of Mold Exposure

Prolonged exposure can lead to severe health issues, including mycotoxicosis. Mold particulates build up in the body over time, increasing the risk of severe health effects the longer you stay in a mold-contaminated environment.

4. Immune System

Mold affects everyone differently based on their immune system. Symptoms such as allergic reactions and fungal infections depend on individual immune responses. One household member may experience more severe symptoms than others. Untreated mold exposure can weaken the immune system.

Connecting Health Effects to Your Environment

By collaborating with the medical community, we provide resources and tools to connect health effects to environmental mold exposure.

Mold Exposure

We establish which mycotoxins the mold in your environment produces and identify the same toxins in your body through medical testing.

• DNA-Sequencing (Environmental Test)

  • Identifies the genospecies of mold, indicating which mycotoxins the mold produces. This helps establish a connection to health conditions when used with medical tests.

• Mycotoxin Test (Environmental Test)

  • Detects mold spore toxins associated with severe symptoms, diseases, DNA damage, neurological disorders, and cancers. Positive results can correlate with advanced medical testing.

• Air Cassette Test/Mold Spore Trap (Environmental Test)

  • Measures indoor mold spore volume compared to outdoor levels, correlating with allergic reactions, asthma, COPD, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and autoimmune diseases.

Bacteria Exposure

Bacteria in water-damaged environments can contribute to adverse health effects. Bacteria testing can link health issues to environmental factors through medical results.

• Endotoxin Testing (Environmental Test)

  • Identifies toxins produced by gram-negative bacteria, connected to lung damage and deep tissue major organ damage.

Medical Testing

We recommend specific medical tests to pinpoint environmental connections to health issues. While we do not perform medical testing, these tests are effective and can be carried out by most physicians or ordered online.

• Mycotoxin Testing (Medical Test)

  • Identifies mold species in the body and the mycotoxins they produce, establishing a connection to health conditions when used with environmental tests.

• GI Pathogen Testing (Medical Test)

  • An antigen panel that uses a stool sample to detect yeast, toxins, fungus, endotoxins, parasites, and OVA, correlating with environmental exposure.