Studies have suggested that mold exposure may be associated with several adverse mental health outcomes, including anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and insomnia.
In another review, the involvement of the CNS after the exposure to indoor air DM was reported as follows: significant fatigue, weakness (70-100% of cases), neurocognitive dysfunction such as memory loss, irritability, anxiety, and depression in more than 40% of cases [10].
Mold toxicity can manifest in different ways in people. It's more commonly linked to physical problems, such as difficulty breathing, fatigue, and headaches, but research shows that it can present itself in a psychiatric way, too. This includes brain fog, depression, anxiety, problems concentrating, and insomnia.
Discovering Black Mold
Toxic mold exposure has also been linked to more serious, long-term effects like memory loss, insomnia, anxiety, depression, trouble concentrating, and confusion.
As for toxicity increases, people exposed to mould for the long term may start to experience symptoms such as persistent headaches and migraines, increased exhaustion and random muscle cramps. The person exposed in more severe cases may also suffer from sensitivity to light, unexplained weight gain and hair loss.
This is an incredibly important finding! Many patients with memory loss and dementia are actually simply toxic from mold, which is a reversible condition.
Each person's body is affected by mold toxicity in different ways. Some experience constant migraines and headaches, shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue or even depression. Since symptoms differ from person to person, they may not be quickly associated with mold exposure.
The average person can recover from mold toxins in about a year. For many people recovering from mold, toxins can take a couple of years. It is key to know what to look for and remove yourself from the environment as quickly as possible. The amount of exposure you have can change your recovery time.
A blood test, sometimes called the radioallergosorbent test, can measure your immune system's response to mold by measuring the amount of certain antibodies in your bloodstream known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies.
Inflammation: Mold spores act as irritants, which can trigger the body to mount an immune response. This can lead to inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation in the brain can impair cognitive function, and in the case of chronic inflammation, this can lead to long-lasting cognitive impairment.
It rarely causes serious illness or death but may worsen asthma symptoms. You can't cure a black mold allergy, but a healthcare provider can diagnose it and help treat your symptoms.
Use Activated Charcoal or Another Sequestering Agent
Cholestyramine, activated charcoal, and bentonite clay are potent binding agents that can reduce the bioavailability of mycotoxins in the gut.
Testing for Mold Poisoning
The doctor will take a health assessment and health history, and will order blood testing. Antibodies in the patient's body will be checked for a reaction to mold and to other allergens and poisons. The severity of the reaction will also be determined.
Do air purifiers help with mold? Air purifiers help capture mold spores from the air, preventing them from reproducing and spreading throughout your home. While air purifiers won't help treat active mold that's already present on surfaces, they are a great way to control the spread of airborne mold particles.
Some of the richest dietary sources of glutathione are spinach, avocados, asparagus, and okra. In addition to glutathione, quercetin and N-acetylcysteine support mold detox. If you're recovering from mold exposure, you may benefit from a concentrated dose of glutathione through supplement pills, inhalation or IV.
Two patients had evidence of allergy to mold allergens, whereas 1 patient exhibited mold-induced psychosis best described as toxic agoraphobia. Seventeen patients displayed a symptom complex that could be postulated to be caused by a transient mold-induced aeroirritation.
People who suffer from toxic-mold based illnesses may endure depression, anxiety, lack of focus, and brain fog, with some reporting insomnia. These cognitive and psychiatric symptoms may be present with or without the physical symptoms of mold exposure which can include difficulty breathing, fatigue, and headache.
Health effects of mould exposure include a runny or blocked nose, irritation of the eyes and skin, and sometimes wheezing. For people with asthma, inhaling mould spores may cause an asthma attack.
Yes, if you have damp and mould in your home you're more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system.
The most common black mold symptoms and health effects are associated with a respiratory response. Chronic coughing and sneezing, irritation to the eyes, mucus membranes of the nose and throat, rashes, chronic fatigue and persistent headaches can all be symptomatic of black mold exposure or black mold poisoning.
If left untreated, certain toxigenic molds can even give off cancer-causing poisons, such as Aflatoxins (a type of Mycotoxin), which have been linked to liver cancer. Although it's rare for death to occur from mold exposure, it can happen.