I was pleasantly surprised when a housing inspector for my city came over to finish approving our grant and loan for a new roof, and she was actually genuinely interested in having a conversation with me about mold when I brought up how having the new non-leaky roof would aid our recovery journey from mold illness.
I think I was shocked and unprepared for someone to actually care and ask about common symptoms for Mold Illness because I had been previously written off and gaslit by so many people during this journey. In the moment, I fumbled and couldn't immediately provide much more than a couple symptoms off of the top of my head, re-iterated how bad it can get, and I told her I had this website and would send it her way so she could learn more later on.
I probably should have opened with some basic mold- related education like:
-The EPA tells us that Americans spend around 90% of their time indoors.
-Experts give varying ranges but all generally agree that at least 50% of the homes in America have mold problems.
-Appx. 25% of people have genetic predispositions that make them highly susceptible to mold-related health issues and problems because their bodies cannot clear mold toxins. They accumulate and cause more and more damage over time.
and then went on to list a bunch of common symptoms that are usually written off by doctors.
When people are actually receptive to having conversations with me about Mold Illness and Mold Exposure, they always ask "What symptoms are common?", and I think that from an educational standpoint that this is a beautiful place to start.
Without further ado,
The Most Common Mold Illness/Mold Exposure Symptoms:
for Mold Allergies-
Stuffy or runny nose
Eye irritation (watering, red eyes, itching)
Sore, dry throat
Dry cough or sneezing
Skin irritation (rash, skin scaling)
Wheezing
Shortness of breath
Inability to feel like you are taking a full deep breath
General malaise
Brain fog (difficulty focusing, difficulty remembering, issues with word recall)
for Mold Infections-
Fever
Chest pain
Wheezing or difficulty breathing
Wet cough (with mucus or blood)
Keep in mind these these are ONLY the MOST COMMON symptoms, I myself racked up over 60 symptoms after being ill from mold unknowingly for years of a slow build up. I am still on my healing journey but am probably down to around 20 symptoms left. The effects of mold and mycotoxins are systemic, meaning they can go any place in the body and affect any functioning system in the body.
What do I do if I experience these Mold Illness/ Mold Exposure symptoms?
Record/track all of your symptoms and anything you can note about them:
When did they start?
Where in your day to day environment do they occur?/When?
Does anything help stop them or calm them?
What parts of your body are affected? How? Be specific.
Find a doctor that will listen to your concerns and validate your experience. They should, (if nothing else) listen and comply with your requests for testing to be done. If they do not- FIND A DR. THAT WILL.
Here are some ways to test for Mold Exposure:
-Skin test for reactions to allergens, including mold
-IgG mold antibodies test to see the immune system’s reaction to molds. A positive test means that an individual was or is currently exposed to mold
-Urine mycotoxins test shows the load of mycotoxins in the body. (If you get a clear test that looks negative, beware, you could be part of the 25% of the population that cannot void mycotoxins without additional help. you may need to provoke before you test your urine by taking liposomal glutathione, by sauna-ing, or by taking an epsom salt bath at the warmest you can tolerate. These all help assist the body in detoxing which would allow your body to begin releasing the mycotoxins to get tested.
-A fungal culture of the nasal sinuses
-OATS test can also give clues about mold colonization in the body
The results of the testing will give you a direction to go in.
Don't ignore the common symptoms of mold exposure- please just test.
Don't guess. Test.
(Image credit to myself, created on Canva)
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