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Symptoms of Fungal Exposure

The following is excerpted from the Mold-Help website.

Fungi, which include yeasts, moulds, smuts and mushrooms, are responsible for causing four types of mycotic (fungal) disease:

1. Hypersensitivity - an allergic reaction to moulds and spores
2. Mycotoxicosis - poisoning by food products contaminated by fungi
3. Mycetismus - the ingestion of preformed toxin (toadstool poisoning)
4. Infection - systemic (Mycotoxicosis, the subject below)

These are the most common symptoms of fungal exposure (bear in mind, people never fit all of below criteria). Most people with some forms of Mycotoxicosis meet at least 8 (recent symptoms) of the following criteria:

  • Fibromyalgia/mps (and several correlated symptoms)
  • Respiratory distress, coughing, sneezing, sinusitis
  • Difficulty swallowing, choking, spitting up (vomiting) mucous
  • Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
  • Burning in the throat and lungs (similar to acid reflux and often misdiagnosed as such)
  • Asthmatic signs; wheezing, shortness in breath, coughing, burning in lungs, etc.
  • Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, diarrhea, sharp abdominal pains, stomach lesions
  • Bladder, liver, spleen, or kidney pain
  • Dark or painful urine
  • Dirt-like taste in mouth, coated tongue
  • Food allergies/leaky gut syndrome/altered immunity
  • Memory loss; brain fog, slurred speech, occasionally leading to dementia
  • Vision problems
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Large boils on neck (often a sign of anaphylaxis)
  • Yellowing of nails, ridges, or white marks under nail
  • Thyroid irregularities, sometimes leading to complete dysfunction; adrenal problems
  • Headaches
  • Anxiety/depression, heart palpitations - confusion, PTSD
  • Extreme blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglycerides irregularities
  • Ringing in ears, balance problems (very common), dizziness, loss of hearing (aspergillus niger)
  • Chronic fatigue (also included under this classification directional confusion)
  • Intermittent face flushing; almost always systemic, called the Mylar Flush (neurological)
  • Night head sweats, and drooling while sleeping, profuse sweating
  • Multiple chemical sensitivity; only upon exposure to Stachybotrys and Chaetomium
  • Nose bleeds (stachybotrys)
  • Bruising/scarring easily; rash or hives, bloody lesions all over the skin (often systemic, see images: skin)
  • Reproductive system complications; infertility, changes in menstrual cycles, miscarriage
  • Sudden weight changes (detoxifier genotypes tend to gain weight, non-detoxifier genotypes tend to lose weight)
  • Cancer
  • Hair loss, very brittle nails, temporary loss of fingerprints (in rare cases)
  • Joint/muscle stiffness and pain
  • Irregular heart beat/heart attack
  • Seizures, inadvertent body jerking, twitching, inadvertent facial movements or numbness in face; hypersensitivity when re-exposed to molds, which can lead to anaphylaxis
  • Anaphylaxis upon re-exposure to mycotoxin-producing molds
  • Death, in extreme cases

Quotes

"...at age 35 or 36 I started to become allergic to everything, and I got asthma at age 36... I went to doctor after doctor after doctor and was desperate for help, but nobody could help me."

– Mia

"In my moldy home if I left the wet clothes in the washer they would get musty very quickly and I'd have to re-wash... Sometimes I'd run a load, go to work, and they'd be musty when I returned that evening."

– Anonymous

"I knew it was mold, but doctors kept telling me I had anxiety. I was sitting in my office and could not remember who I was talking to, or what we were talking about."

– Brenda

"The entire time we lived in our (mold-infested) house the kitchen sponge would get musty smelling within 3-4 days. It was so strange. I had to buy a pack of sponges nearly every week."

– Anonymous

"Our family has been out of our home for 9 months due to mold... I am so scared and weak from all of this. We have lost friends; family members don't understand."

– Anonymous

"We were having a lot of health problems and had been to the doctor countless times... we had large circles of slimy greenish-black mold on the bathroom ceiling, where it had caved in a few months before."

– C.

"We all suffered from headaches, hormonal body temperature fluctuations, brain fog, fatigue, difficulty breathing, thrush, rashes, and yeast infections... we vacated our home two weeks ago."

– Anonymous

"I started finding myself sitting on the floor in rooms of my house and not remembering how I got there, what I was doing before, or how long I had been there."

– Brenda

"Both of my sons went downhill quickly and coughed for months... They both lost their ability to read, had profound vision disturbances, and had phenomenal gastric issues."

– Lee

"I've been living in a mold-infested home for 13 months... I was going CRAZY! Finally figured it out... Just a few days of recovering in a mold-free home and I feel AMAZING!!!"

– Lauren

"I had been struggling with headaches, head fog, breathing difficulties (unable to get a full breath), constant scalp tingling, migraines, nausea, feeling spacey/detached, and severe itchy skin."

– Anonymous

"My daughter has had many blood samples taken to test for everything imaginable and her doctor just seems puzzled. Everything comes back normal."

– Anonymous

"My symptoms persisted and eventually turned into lethargy and depression. At the age of 26, I required a nap every evening after work."

– Jennifer

"I have been sick for almost 6 months now and doctors were not able to figure out why. I finally put it all together after going away for vacation for a week and suddenly my symptoms were going away."

– Anonymous

"My daughter started having digestive problems... heart palpitations... coughing episodes... muscle/joint pain... asthma/allergies... Her doctor finally advised me to check for mold in our home."

– Anonymous

"I was skeptical at first that these (natural cleaning) products would work, but they work better than the stuff I buy at the store! We will soon be moving to the personal care products as well!"

– Jennifer

"I'm new at this, but today I cleaned my bathroom with baking soda and vinegar. It's much better not having those strong chemical smells afterwards."

– Anonymous

"We had some water leaks in our home... we never thought we needed to clean out and remove the floor, the ceiling, or the drywall... my two small children and I have remained constantly sick for years in this home."

– Mia

"The ERMI mold test as well as your helpful articles and Toxic Talk Tuesday programs have helped us avoid a terrible mistake in purchasing a new home."

– Angela

This site is dedicated to a true friend and mother — Barbara Dell Kessel (1929-2009)