DavidWolfe.comThe difficult thing about mold illness is that you often don’t even notice the symptoms until it’s too late. Probably because mold toxicity can range from subtle and rarely felt to a full-blown, debilitating, always morphing disease.
Perhaps the hardest part about mold exposure and the mold toxicity that can result is the fact that many people are powerless to avoid it. For example, children may grow up in moldy, toxic older homes, oblivious to the fact that they’re exposed to a chronic health danger.
Then others expose themselves to mold at work or even while doing work around the house, including in bathrooms, attics, industrial jobs, or many more mold-heavy environments.
The symptoms of mold exposure can remain silent for a long time without revealing themselves.
The list of symptoms people may experience is seemingly endless. Many people live with toxic mold spores in their bodies for several years without having any clue. Thus, the damage to their health continues to compound.
Mold, which exists virtually anywhere moisture is present (it’s not just relegated to dusty old apartments!), reproduces quickly through spores. This is similar to mushrooms but in a harmful way rather than a health-boosting way.
Whenever these mold spores are able to disperse throughout the environment and onto a moist substance, they began to proliferate.
This can be bad news for people who leave the problem unchecked!
Mold – and therefore, the potential for mold toxicity – is a fact of life for millions of people. But the good news is that it can be detoxified from the body once it enters, especially with the right detox supplements.
Pro Tip: Also consider a Home Detox! Find out more here: Got Mold? The Jason Earle Interview
Before you do consider a detox, the first step is to know the symptoms of mold toxicity. These are not always as obvious as they may seem at first glance. This is especially true since mold spores are so tiny and can hide in small crevices of your home.
Here are the top symptoms to know.
Top Six Symptoms of Mold Toxicity
#1 – Coughing and Wheezing
It’s not only smokers who suffer from long-running episodes of coughing or wheezing – people with water damage and the resulting black mold may suffer from this problem as well. (1)
Oftentimes these mold toxicity doesn’t manifest itself until after it becomes a cumulative problem.
Of course, that is just one reason to call on the professionals to have your home checked for toxic mold and water damage before it’s too late.
If you do experience long-term coughing and wheezing, that’s a can’t-miss first sign that your home could be contaminated.
Be sure to take executive action by removing inflammatory foods from your diet, foods that may be contributing extra to your overall mold exposure.
Mold can hide anywhere from inside your shower, to filters, vents, air ducts, bathroom tiling, mattresses, carpets, and many other sources. While cleaning, make sure you allow for proper ventilation and dispose of all contaminated items in a proper manner.
Supporting the body’s natural drainage, your lymphatic system, should take on a special significance in this situation. Throwing in some detoxifying herbs that help cleanse the body at the cellular level, as well as boost the immune system to make sure that the bad stuff is being targeted, cleansed and removed, is the best way to go if you can’t remove yourself from a moldy environment immediately.
Let’s examine a few more of the biggest red flags of mold toxicity to watch for.
#2 – Sore or Itchy Throat
Sure, when you get a sore throat, your first thought will often be that you have a viral issue. But a sore throat that lasts and is not accompanied by a fever may be a sign of mold toxicity. (2)
A lot of people don’t realize it, but mold spores can become airborne. These spores can cause inflammation within a person’s throat and lead to feelings of itchiness or scratchiness.
In addition, mold toxicity can cause overall weakness, chronic low-grade inflammation, fever, and many other symptoms often associated with the flu or other viral infections within the body.
If you have a mold allergy that has gone undiagnosed over the years, you could even have more serious symptoms or reactions!
Mold often contaminates our food as well. This is why it’s also important to avoid food sources of mold, including store bought breads, canned, packaged and processed foods (especially non-organic), processed meats, alcoholic drinks, condiments (especially of the non-organic variety), and more.
Staple world crops . . . may become aflatoxin contaminated, particularly when stressed and then stored improperly. Drought and excessive heat make growing plants more susceptible to disease and post-harvest problems. (3)
Fresh, whole organic fruits and vegetables, superfoods and herbs are your best bet for avoiding mold in your diet, which you definitely need to do if you already expose yourself to it in your daily environment.
#3 – Serious Skin Irritation
OK. Itchy skin may not be the most common mold toxicity symptom. But patients have reported some pretty serious skin irritation episodes due to mold exposure! (4)
Dry, scaly skin and rashes covering entire areas of the body can happen. This is why doctors often recommend a skin test or mold allergy tests. Alternatively and especially for prevention, simply include plenty of healthy, detoxifying herbs and foods in your daily diet. (5)
#4 – Nasal Stuffiness
Oftentimes people will live in mold damaged homes for years without even realizing the extent of the health problems it can cause over time! (6)
Mold spores are capable of lodging themselves inside the nose as well, causing a chronic runny or stuffy nose, an ongoing nasal drip, watery eyes and other similar symptoms.
If you have mold in your house and keep exposing yourself, the problem won’t get any better without taking action.
#5 – Fever or Shortness of Breath
In addition to nasal stuffiness, symptoms similar to hay fever may result from long-term or close exposure to mold spores. (7)
Difficulty breathing can also arise as a symptom from toxic mold exposure. As you may have realized by now, exposing yourself to this toxic, silent destroyer of health is no joke!
Everyone responds to mold exposure differently. As such, it is so important to prioritize your overall health through superfoods and other holistic methods. This will increase your odds of successfully fighting off mold toxicity.
But you have to make it a lifestyle.
#6 – Asthma-Like Symptoms
Asthma is a complex disease, but its symptoms can become worse by exposure to mold. (8)
More than five million children have asthma according to the National Institutes of Health. There are several unique factors that may play a role in people coming down with the condition. (9)
Genes play a role according to the Institute.. However, the home environment is a major factor as well.
Researchers have linked childhood asthma in particular to indoor mold. Water leaks may cause this, although the total picture is still not understood. If you or your child have asthma, it’s a good idea to begin inspecting the house for these water leaks.
You’ll also want to look for mold in areas where water exposure is common. This includes shower tiling, areas where your roof may be leaking or similar parts of your home.
Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus unguis, and Penicillium variabile are the three species of mold researchers associate with asthma symptoms most.
The results of the Institute’s tests on mold exposure are pretty stark. For those with a 10-point increase in their “Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI),” on a scale of -10 to 20, researchers recorded a shocking 80% increase in a child’s risk of contracting asthma. (10)
The bad news is that mold exposure is a bigger problem than mainstream science would care to realize. The good news is that once you empower yourself with this knowledge, avoiding mold exposure in your home is easy.
Those of us interested in holistic health know just how important a consistent detox routine can be for overall health.
At the end of the day we are only as healthy as our environment.
Mold toxicity is yet another wake-up call to the dangers of failing to prioritize our health.
With that in mind, check out our detox supplements (like C60 Olive Oil) in the David Wolfe shop and do your part to protect yourself and your kids from the health vampires known as mold spores. The time is now to take control of your health!