Mold Health, Environmental Toxins

Mold Illness Doctors – Mold Symptoms and Their Health Dangers

Mold symptoms allergies health dangers

Recover from Mold Illness
using an all-natural approach.

We're experts at diagnosing and treating mold illness
Start your journey back to health at LifeWorks Wellness Center.

Recover from Mold Illness using an all-natural approach.

We're experts at diagnosing and treating mold illness
Start your journey back to health at LifeWorks Wellness Center.

Could it be Mold Illness?

At LifeWorks Wellness Center, we specialize in diagnosing and treating Mold Illness, a condition often missed by conventional medicine. This page provides essential information on Mold Illness, its symptoms, and our unique approach to treatment.

We are seeing more and more patients who are grappling with persistent and perplexing health issues that conventional medicine has struggled to diagnose or treat effectively.

Mold Illness arises from prolonged exposure to toxic mold spores commonly found in water-damaged buildings.

Symptoms can be diverse and multifaceted (see below), often mimicking other chronic conditions, and include chronic fatigue, headaches, and neurological issues.

We have extensive experience diagnosing and treating mold illness. As experienced mold doctors, we provide a comprehensive and healing-focused approach to those suffering from Mold Illness.

Understanding the Health Risks of Mold Exposure

Mold, a common yet often unnoticed invader in our homes and workplaces, poses significant health risks. The variety of toxins that certain molds release can lead to a wide range of health issues. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underscores that all mold types have the potential to harm health.

Hidden Danger in Plain Sight
One of the main dangers of mold lies in its inconspicuous presence. People living or working in spaces with mold may not realize its existence, unknowingly inhaling mold spores. These spores can accumulate in the body, including the brain, potentially leading to various health problems such as allergic reactions, headache episodes, infections, and respiratory issues.

When Common Symptoms May Signal Mold Exposure
It’s important to be vigilant about health symptoms that are resistant to standard treatments. For example, if you experience persistent issues like a runny nose, asthma, chronic coughing, or sinus problems that don’t improve with usual medical care, it could be a sign to inspect your environment for mold.

Individual Responses to Mold Exposure

The impact of mold exposure on health can vary widely from one individual to another. Factors influencing this include the specific mold types encountered, the level of exposure, overall health, and any pre-existing sensitivities or allergies. This variability underscores the importance of considering mold exposure in unexplained health conditions.

Contact LifeWorks

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Friday: 9:00am – 4pm
301 Turner Street
Clearwater, FL 33756
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Dr. Minkoff Discusses Mold in These Videos

Dr. Minkoff Discusses potential symptoms of mold and mystery illnesses.

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Contact LifeWorks

727-466-6789
727-451-1010

Mon – Thurs: 8:45am – 5pm
Friday: 8:45am – 4pm
301 Turner Street
Clearwater, FL 33756

Become A Patient

"*" indicates required fields

Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

See a Mold Illness Doctor Today!

For almost 30 years, we have been successfully treating and healing all chronic mold illness issues naturally so patients can return to living.

Contact us to discover how our powerful, all-natural approach can change your life.

Understanding Symptoms of Mold Illness

Common Symptoms of Mold Exposure

  • Respiratory Issues: Persistent coughing, sneezing, sore throat, nasal congestion, sinusitis, and difficulty breathing.
  • Allergic Reactions: Symptoms similar to hay fever, such as itchy eyes, nose, or skin, and watery eyes.
  • Headaches and Migraines: Frequent headaches that might worsen in mold-infested areas.
  • Fatigue and Weakness: Chronic fatigue that persists even with rest.
  • Skin Irritation: Rashes or hives, especially in direct contact with mold spores.
  • Cognitive and Neurological Symptoms: Difficulty concentrating, memory loss, dizziness, and a feeling of “brain fog.”
  • Joint Pain and Inflammation: Unexplained muscle cramps, joint pain, and persistent inflammation.
  • Immune System Responses: Increased susceptibility to infections due to a weakened immune system.

Additional Symptoms Specifically Linked to Black Mold Exposure

The most toxic variety of mold is black mold. Black mold grows on materials that have a high cellulose content. Dark greenish-black mold found on wood, paper, gypsum board, dust, and lint are all common indicators of a lot of moisture or previous water damage.

  • Severe Respiratory Distress: Including wheezing, shortness of breath, and pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs).
  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: More severe and debilitating fatigue.
  • Serious Neurological Symptoms: Seizures, tremors, numbness, and tingling.
  • Mental Health Issues: Anxiety, depression, and sudden mood swings.
  • Bleeding Lungs and Nosebleeds: In very severe cases, exposure to black mold can cause lung bleeding and frequent nosebleeds.
  • Nausea and Vomiting: Gastrointestinal disturbances, including loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.
  • Immune and Blood Disorders: Anemia and a white blood cell count decrease.

Risks of Long-Term Exposure

The dangers of prolonged mold exposure should not be underestimated, as they can lead to more severe and potentially life-threatening conditions.

  • Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Long-term mold exposure can lead to the development of chronic respiratory conditions such as obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic sinusitis.
  • Severe Allergic Reactions: Ongoing exposure can intensify allergic responses, potentially leading to severe allergic reactions that could be life-threatening in some cases.
  • Long-Term Neurological Complications: Continuous exposure to mold toxins can contribute to long-lasting neurological issues, potentially increasing the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Increased Risk of Infections: For individuals with weakened immune systems, including the elderly, infants, or those with chronic illnesses, prolonged mold exposure can significantly increase the risk of respiratory and systemic infections.

Self-Evaluation for Potential Mold Illness

  1. Have you been feeling ill or unwell for a time, surpassing the timeline of a common cold?
  2. Have you sought medical help and been diagnosed with seasonal allergies, yet symptoms have not subsided?
  3. Have symptoms worsened since their onset, and has it impacted your well-being?
  4. Can you smell mold in your home, or do you have trouble breathing in certain areas?
  5. Are others in your home not feeling well or having headaches or respiratory issues?
  6. Do your symptoms come and go and frequently change? Day to day, week to week, or even month to month?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you should not rule out mold poisoning or toxicity as a cause of your symptoms. Often, mainstream medical practitioners are unaware of mold’s hazardous and all-too-common effects on the body.

Understanding Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)

Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a serious condition triggered by a range of biotoxins, including fungi, mold spores, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These toxins can cause a systemic inflammatory response in the body, leading to various chronic symptoms.

Prevalence and Causes
A significant portion of the population, nearly 25%, is at risk of developing CIRS due to moderate to high exposure to these biotoxins. Factors such as genetic predisposition and the extent of exposure play a critical role in the development of this condition.

Symptoms of CIRS
CIRS manifests through a wide array of symptoms, which may include:

  • Respiratory Difficulties: Chronic cough, wheezing, and difficulty breathing.
  • Neurological Impairments: Memory issues, difficulty concentrating, and headaches.
  • Fatigue: Persistent tiredness that does not improve with rest.
  • Vision Problems: Sensitivity to light, blurred vision, or eye irritation.
  • Digestive Issues: Abdominal pain, diarrhea, or changes in appetite.
  • Musculoskeletal Pain: Joint and muscle pain without clear cause.
  • Skin Reactions: Rashes, itching, or unusual skin sensations.

Management and Recovery
When individuals with CIRS are removed from environments with high biotoxin levels, symptoms often begin to subside, allowing the body to heal naturally.

However, prolonged exposure or inherent susceptibility to biotoxins may necessitate medical intervention to eliminate toxins from the body fully.

In cases of significant mold damage to the premises, professional remediation services may be required to identify the mold source, disinfect the area, and purify the air to prevent further exposure. This step is crucial in creating a safe living or working environment, which is essential for full recovery from CIRS.

Mold Illness is Often Misdiagnosed

Mold illness, mold sickness, or CIRS is often misdiagnosed. It’s not that doctors are oblivious to the dangers of mold; it’s the fact that they’re simply not looking for it.

With such a wide range of symptoms, CIRS and mold illness are misattributed to other conditions like allergies, depression, or fibromyalgia.

Treating mold illness symptoms with medicine made for other conditions does nothing to rid your body of the illness. Rather, the toxic mold in your home will continue growing and spreading while your condition worsens. Furthermore, the medicine you are taking for an unrelated condition could interfere with and inhibit your immune system’s ability to fight the toxic spores.

Mold Can Lead to Chronic Infections

The Mayo Clinic’s research in the 90s strongly suggests most chronic sinus infections result from fungi, not bacteria. They proposed that 96% of the people afflicted with chronic sinusitis are actually experiencing symptoms due to the immune response to fungus.

Unfortunately, most sinus infections are immediately treated with antibiotics, which kill bacteria but do nothing for fungal spores. If patients have found relief from sinus infections after taking antibiotics, it is most likely due to the body ridding itself of the fungal infection because antibiotics would not affect the spores. This mistreatment could prove to be problematic in the future, as antibiotics kill the good bacteria that flourish in the gut. This good bacteria is necessary for a properly functioning immune system.

Mold lung infections can lead to bronchitis and other respiratory infections if left untreated.  Mold infection symptoms are often attributed to other illnesses bearing similar symptoms.

Diagnosing Mold Toxicity

At LifeWorks Wellness Center, we have considerable experience dealing with the issue of mold toxicity in patients.

Patients complaining of fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, headaches, and more will have a functional evaluation to help establish if mold is present in the body, which could be causing a mold illness. A urine test may also be ordered, and lab markers on blood work are often used to diagnose a mold illness.

Treatment for Mold Illness

Each patient is treated slightly differently depending on their health condition, degree of toxicity, symptoms, and which organs or systems are being affected.

Treatment may involve several powerful, natural therapies, such as:

See an Experienced Mold Illness Doctor Today!

LifeWorks Wellness Center is considered by many to be one of the nation’s top mold treatment clinics.

For almost 30 years, we have been successfully treating and healing all chronic mold illness issues naturally so patients can return to living.

Contact us to discover how our powerful, all-natural approach can change your life.

Learn how to recover from mold illness naturally. Receive this free email series to discover steps you can take today to heal from mold illness naturally! Send it to me!

Strategies for Mold Detection, Prevention and Control

Learn more about detecting mold in your environment.

What is Mold?

Mold refers to various fungi known for their ability to reproduce through tiny spores. These spores, too small to be seen with the naked eye, travel through the air and begin to grow upon finding a suitable, moist environment. It’s at this stage that mold becomes visible and potentially problematic.

Reproduction and Visibility: Mold spores thrive in damp conditions, leading to the visible growth of various mold types, each with its own characteristics and potential impacts on health and environments.

Toxin Production: While molds themselves are not inherently toxic, many species, particularly over 200 known types, have the capacity to produce mycotoxins. These toxins can harm health, especially when accumulated in indoor environments.

Indoor Mold Varieties: Commonly found in indoor settings, molds can appear in different colors, including white, greenish, or black. The infamous Stachybotrys chartarum, often called black mold due to its color, is particularly notorious for its potential to produce potent mycotoxins.

Health Implications: The presence of toxin-producing molds in indoor environments poses various health risks, ranging from allergic reactions to more severe health issues, especially in cases of prolonged exposure.

Detecting Mold

Molds are very common in buildings and homes where they thrive and spread in damp conditions. Indoor mold can often be found in attics, under carpets, behind drywall, in insulation, leather, fabrics, and foods.  Any time an area of a building has been exposed to a leak or dampness, it should be thoroughly checked for the presence of mold which presents as fuzzy, musty growths of differing colors.

If you notice bowed buckled floorboards, a new water stain on a wall, discolored carpet, or black or white specks on a surface it is time to investigate. Mold breaks down and destroys any material it grows on which can impinge on the safety of a building.

Mold in the Home or Office

It is estimated that over 25% of buildings in the United States have had some degree of water damage. These leaky roofs, buckling floorboards, and water stains will often be ignored. They may be unsightly to the building’s overall aesthetic, but the many people working or living inside those buildings do not realize that those unsightly water damage spots could be hazardous to their health.

Mold Remediation

Professional mold remediation can cost $500 to $6,000 on average. If the problem is severe, this number can reach into the tens of thousands.

If the mold source is unknown, sometimes it is best to invest in a professional mold investigator to find the root of the problem.

Often, the source of the mold can be found behind drywall, in crawlspaces, or in other areas that require a professional to clean up, disinfect, and remove the toxic mold from your home or workspace.

These mold remediation professionals often use a high-filtration air vacuum to rid the air of toxic spores. This is, of course, after the damaged drywall, floorboards, or other areas of significant damage have been removed.

This is why it is extremely important that any sign of mold growth be addressed as soon as possible.

If small amounts of mold are present, they can be removed with mold or mildew removal products or by applying a solution of bleach and water to the area. Rubber or nonporous gloves should be worn along with protective eyewear. A proper mask should also be worn, usually available at hardware stores. Never ever touch mold of any kind with bare hands.

Even after the mold has been eliminated, it is wise to run a high quality HEPA  air filter to clean the air thoroughly.

Mold Can Live in Dry and Wet Environments

Mold is known to thrive in damp, dark environments. However, the more toxic varieties of mold have been found in dry, desert regions as well.

Types of Mold

The most common indoor mold varieties include:

  • Alternaria: Alternaria is a mold that is found in the upper respiratory tract. It causes allergic responses including itchy eyes, runny nose, and coughing.
  • Aspergillus: This variety of mold is most likely to be found in house dust. Aspergillus produces mycotoxins that can lead to lung infection. Warm, damp climates are most susceptible to this type of mold.
  • CladosporiumThis fungus is regularly found outdoors, but has been known to grow on wood and textiles inside homes. Symptoms are similar to those of hay fever and asthma.
  • Penicillium Penicillium mold produces symptoms similar to the Alternaria variety. Penicillium is found on carpet, fabrics, insulation, and wallpaper.
  • StachybotrysThis is more commonly referred to as “black mold.” This more toxic variety is usually fund on paper or wood and causes the most severe symptoms such as serious respiratory issues and bleeding in the lungs.

Preventing Mold

The easiest way to prevent mold is by ensuring the building is moisture-free. This includes:

  • repairing leaks in plumbing or other structures and cleaning up thoroughly afterwards
  • wiping up condensation on windows and in bathrooms
  • avoid carpet in the bathroom and run an extractor fan when showering
  • checking air ducts
  • removing mats or carpets which may have got damp
  • eliminating standing water in drains
  • keeping indoor humidity levels to between 30%-50% by running fans, air conditioning, or dehumidifiers
  • venting appliances that produce moisture, such as stoves and clothes dryers,
  • use mold inhibitors, which can be added to paints
  • clean bathroom with mold-killing products
  • adding insulation can reduce the potential for condensation on cold surfaces (such as windows, piping, roofs, or floors)

Black Mold Exposure Documentary

“Moldy” Documentary

by David Asprey of BulletProof Coffee Fame

Mold documentary