How Mold and Mycotoxin Illness Contribute to PANS/PANDAS
If you are experiencing a chronic or complex condition - including PANS/PANDAS - that is not responding to traditional medical care, consider mold mycotoxin illness. There are over 100,000 types of identified mold species and mold is found everywhere there is moisture and oxygen – including homes, schools, and office buildings. It may be in plain sight but can also be behind walls or somewhere else not visible. It’s found in new construction homes as well as older structures. Mold can also be found in the food chain both before and after harvest. Under the right circumstances, some mold species will produce mycotoxins, which are self-defense toxins that are harmful to humans. Many people respond and get ill from mold itself, including mold allergy, but chronic and complex conditions are more commonly associated with mycotoxin illness.
Symptoms associated with mycotoxin illness include:
Non-specific cognitive function issues
Unexplained psychiatric symptoms - especially if not at an appropriate age or in the absence of family history
Neuroinflammation
Mast cell activation
Mitochondrial abnormalities
IBS
Chronic Lyme or coinfections that are not resolving with conventional care
Any immune related syndrome
Neurological symptoms such as a sensation of internal vibration or tremor, or lightning bolt or ice pick type pain, strange skin sensations
Sensitivities to any or all of these: foods, chemicals, supplements, medications, sound, light, touch, EMFs, etc.
Mycotoxin exposure affects people in different ways based on individual detoxification capabilities and other health considerations such as chronic infection or immune dysregulation. If a person already has an underlying health condition, mycotoxin illness will exacerbate symptoms.
Healing from mycotoxin illness takes time and is difficult to achieve unless the source of the exposure is removed. Many people will recover over time simply by removing the exposure; this is more likely if they have strong detoxification capabilities and no underlying health issues. Others with chronic illness susceptibilities require a longer recovery time and also likely require therapeutic interventions including homeopathy, detoxification supplements or medications, sauna, massage, anti-inflammatory support, immune modulating supplements, etc. It’s estimated around 25% of the population has difficulty with basic detoxification and, therefore, difficulty with detoxification for mycotoxin illness.
The bottom line is that mycotoxin illness is serious and more common than is widely understood; eliminating the source of exposure is critical and healing requires detoxifying the mycotoxins and possibly support for organs and systems that have been damaged.
What should be done if you have health issues and suspect mycotoxin illness is in the picture? Here are a few starting points.
Visual Contrast Sensitivity – developed by the US military to screen fighter jet pilots for ability to see details at low contrast levels, this test is highly accurate in detecting biotoxin exposure like mold. This test is a starting point and further analysis is required after a positive response. The cost is $15, and results are fast: https://www.vcstest.com.
MosaicDX MycoTOX urine test – a comprehensive mycotoxin test screening for 11 of the worst mycotoxins from 40 species of mold. The cost is $310 and can be ordered directly in most states. https://mosaicdx.com/
RealTime EMMA urine test – a comprehensive mycotoxin test screening for 16 of the worst mycotoxins. The cost is $399 and can be ordered directly in some states while other states require a licensed professional to order it.
Reach out today to start your healing journey with homeopathy.
Note: There are professionals that can and should be engaged in the mold identification and removal process - it’s possible to get more sick if removal isn’t done properly.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8619365/
Toxic by Dr. Neil Nathan, 2018
https://mosaicdx.com/resource/part-1-mold-101-mycotox-profile-oat-using-them-to-id-mold-patients/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20351519
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1892134/