{"id":30001,"date":"2021-12-26T22:56:56","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T04:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/?p=30001"},"modified":"2022-11-14T13:48:25","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T19:48:25","slug":"root-causes-of-chronic-fatigue-part-9-mold-related-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/26\/root-causes-of-chronic-fatigue-part-9-mold-related-illness","title":{"rendered":"Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 9: Mold-Related Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mold-related illness was first described almost 50 years ago when it was labeled sick building syndrome. It was met with incredible hostility from the medical profession (because there were no positive test results to verify any diagnosis) and from employers and building owners (who thought affected people were seeking financial gain or special favors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made it especially challenging was trying to figure out why only about 25% of the people in an affected building had symptoms while the remaining employees felt fine. As late as 1991, organizations like the American Medical Association maintained that this and other chemical sensitivities were unproven, psychosomatic, and could even be evidence of mass hysteria. (Empathy has never been a strong suit of the AMA.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, things are a little better, but not much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, mold spores are everywhere, and mold thrives where there is moisture. Second, and fortunately, most people and animals live in peace and harmony with mold, having no symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can be allergic to mold spores, however. Inhale them and you\u2019ll have the same type of reactions you\u2019d get from tree, grass, and weed pollen, dust, cat dander, and the like. Unlike hay fever, a summertime event, mold allergy is year-round, and any allergist can diagnose it with a scratch test and treat you with allergy shots and\/or antihistamines. No controversy there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mold-related illness is a distinct condition<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today we\u2019re not talking about mold allergy, but rather mold-related illness, one of the root causes of chronic fatigue. The following is undeniably a bit complicated, so let\u2019s walk through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mold-related illness is systemic, meaning  it occurs throughout your entire body, unlike  allergies, which are largely confined to your nasal passages and eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mold-related illness is systemic because certain species of mold release a biological toxin–literal poisons called biotoxins or mycotoxins–that trigger a constant low level of inflammation everywhere in your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full name of what\u2019s happening is chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CIRS, which we now know was occurring all those years ago among the victims of sick building syndrome, affects just 15 to 25% of people exposed to mycotoxins, but those 25% can be miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why just a quarter of us? Because only 25% of the population has the genetic make-up that renders them susceptible to mycotoxins because they can\u2019t rid themselves of the toxins and thus their levels steadily increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our bodies are designed to excrete all toxins through the liver and into the intestines, from where they\u2019re flushed down the toilet. The livers of CIRS patients excrete the toxins, but the intestines absorb them back into the bloodstream. This process is called enterohepatic recirculation (entero=intestine, hepatic=liver) and as the levels of biotoxins increase, they trigger more and more inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of CIRS\/mold-related illness <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you\u2019ll note, the range of potential symptoms is diverse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n