Could My Symptoms Be From Mold Toxicity?
To begin, let’s explore what symptoms are.
Symptoms are physical or emotional expressions of the body when there is an imbalance or an opportunity for healing. Anything a person experiences is communication from the body. That’s the perspective I have learned to come from.
Therefore, if a symptom persists despite making changes, it simply means we have not aligned fully with the communication being offered by the body. So we keep leaning in, until we do.
What are common symptoms of mold toxicity?
Now that we are clear symptoms are expressions of the body when there is an imbalance…we can now explore some of the specific symptoms of mold toxicity.
Nearly every system in the body can be impacted by mold toxins, which can lead to a myriad of possible symptoms that a person can experience.
The most common symptoms are low energy, changes in mood or mental functioning, weight changes, hair loss, and recurrent infections.
The toxins produced by mold are known to impact the body's ability to make ATP, our energy source. As a result, people tend to experience profound fatigue and often share they feel like they are ‘dying’.
Mold toxins also cause significant inflammation in the brain. This can present as cognitive manifestations, such as symptoms of dementia, depression, anxiety, difficulty learning new things, decrease in focus, anger, or personality changes.
Since mold toxins mostly enter the body through inhalation, people also often experience recurrent upper respiratory symptoms and infections.
Below are some symptoms that could point to mold toxicity.
Anxiety/Depression
Anger or Personality Changes
Decrease in Focus
Headaches
Forgetfulness
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Cough
Recurrent Sinus infections
Increased Allergies
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Fatigue
Hair Loss
Weight changes, gain or loss
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Joint pain
Numbness and Tingling
Insomnia
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Frequent infections
Gut microbiome imbalance
Sensitivity to light, sound, touch, or smells
How do I know if my symptoms are from mold?
When I work with someone, we start when they were inside the womb, then their entry into the world, and work by decade to present. This process requires listening, asking questions, and listening again. This allows for space to hear the body’s communication and to arrive at a thoughtful interpretation. It also allows connecting the dots as often there is an overlap in symptoms for many conditions of the body and traversing a person's individual journey with care often reveals the imbalance.
Is there a test to identify mold toxicity?
Yes. Mold toxins are most commonly measured in the urine.
How is mold toxicity treated?
The basic premise for treatment is 2-fold.
First, it’s paramount to identify and eliminate exposure to the mold, i.e. remove the toxin.
The second step is detoxification of the mold toxins from the body. This is individualized to each person based on the type of mold toxin as well as the degree of symptoms.
Interested in a functional medicine consultation or testing for mold toxicity? Please contact the office at 813-644-9384 or email at info@reshmapatelmd.com for more information or to schedule an appointment. Reshma Patel, M.D. is Board certified in both Internal Medicine and Integrative Medicine practicing in the Tampa Bay area in Florida. She is passionate about using nutrition, mind-body approaches and lifestyle choices to help heal the body.
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