A List of Exact Symptoms, Signs
and Body Parts Hurt by Mold
Parents may wonder if their family's emotional or health troubles come from mold toxins. We have reviewed over two hundred articles on mold symptoms, and below we list the most common effects of mold on the mind and body.No one has all of these and some are only present in very severe exposures. Even if an exposure is modest, it can still have significant effects on school, work or relationships. These mold chemicals can enter the air from hidden mold sources with the mere vibration of a stereo or merely opening a door. The toxic mold chemicals then disperse all over a school or home. Once they enter your lungs or are swallowed in your nasal fluids or saliva, they will travel all over the body.
Please recall that if you spend any time in a musty location or a location with visible indoor mold, you will have had some mold toxin exposure. High levels of exposure overwhelm everyone. Modest mold toxin exposure still bothers approximately 1 in 4 who are poor at removing biologically active mold toxins. These sensitive people need to be extra careful with mold because they do not remove the toxins from their systems as well as the non-sensitive people. They have to be sure to live in a home that has no hidden indoor mold. They cannot work or go to school in a moldy structure. They need clean low dust environments with air scrubbed with MERV 11 air filters. They also need to take mold toxin binding agents such as Cholestyramine. (Dr. Rosen believes the fat binder Chitosan and pharmaceutical charcoal may also have some mold toxin binding effects).
Mold toxins can produce hundreds of different body problems. This list is just some key examples. Again, some patients with mild exposure or who are not extremely sensitive to mold toxins may just have a handful.
Brain
Headaches
Poor memory
Trouble concentrating
Trouble learning
Trouble finding words
Disorientation
Seizures
Trouble speaking fast
Trouble with understanding fast
Trembling
Vocal or Motor Tics
Serotonin changes
Abnormal reflexes
Strokes
Edema or swelling in the brain
Scarring of Brain seen on MRI's
PET and SPECT scans show hypoperfusion
EEG abnormalities
Brain and Psychiatric
Mood swings
Mania
Irritability
Impulsivity
Increased risk taking
Decreased speak smoothness
Poor stress coping
Increased verbal fighting
New lateness
Poor empathy
Poor boundary awareness
Immaturity
Spacey
Rigidity
Poor insight
Poor insight into illness
Decreased productivity
Unable to process trauma or interpersonal pain
Increased narcissism
Forgetfulness
Poorly organized or obsessively organized
Dead creativity
Depression
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Decreased attention
Eccentric personality
A delay in a Child's developmental milestones
Increased alcohol consumption or increased drug use
Eyes
Light sensitivity
Red eyes
Blurred vision
Tearing
Eye pain
Hearing
Sound sensitivity
Decreased hearing
Mouth
Metallic taste
Saliva with blood streaks
Nose and Sinuses
Chronic infections
Sniffing
Tingling nose
Nasal itching
Stuffy nose
Runny nose
Blood streak in saliva or nasal mucous
Throat & Lungs
Erosion of membranes
Shortness of Breath
Sore throats
Cold or Flu symptoms
Chest pain
Wheezing
Voice changes
Stomach and Intestines
Ulcers
Indigestion
Nausea
Vomiting
Sloughing and death of intestinal villi
New Reaction to wheat or dairy
Diarrhea
Belly pain
Bile duct disease
Liver
Fatty liver
Liver cancer
Abnormal liver lab tests
Jaundice or yellowing
Skin and hair
Numbness
Tingling
Hair loss
Diverse and severe rashes
Itching
Blisters
Biopsies with no clear cause
Burning skin sensation
Muscles & Joints
Cramps
Stiffness
Joint pain
Cartilage damage
Heart & Blood Vessels
Heart Muscle damage
Heart muscle inflammation
Chest pain
Abnormal ECG
Red or pale skin
Reproductive Tissue and Genitals
Increased Testicular cancer
Vaginal irritation
Decreased sperm production
Erectile dysfunction
Hormones and Hormone Tissue
Low DHEA
Low MSH
Low Free Testosterone
Low Androstenedione
Low Cortisol
Abnormal cortisol regulation
Damage to Adrenal glands (Makes Cortisol, DHEA and ADH)
Overall body
Fatigue
Weakness
Malaise
Eccentric weight gain
Occasionally Eccentric thinness
Bizarre pain
Ice pick pain
Lightening bolt pain
New chemical sensitivity
Spinning sensation/Dizziness
Increased thirst
Frequent urination
Shocking sensation
Sweats
Temperature variation
Appetite swings
Easy bleeding or bruising
Swelling
Trouble walking or running easily
Reduced coordination
Rapid pulse
Low temperature
Jerky movements
Abnormal Blood Pressure (low or high)
Fever
Chills
Increased tumors
Laboratory Test Results
Liver tests are abnormal
Liver growths that do not have clear biopsy results
Increased creatine-kinase level
Blood glucose too high or too low
Low or high white blood cells
Anemia
Increases Eosinophils
Blood in the urine
Inflammation labs are high, e.g. TNF-a, C-reactive protein, C3a
Immune system function problems
Bone marrow labs abnormal
Natural Killer Cells that kill cancer decrease in number
Epstein Barr virus, present in everyone, has high levels
Auto-immunity labs which show the body is attacking itself, are abnormal, e.g. ANA, ASM, MBP (blood), Myelin antibodies from Spinal fluid
Red Blood cell abnormalities
Homocysteine over 10
Depressed Immunoglobulin (antibody) levels
Macrophages do not work correctly
Pregnancy
Fetal abnormalities (Birth defects)
Body Chemical Changes
Decreased Protein making
Decreased DNA manufacturing
Decreased epinephrine, adrenaline, norepinephrine and dopamine
If you think that the state and Federal government is happy about indoor mold physicians, you are being funny. Pharmaceutical companies with their stranglehold on medicinal innovations, which only promote their new drugs, are fully disinterested in mold illness. Frankly, clinically irrelevant medical agencies, large corporations and the insurance corporations dislike articles with this material. Having taken an oath to help the suffering, I have no understanding why they do not care about mold injured people, and dislike physicians trying to help patients that many merely insult and degrade with false psychiatric labels. I guess trying to save billions of dollars is more important than helping the victims of mold.
As I write this, New Orleans is under water and those homes will no doubt be unable to be remediated. Bacteria with toxins in their outer walls and toxic mold will fill these structures. Do you really think that government is really good at offering cutting-edge clinical medicine? If the various levels of government including state and Federal agencies, cannot get water bottles to a single stadium, do you really think they have all of medicine covered? The need for massive State and Federal interventions was clearly known to be needed, long before the disaster of Katrina hit New Orleans, because of exceptional weather monitoring, which made it highly likely New Orleans would be buried in water. If these were doctors running the care, they would have all been sued and their licenses attacked. While I salute the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Police, the EMTs, the military and the Southern Baptist Interventions, the fact that after so many days so little has been done, shows you cannot count on your government to make all your survival decisions, and I would add they cannot decide what is wise for your personal medical decisions. Sincere people who are not in favor of death, were not able to get services in place fast, when it was clear they would be needed fast--not in four or five days.
If they cannot even get citizens water bottles, food bars and tolerable shelter, do you think they really are going to be intellectually and clinically on top of all the components of your mold illness? The hurricanes in the past twelve months created indoor mold in many homes, and many in the State and Federal government still have not fully appreciated the magnitude of the simple EPA principle that musty and visible mold is not ever acceptable.
Dedicated to the lost in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.