Mold Illness

Over the years, this condition has had many names. Let’s begin with a key point: mold illness is not an allergy.

It is an inflammatory illness, triggered when the immune system becomes dysregulated after exposure to mold and its toxins. For those also struggling with Lyme disease, mold and mycotoxins can overwhelm the immune system, making it far more difficult to recover from tick-borne infections.

My approach to treatment:

I am trained in the work of Drs. Neil Nathan and Jill Crista. Our diagnostic approach integrates urine mycotoxin testing with a detailed mold symptom questionnaire and a thorough exposure history to assess for mold-related illness.

Treatment begins with a period of stabilization and detoxification support. This phase focuses on calming mast cell activation, supporting cell membrane integrity, and optimizing bowel function to ensure effective toxin elimination. Once the patient is stable, we introduce a combination of binders to reduce circulating mycotoxins, followed by a transition into de-colonization strategies when appropriate.

We generally recommend addressing mold-related illness prior to initiating chronic infection treatments. Reducing toxic burden and inflammatory signaling allows the immune system to function more effectively and helps minimize excessive inflammatory responses during subsequent therapies.

Treatment duration is typically 4–8 months. Progress is monitored clinically and with repeat urine mycotoxin testing to assess changes in body burden over time.

What Is Mold Illness?

Mold illness results from exposure to mold spores and mold biotoxins. Biotoxins are toxic substances produced by biological organisms such as molds and bacteria.

The condition is a type of biotoxin illness known as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), first defined by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker in the late 1990s. Since then, our understanding of mold-related illness has grown significantly.

Though not yet universally accepted by all clinicians, there are a growing number of practitioners making a real difference in patients’ lives. This gives hope to anyone struggling with mold illness.

For further resources, see the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness (ISEAI), whose mission is to:

“Raise awareness of the environmental causes of inflammatory illnesses and to support the optimal health of individuals affected by these illnesses through the integration of clinical practice, education, and research.”
👉 https://iseai.org/

I am a member of ISEAI and participate in ongoing mentorship with mold experts Dr. Neil Nathan and Dr. Jill Crista. While there is still more to learn, we now know: living with mold toxicity and CIRS is not without solutions — people can and do recover.

Testing for Mold Toxicity

  • Real Time Laboratories urine testing - with provocation

  • Certain biomarkers done by commercial lab testing

Symptoms of Mold Toxicity

Mold-related symptoms are commonly misdiagnosed and frequently overlap with tick-borne illness symptoms. A thorough exposure history combined with objective lab data is essential for accurate diagnosis.

For self-screening, patients can use the Crista Mold Questionnaire to assess the likelihood of mold-related illness.

Common Symptom Categories

  • Breathing: Shortness of breath, chest tightness, asthma

  • Diagnosis overlap: Chronic fatigue, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, Lupus, MS, Autoimmune illness

  • Emotions: Irritability, anger

  • Extremities: Tingling in hands and feet

  • Eyes: Pain, light sensitivity, bloodshot eyes, vision loss, detached retina

  • Fatigue: Chronic fatigue, post-exertional crashes (thought to be a factor in up to 1/3 of chronic fatigue cases)

  • Mental health & cognition: Confusion, brain fog, memory lapses, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety, depression

  • Mold sensitivity: Reactions to damp environments, mold in air ducts, red tide exposure

  • Nasal/sinus: Congestion, soreness, chronic sinusitis (Mayo Clinic found 96% of sinusitis cases are fungal!)

  • Pain: Headaches, temple pain, sharp “icepick” headaches

  • Sensitivity: Triggers from car fumes, smoke, pets, detergents, chlorine, plastics

  • Skin: Rashes, alopecia (hair loss)

  • Stomach/digestive: Cramps, nausea, diarrhea

  • Taste: Metallic taste

  • Thirst: Dryness, excessive thirst, frequent urination

  • Weight: Sudden gain or inability to lose weight despite diet/exercise

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