Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay
Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker who is considered the father of mold illness or toxicity has worked with people who have gotten sick from “sick” or water damaged buildings for decades. He’s collected information and data from thousands of patients he’s worked with these past decades. His information and observations have not been well received by the medical and/or political community. He has a lot of extremely helpful information on his website www.survivingmold.com.
Dr. Shoemaker gives a good definition of CIRS which means Chronic inflammatory response syndrome which is also called “mold illness.” Here is the definition, “The term “mold illness” is a subcategory of biotoxin illness called Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). The definition of CIRS is:
“An acute and chronic, systemic inflammatory response syndrome acquired following exposure to the interior environment of a water-damaged building with resident toxigenic organisms, including, but not limited to fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes and mycobacteria as well as inflammagens such as endotoxins, beta glucans, hemolysins, proteinases, mannans and possibly spirocyclic drimanes; as well as volatile organic compounds.” https://www.survivingmold.com/resources-for-patients/diagnosis
Essentially with CIRS a genetically sensitive person will not mount a proper immune response to biotoxins and thoroughly remove them from the body.
Dr. Keith Berndtson describes it this way, “Patients prone to developing CIRS fail to mount an effective immune response to biotoxins. When this happens, the innate immune system show signs of continuous but ineffective activation.” There are a few different lists of symptoms which you have to have so many of, but Jessica doesn’t have enough of them to fit the description from what I can tell but she is also a child who may not have as many of these symptoms as an adult would, but I am not quite sure about that. Jessica does complain of leg pain in her knees and legs often. She also has abdominal pain often. She has skin issues with a type of white acne on her face that I have tried to wash with a special wash. Up until now Jessica has not had all of the symptoms to qualify for a CIRS diagnosis.
Since I had been looking into mold toxicity or illness I thought it would be good to at least look into what CIRS was and see if that is actually what Jess or me or my son had or have.
I have more symptoms than Jessica in that I have:
• Abdominal pain
• Muscle cramps
• Muscle numbness
• Focus/concentration issues
• Blurred vision
• Word recollection issues
I have at least six of the symptoms. I am thinking about getting all the lab tests recommended by Dr. Ritchie. I am not sure if they are covered by insurance so that is what has prevented me from looking into it before.
We have our mycotoxin tests which have showed enough mycotoxins and Dr. Nathan says that, “If either of these tests is clearly positive, we have immediate verification of the diagnosis of mold toxicity and a clear starting point for which binders to use to begin the treatment process.” Pg. 65 he also says that two major areas of mold colonization is the sinuses and gut. He had his own experience with mold and said, “I have learned that ignoring this toxicity would likely lead to a regrowth of mold and candida inside me and eventually make me sick again.” pg. 70
The solution is the same whether we have this diagnosis or lab tests or not. We still need to lower our exposure to mold and its toxins which we’ve already done. Then we need to bind and excrete the mold toxins which we are still working on now. Then address other issues with our health or immune system.
We’ve been doing so much work to detox the mold mycotoxins with bentonite clay, D.E. which is diatomaceous earth and charcoal and boosting Jessica’s immune system with the following:
• Lactoferrin
• Colostrum
• Vitamin C
• Immunoglobulins (Megamucosa from Microbiome labs)
• Zinc
As well as several other supplements that boost the immune system like edible mushrooms like cordyceps, reishi, sulforaphane from broccoli. She still continues to have issues with foods that lower her immune system and open the door for other illness.
For more information about CIRS see the following websites
https://www.survivingmold.com/
https://hoffmancentre.com/chronic-inflammatory-response-syndrome-cirs-evaluation-and-treatment/
https://drjockers.com/cirs/
https://www.drelenaklimenko.com/chronic-inflammatory-response-syndrome/