by Michael Davis on February 4, 2010
Recently, I was reading some reports on mold health effects and I saw a new disease listed among the many others – multiple sclerosis. This is the first time I remember seeing multiple sclerosis associated with mold so I decided to do a little digging and see if and where there is a connection. The information I found is a little confusing, so I’m going to break it down as best I can.
First, let’s go over what multiple sclerosis is and what it does to the body. MS is a disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This demyelination affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. This results in various neurological symptoms ranging from physical to cognitive disabilities, including muscle weakness, loss of balance and coordination, speech problems, fatigue, depression, and memory loss.
If you are familiar with toxic mold like Stachybotrys and Chaetomium, then you should recognize those symptoms as common cognitive effects of toxic mold exposure. So are these effects often confused with multiple sclerosis or does mold actually cause multiple sclerosis?
We’re not quite sure yet. Perhaps both. Multiple sclerosis is simply the name for what happens when demyelination occurs in the brain and spinal cords. This can happen for a number of reasons both known and unknown. Doctors do not know exactly what causes MS but have attributed it to a number of genetic factors, environmental factors, and infections. It can also happen when certain people are exposed to toxic mold. In this case, you could say that mold is one of the causes of MS.
Yet, because the effects of multiple sclerosis can vary from many different cognitive and physical symptoms, it is often misdiagnosed. In fact in 2005 it was named one of the top five illnesses recognized as misdiagnosed. Most doctors will not realize that what appears to be MS is actually a result of mycotoxicosis and prolonged exposure to toxic fungus.
In fact, MS has mysteriously spiked significantly over the last two and a half decades. This correlates to the same spike in mycotixicosis and mold poisoning. It also correlates to the changes in building design that occurred 20 to 30 years ago that has resulted in more mold in newer buildings. Is this all a coincidence, or is mold actually behind this MS epidemic?
Some time ago, I wrote about how Alzheimer’s patients were often misdiagnosed, their symptoms resulting from toxic mold exposure. It seems that when it comes to neurocognitive disorders, the science is very unstable and possibly misleading.
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by Michael Davis on February 2, 2010
I just read an article on CBN news entitled ‘The Hidden Dangers of Mold Exposure.’ Really? Are the dangers of mold exposure still ‘hidden’ from us? Don’t we all know that mold is dangerous by now? The story in the article will make you think otherwise.
The Fabrys family is a normal family who have a mold problem in their home. This is nothing unusual. But the awful experience this family endured sounds like it should not have happened in 2010, but in 1992.
After cutting into the wall and releasing spores into their home, the children began to experience terrible physical and neurocognitive symptoms: vertigo, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, migraines, abdominal pain. For two years, the Fabrys family visited 30 doctors to figure out what was wrong with their kids.
Out of 30 doctors, it did not occur to a single doctor that mold might be the problem. One doctor even suggested they take their kids to a psychologist.
Finally, in 2008 they performed an indoor air test which revealed dangerous levels of spores. A toxicologist told the family they had to leave the home, take nothing with them, and never return. They even had to put their two dogs down to prevent future contamination. The toxicologist tested all 11 members of the family who all showed clear evidence of mold poisoning.
The article says that only a “handful” of doctors in the country have experience treating mold-related health issues. That is unacceptable. We’ve been well aware of the dangers of mold exposure for 20 years. The web is full of information. I write about this stuff every day. It’s not a secret, it’s not a ‘hidden’ danger.
Yet, the public and, worst of all, the doctors seem ignorant. The Fabrys family has lost their home, their belongings, their money, their health, and their pets – because we continue to be uneducated after all this time. It all could have been avoided if someone in this story had just done some homework.
It’s difficult to hear sometimes, but all we can do is continue to put out information. Information is the key to saving lives here. You are helping just by reading this. Please continue to stay informed.
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by Michael Davis on January 29, 2010
I’m hesitant to discuss yet another case of courthouse mold, but the stories about the mold situation at the Rogers County courthouse in Claremont, South Carolina are too interesting to pass up. Those in charge seem to have made every mistake in dealing with mold and provide some textbook examples of what not to do, turning the courthouse into a money pit.
Apparently, the courthouse basement is susceptible to flooding, which is causing massive damages and creating mold. Rather than applying dry basement methods, the county commissioners decided to purchase flood insurance. As we know, there is a lot of grey area in most flood insurance contracts when it comes to mold. Often the insurance will cover damages and repairs that result from water, but not damages and repairs resulting from mold which the flooding creates. I hope they read over their contract carefully. After each flood, an outside company is hired to dry the courthouse out.
Even thought the flooding problem has gone uncorrected, the courthouse has spent money on mold remediation efforts several times, but it just keeps coming back. This is either because the original leak was never fixed, or the mold remediators were less than reputable – or both.
Recently, a visual inspection of the courthouse revealed a smaller scope of work than the bid requests for mold removal. Industrial hygienists warn that contractors who are less than honest or simply uneducated as to proper remediation procedures could actually cost the county more money if the job is done improperly or not solved.
Meanwhile, the courthouse just passed a resolution for a one-sixths cent tax increase for a new courthouse. It seems the best way to deal with the problem is to just rebuild.
What is it about courthouses that attracts mold so often? My theory is government bureaucracy impeding swift and necessary repair decisions combined with a lack of personal responsibility for the property. People might worry about mold in their own home, but with government buildings that belong to no individual, it’s always someone else’s problem. That’s just my take on it.
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