Topic: Article, How the Smell of Your Home Could Be Making You Sick
Carol in PA
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posted
How the Smell of Your Home Could Be Making You Sick By Julie Rehmeyer, January 14, 2014
Most things we can smell are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and some VOCs are known to make people sick. "I knew that a minor theory was that sick building syndrome might be caused by the VOCs that make fungi smell moldy," Bennett says.
I'm posting this article because some of the problems from molds look like Lyme. Perhaps having Lyme predisposes one to having a problem with molds?
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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steve1906
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I’ve always believed in Sick Building Syndrome, its real....Thanks for posting.
-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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Judie
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I'm glad this is getting more attention.
Odors can indicate problems, but keep in mind that VOCs that make you ill also can have NO odor.
I know this because I was poisoned and got permanent lung damage in a sick building that had no smell to indicate a problem.
Here's a list of indoor VOCs (both with and without smell):
"While most people can smell high levels of some VOCs, other VOCs have no odor. Odor does not indicate the level of risk from inhalation of this group of chemicals."
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TF
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Carol, there is a connection between lyme and mold. At the 2011 Lyme Conference, there was a speaker who talked about it. She said that people often get sickened by mold first and then come down with lyme disease.
That is what happened to me. I lived in a rented house for 3 years and was constantly visiting the ENT while I lived there (but not before living there or after I left there).
Right before I left that house, I went to the ENT for a horrendous ear ache that came on suddenly. It was black mold growing in my ear.
The mold was growing on a small wet crack in the basement wall. When the air conditioning came on, it drew the air from the basement and blew it all around the house. That air included spores from that black mold.
It didn't affect my husband, just me. The ENT said that most people would fight off this mold. He also said that what I had in my ear was the most painful thing they see in the ENT practice. (He also told me to report the house to the health department.)
Shortly after leaving that house, I got lyme disease.
So, I took notes on this mold/lyme talk and thought I would repost them here for those who may have missed them the first time around.
Dr. Nagy is NOT a lyme doctor, so I am using her name in the notes. Here they are:
2011 ILADS Conference
Identifying Environmental Illness & Mold Exposure in Patients with Persistent Lyme Disease
Dr. Lisa Nagy 10/29/11
The toxicity of mold is not well understood. Mold illness leads to chemical sensitivities. Many lyme patients have immune suppression/immune system damage first (due to mold, etc.) then they get lyme disease.
Usually, the cause is indoor mold from water intrusion. The key to this is a musty smell in the basement or other part of the house. A person with mold illness typically will have a white cell count of 3-4.
Mitochondrial disease: Dr. N. had this plus chemical sensitivity. Mold exposure in her home was the problem. (When she bought the house, the living room had a large, built-in aquarium in the wall complete with koi. A shed outside sheltered the aquarium. The mold from this structure was sucked into the house and sent throughout the house.) As a result, everyone in the family got Addison’s disease.
There is a $699 urine test to test for mold problems (it is a mycotoxin test).
Symptoms of a person with mold illness include: clothing tags itch them so they cut them off, bra gets too tight as they wear it (due to skin’s reaction to it)
If the mold is very toxic, you have to get rid of all of your possessions, including all clothing. It cannot be salvaged. If you wash and dry your moldy clothing at another person’s house, you will infect their dryer.
If you have this type of illness, you should prewash all new clothing.
Once a person with this problem gets away from mold, they will get sick the first 5 days (called “unshielding,“ I believe), so they must stay out of stores for those days. Don’t go shopping. She advises giving these patients oxygen during this period. She recommends 2 hours per day for 18 days.
She also advises IV nutrients if they can afford it. She advises them to spend 10 minutes in the sauna after a few weeks away from the moldy environment. If they can tolerate that, they can slowly work up to 30 minutes.
She also advises 4 grams 4 times per day of cholestyramine.
She said that Dallas has the best allergy testing. She gave the following website: EHCD.com
She advises this type of patient to build a safe bedroom to detoxify all night. They cannot drink water in plastic ever again, only in glass containers. She mentioned Mountain Valley water as coming in glass containers. Then, you carry your water with you in a small glass container throughout the day.
Regular detergent and fabric softeners make these patients sick, also air fresheners, perfume, diesel exhaust. Husbands often disbelieve that these things are making the wife sick, and the marriage suffers. Women generally show these sensitivities before men. The men just go right to severe illness and skip the sensitivities phase.
If the patient has adrenal insufficiency, they may notice that they get teary at movies and commercials that are sentimental, etc.
She mentioned giving patients DHEA, 5 mg per day for 2 weeks and then increasing the dose. This helps with anxiety.
Toxicity may now have become the most common cause of adrenal insufficiency.
These people will have dysautonomia (usually diagnosed as POTS). They will go to sleep for hours after eating. So, to avoid going to sleep at work, they will skip meals. (She had this and she did this. She also described how weak the condition made her as a practicing MD. She eventually had to stop work.) The following website explains how to treat POTS: NDRF.org She stated that dysautonomia must be treated.
She gives alpha lipoic acid to all of her patients.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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Dave6002
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Proteinases and the innate immune receptor Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) are essential for expression of allergic inflammation and diseases such as asthma.
A mechanism that links these inflammatory mediators is essential for explaining the fundamental basis of allergic disease but has been elusive. Here, we demonstrate that TLR4 is activated by airway proteinase activity to initiate both allergic airway disease and antifungal immunity.
These outcomes were induced by proteinase cleavage of the clotting protein fibrinogen, yielding fibrinogen cleavage products that acted as TLR4 ligands on airway epithelial cells and macrophages.
Thus, allergic airway inflammation represents an antifungal defensive strategy that is driven by fibrinogen cleavage and TLR4 activation.
These findings clarify the molecular basis of allergic disease and suggest new therapeutic strategies.
Published in Science recently. It is thought an important finding.
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-------------------- Everything I say is just my opinion! Posts: 3529 | From Massachusetts Boston Area | Registered: Jul 2008
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lpkayak
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Member # 5230
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Tutu-i had mcs very bad when working in badair building. I got a book thatlisted all the things to get out of your environment. I did that. Used good aircleaners. Had safe bedroom. Stayed away from stuffthat bothered me: cig smoke, perfue soap aisle in grocery-eventually i could shop but still need to stay away from many odors or i get worse again. The nagy lecture above mentions some things but i would find a better list online or a book-its really surprisung how many things can affect you.
One day i went thru whole house and put all the bad styff in totes and ziplock bags and got it out...i soon felt better
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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TF
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Member # 14183
posted
Lymetoo, I think you get rid of the MCS by treating the mold toxicity and the lyme.
Here are notes I took on mold toxicity and its treatment. See this sentence especially:
"Mold is a sensitizer. So is lyme disease. They both make people hyper-sensitive to everything."
Dr. S. 101: An Explanation of the Treatment Protocols of Neurotoxin Illness by Dr. S.. (Mold Toxicity)
Presented at 2012 ILADS Conference, Nov. 3, 2012
Dr. Neil Nathan
He prepared this presentation in conjunction with Dr. S because so many people have commented that they cannot understand Dr. S's presentation. So, this is the presentation for "dummies."
25% of the population cannot process mold toxin. This is the definition of mold toxicity.
Not all molds are toxic. If you test your home with mold plates, the lab that analyzes them will separate out the non-toxic molds for you.
Mold is a sensitizer. So is lyme disease. They both make people hyper-sensitive to everything.
For example, there are people with electromagnetic sensitivities. These people can't think in the presence of an electric clock, for example. Tests were done that showed their brain waves go from normal (thinking) to the delta wave as an electric clock approached their head.
Delta waves are basically when "the lights are on, but nobody is at home."
Smart meters and many other electrical devices make these people unable to think.
Mold symptoms are similar to lyme disease symptoms. He discussed a few symptoms that are unique to mold. These include:
lightning bolt pains, profound nausea and vomiting (possibly projectile), weird paresthesias (that most doctors would say are impossible since "there are no nerves there"), and sensitivity to static shocks.
People with mold toxicity cannot make antibodies to mold toxins, so they stay toxic. The toxins recirculate, even if they move out of the moldy environment.
Mycoplasma and chlamydia also make these toxins.
In those with mold toxicity, the mold makes fat cells produce a flood of cytokines (causing inflammation), and people lose the ability to know when they are satiated (stomach is full). This effect is known as leptin resistance. So, they can gain 40 pounds in a year.
Also, these people cannot make enough MSH, so their endocrine system collapses. They will have many hormone imbalances (adrenal, sex hormones, etc.)
Also, the person cannot make VIPs.
Toxins can disrupt antibody formation. Therefore, these patients cannot heal. Their inflammation cannot turn off. They will have high C4a and C3a.
The mold toxin cannot leave the body. Dr. S recommends using cholestyramine to remove it. Cholestyramine is a binder.
Also, high cytokines stop production of VEGF, so the patient will have post-exertional malaise. Without VEGF, the person cannot increase blood flow to cells when needed. That is what causes the post-exertional malaise that lasts for days after exertion.
Being low on MSH means that the body can't stop reacting to pain. (A normal person's body stops reacting to pain at some point.) So, these mold toxicity patients continually have pain. They are often diagnosed with fibromyalgia because of this symptom.
Being low on MSH also means that the person will urinate more, sweat more, and therefore have a small layer of salt on their skin. This is likely why they so strongly react to static electric shock. The salt makes them an excellent conductor of static electricity.
MRSA is a subset of MARCONS. MARCONS itself causes no symptoms, but it massively interferes with MSH. It causes more cytokines to be produced.
Culture the sinuses to look for MARCONS. Treat MARCONS with a nasal spray called BEG Spray. He uses the BEG spray and rifampin.
Also, autoimmune conditions are increased with mold toxicity. The symptoms can look like MS.
A VIP deficiency will present as air hunger. Treat this with the nasal spray. It works at the very first dose.
Next, he discussed the Visual Contrast Test. This test is a sheet of paper with various special types of lines drawn on it. It is held a certain distance from the patient to see if the patient can see all of the lines. This is a test for mold, lyme, and mercury toxicity.
(These toxins affect retinal function. So, that is how the test works. It is testing retinal function.)
Treatment of Mold Toxicity
Recommends the use of cholestyramine and sometimes also adds Actos. The cholestyramine should be obtained from a compounding pharmacy so that there is no sugar or NutraSweet in it. Welchol is weaker and is better tolerated. So, it can also be used if necessary.
The treatment mobilizes the toxins. Therefore, it produces a herx reaction.
Start with 1/4 scoop of cholestyramine per day and then increase. Don't increase dose too fast. You must take the cholestyramine at least 2 hours away from meds. He recommends taking it about 1/2 hour before lunch because the least meds are generally taken at lunch.
If the patient's leptin level is good, then you can also add Actos to the treatment. Actos can cause hypoglycemia and swelling. It works 15-20% of the time, but is well worth a try because if it works, it works within a week.
DHEA is low in 99% of his patients. Adding DHEA makes people feel better in a few weeks.
Zith 250-500 mg once or twice per week is a good biofilm buster. It liquifies body secretions and biofilm.
He gives his patients Melatonin so that they can sleep.
If the patient has pure mold toxicity and nothing else, Zocar 80 mg per day is the treatment. Take CoQ10 along with it.
If a person feels better when they get to an altitude of over 7,500 feet, that is a clue that their ? is low. (Sorry, I missed the word here.) Going to high altitudes make these folks feel better, so that is the clue to this abnormality.
ERMI test kits are available on line to test your home for mold. Dr. S has a scoring system for the ERMI test results.
Remediation of your home may not work. It is very expensive to remediate, so he wants mold patients to know this in advance.
Final word: mold toxicity is treatable
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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A simple remedy for exposed mold is to spray Orange Guard on it as long as you're not sensitive to orange essential oil. The spray will completely wipe out the mold.
Just get some Orange Guard from the hardware store or healthfood store, put a little in a spray bottle, fill with water and spray, then wipe off the mold. It's also very good against odors, and I happen to use it as bug repellent on clothing and gear too. Very versatile.
Posts: 13117 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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Thanks, TF! I'll pass this along. She is out of the mold and has treated Lyme.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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beaches
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REALLY good info on this thread. I will have to reread for reference.
All I can add is that people should be tested for HLA-DR4. My understanding is that if you're positive, you have difficulty detoxing mold and are more prone to Lyme-related arthritis, and that arthritis might not respond to abx.
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Judie
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The VOCs from orange oil irritate my lungs (it's very high in VOCs). Here's an alternative for other like me.
Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar also work by killing mold at opposite ends of the ph scale. Don't combine them, but use them one at time.
First wipe a surface down with hydrogen peroxide. Let set for a awhile (like 15 minutes), then clean with mild detergent.
Follow with wiping down with vinegar. Let set for a awhile (like 15 minutes), then clean with mild detergent.
You can even skip the detergent if you can't handle that.
Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into simple water when exposed to light (that's why it's in a dark bottle).
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