Dr. Lisa Petrison has done a beautiful job pulling together information and resources.
http://paradigmchange.me/
Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker has been the leading researcher on toxins and health:
http://www.chronicneurotoxins.com/
An interview with Dr. Rick Sponaugle of Florida about mold toxins and health:
http://www.suzannesomers.com/Blog/post/Mold-The-Hidden-Enemy.aspx
The Fabry's story is similar to ours, but multiplied several times over as they have a larger family. Andrea Fabry, like me, desires to help others know the health risks of toxic mold: http://momsaware.org/
Dr. Joseph P. Klein, a California orthopedist, has a similar story of searching for a safe place to live: http://www.sdmold.com/stachybotrys.html
Doug Kauffman also that to Know the Cause of illness is critical to knowing the cure'
http://www.knowthecause.com/index.php/health-blog/doctors-and-trade-professionals
http://www.mold-help.org/index.php
After moving to our home in October 2005, some of the chronic health issues that have collectively affected our family are:
- unrelenting fatigue, even after a full night's sleep
- exhaustion after non-strenuous physical activity
- sleepiness
- the inability to focus
- cognitive impairment
- memory loss
- night terrors
- microadenoma (a small, noncancerous tumor) on the pituitary gland
- nose bleeds
- pulmonary pain
- bleeding in the lungs
- reduced pulmonary function
- muscle aches and fatigue
- chemical intolerance
- nerve pain
- enlarged thyroid
- joint inflammation
- prostate cancer
- extensive food allergies
- psoriasis
- rashes
- severe cystic acne
- esophageal constriction and inflammation
- vascular weakening and ruptures
- rectal bleeding
Some of the symptoms of the more acute illness after the house was flooded with toxins formerly trapped in the wall:
- weakness, fatigue, exhaustion
- chills
- sweats
- no fever
- head pain
- congestion, runny nose
- no evidence of infection in phlegm coloring
- brain fog
- metallic taste in mouth
Even though we live in an area with some of the best physicians in the world, no one in the traditional medical community could explain why any of us were so ill.
There is a vast base of research from many scientists and doctors that is documenting health risks from living in water damaged buildings which cause mold and the consequent toxins produced by mold.
Mold spores and mold toxins are two different entities. Mold spores cause allergic type of reactions. Toxins cause disease, illness and, in extreme cases, death.
We've learned that twenty-five percent of the population has immune systems that cannot rid the body of toxins. These hazardous chemicals remain within, wreaking havoc to the various systems in the body.
People have different immune systems, so different people may not show the same symptoms.
Toxin illness can also be caused by the varied Lyme bacteria. The bacteria produce toxins inside the body. If an infected person has an immune system that cannot deal with the toxins, a chronic condition can result.
I'm still seeking to understand what happened in our bodies during the days we lived in the house saturated with the poisonous chemicals. We had grown chemically sensitive over the previous five years. However, now our bodies are chemically intolerant. We can smell and feel toxins in buildings, on people, and get ill from the exposure. We both cannot tolerate chlorine. Janelle gets a migraine around fluorinated products. I now have a latex allergy.
Research is revealing that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia often are caused by living with toxins from mold or from Lyme. The more we read, the more evidence there is that toxins from mold and other sources are one of the causes of other neurological deterioration diseases, cancer and auto-immune diseases. The links above have some information to support the above statements.