Welcome to my blog post ‘What Are The Symptoms Of Mycotoxins? A Family Case Study’. This blog assumes you are up to speed with what mycotoxins are, the signs and symptoms of mycotoxin illness, and how to test for them. If not, you may also be interested in the section of my blog dedicated to mycotoxins, click here, in particular:
- Mycotoxin Testing What You Need To Know
- Can Mould And Mycotoxins Cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
- Can Mould And Mycotoxins Cause Gut Problems Such As IBS?
What Are The Symptoms Of Mycotoxins?
I am going to answer this question based on a paper published in the medical journal Frontiers In Immunology which discussed two case studies.
Today, we’re going to focus on the fist case which was a nine-member family with pets that moved into a new house, which soon proved to be infested with pathogenic moulds.
The family experienced a plethora of mucosal irritation, neurological, skin, allergic, and other symptoms, with all family members ultimately developing a multiple chemical syndrome.
A family of nine with seven children, three cats, and two dogs moved into a brand new house in November 2011. The seventh child was born in this problem house in November 2013. None of the family members had required any long-term medication prior to November 2011.
During their infancy, two of the family’s daughters had suffered from milk or soy allergy, but these symptoms declined as the girls grew older such that before their move into the new house, they were asymptomatic. The mother had been sensitized to molds in her workplaces during the years 2006–2009 and 2010–2011. At that time, she experienced nose and ear itchiness, which later changed to ear infections and respiratory symptoms, but by November 2011 she was asymptomatic because she changed her place of employment.
Soon after moving into their new house, the parents smelled a strong odor of sewage, which the building contractors attributed to inadequate ventilation. The contractors made several attempts to correct the defect in the sewerage; however, the odor remained.
Approximately 1 month later, all members of the family were experiencing many symptoms, e.g., intense mucosal irritation of the eyes, coughing, pain in the throat region, throat infections, shortness of breath, sinus infections, congestion, etc. These symptoms usually appeared whenever they were present in the house. These mucous membrane irritations led to a cycle of infections, which resulted in many medical consultations. Soon afterward, the symptoms experienced by the family members also developed in various organs.
Many had headaches, all of them experienced some kind of skin symptoms, 6/9 had functional abdominal symptoms, at least 3/9 had either fever or low body temperature, and at least 4/9 suffered muscle and joint pains. Four of the children developed asthma, which required medical treatment.
With time, seven members had developed food and pollen allergies. It is significant that the mother’s aunt, who stayed in the house between October and November 2013, suffered a migraine attack sufficiently severe to require hospital care. She had also experienced severe cough during her stay in the house.
Even the family’s pets became unwell; the dogs had throat infections, cats had “flu” and eye infections, one of the cats displayed asthma-like symptoms.
The other symptoms of mycotoxins the family suffered were:
- Insomnia
- Migraine, motor and sensory peripheral neuropathy, headache
- Tremor, twitching, tic of the body and in the eyes
- Tiredness, exhaustion
- Increased blood pressure, increased heart rate
- Muscle pain, joint pain
- Numbness in the hands and feet; weakness
- Feeling thirsty
- Feeling cold, shivers
- Balance problems; muscle weakness
- Irritability, melancholy, nervousness, memory disorders
- Facial flushing, skin rash, full-body rash, urticaria of the whole body, dermatitis of the face skin and acne-like symptoms also in adults
- Intestinal disorders, e.g., diarrhoea or constipation, gastrointestinal reflux; too high or too low acidity of the stomach
- Increased allergic reactions
- Excessive sweating or no sweat at all
- Crusted skin behind the ears or in the scalp of children
- Increased secretion of ear wax, restlessness, difficulty falling asleep
- Retardation in growth, weight loss without deliberate dieting
- Swelling of the face and the abdomen region
- Increased frequency of urination
- Nightly horror scenes in children, night waking in children
- Unexplained fever spikes
- Pallor, dark under the eyes
- Prolonged jaundice in a newborn
- Hypothermia
- Bedwetting in a child who was for many years dry at nights
- Jaundice of skin
- Significant hair thinning
- Hypersensitivity to noise in children.
The absence of the evidence should not be construed as evidence of absence.
It is clear to me that exposure to certain moulds in water-damaged properties can contribute to significant health issues in predisposed people.
References For ‘What Are The Symptoms Of Mycotoxins? A Family Case Study?’:
- Severe Sequelae to Mold-Related Illness as Demonstrated in Two Finnish Cohorts: click here.
Alex is a certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (IFMCP) and has a MSc in Personalised Nutrition. He is also a breathwork facilitator with a background in personal training and massage therapy. He also runs The Resiliency Program - a 24 week program aimed at building physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resilience.
