TOXIC POISONING

Leaky houses produce one of the most dangerous household toxins of them all – Stachybotrys. Anyone who has suffered from Stachybotrys poisoining, as I have, will understand the total debilitation septic shock causes, and how long it takes to recover from the initial symptoms. Once you have suffered mycotoxin poisoning your immune system never really recovers so it pays to be knowledgeable about how to prevent a recurrence and keep your immune system boosted.

But for those who are not exposed to Stachybotrys, there are still many toxins that can cause serious medical illnesses and cancer.

Aside from the fact that the mycotoxins one has been exposed to are a carcinogen, they cause a suppression in the immune system used to help fight off such abnormal cells as cancer.

Where most people have 5% of their cells available to fit cancer, mold patients have an average of 2% of the killer fighting cells in their systems.
All known studies have shown that once one is exposed to indoor fungal exposure, there is a good chance they will be predisposed to cancer for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, it is extremely important to protect your immune system and safeguard your body as well as possible. This can be assisted by:

1. Learning about sources of toxins and toxic poisoning
2. Get to know remedies for toxicity – as most Doctors don’t know.
3. Avoid toxic environments
4. Adopt anti-toxin lifestyle habits
5. Know the antitoxin medicines and treatments
6. Support Medical Studies on Environmental Toxins, Called Clinical Ecology

Sources of Toxins

The primary sources of toxins are:

• Building Structures & Furnishings
• Foods
• Building Environments

Building Structures & Furnishings

Apart from wood treatment and finishing products used in homes, the main toxic culprits in the home are toxic cleaning products and carpets.

Carpets can be extremely unsanitary. They trap dust mites and allergens and provide a healthy environment for mold and moisture to live in. In the early 1980's many European and Asian countries, including Germany; banned indoor carpeting from new homes reporting it as a health menace.

Food Toxins

Certain foods are more prone to carrying carcinogenic toxins, such as
Fusarium mycotoxins may possibly appear in some domestic food products, causing ill effects in humans, from allergic responses to immunosuppression and cancer. According to experts, five kinds of mycotoxins are important in human health around the world:

1. Aflatoxins - has been linked to liver cancer. Found in peanuts, soybeans, brazil nuts, and pistachios. Inhalation exposure to carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB 1) is also considerable.
2. Ochratoxin A - a kidney toxin produced by Penicillium verrucosum in cereal grains in cold climates, by A. carbonarius in grapes, wines and vine fruits, and by A. ochraceus sometimes in coffee beans.
3. Fumonisins - may cause oesophageal cancer, are formed by Fusarium moniliforme and F. proliferatum, but only in maize.
4. Certain trichothecenes - are highly immunosuppressive
5. Zearalenone - causes oestrogenic effects; both are produced by F. graminearum and related species.

Current reporting probably underestimates the effect of mycotoxins as a cause of human mortality.

Mouldy Buildings

Certain types of buildings are prone to high toxic levels, and are best avoided, especially by those previously exposed to high levels of toxins.
People who have had mold exposures and illnesses are generally more sensitive to mold exposure in the future. Some of the buildings that typically cause reactions in these people are:

• Old buildings such as museums, civic buildings, government buildings
• Libraries and book book stores, especially used book stores
  
  Antique shops, second hand shops; thrift stores; tag sales
• Public schools and hospitals
  
  Cafes and bars in basement locations
• Caves, jails, dungeons, basements, tombs, prisons, cellars, root cellars, storage sheds, etc.

Home Anti Fungal Remedies

Mental

Maintain a positive mental diet - let go the anger of being poisoned and focus on maintaining a positive outlook. Stay focused and avoid stress. Stress can be very destructive to the immune system.

Diet

Maintain a low toxic diet - Begin with the diet, if nothing else. Within a few weeks one should already begin to feel some relief. Diet alone is 70% of the wellness process in many cases. The old adage of vitamins, diet and exercise is a good one.

• Antioxidants and Vitamin Supplements - to boost the immune system. Take high levels of B vitamins [including biotin, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, thiamine and manganese], 2 oregano oil (natural antifungal and antibacterial) capsules and 2 charcoal capsules twice a day.
• Psyllium Hull Powder – acts as a catalyst to the production of anoxenase, a chemical naturally found in the body that assists in absorbing toxins. The drug cholestyramine assists in producing anoxenase, or you can use a home catalyst by taking a 1/2 tablespoon of psyllium hull powder twice a day in water. Capsules are not quite as effective. Psyllium is a natural diuretic which can also aid blood pressure.
• Maintain a healthy intestinal flora - Acidophilus [from any health food store] is best. Do not get the type with FOS as this is made with the aspergillus fermentation process.
• Drink 8 glasses of distilled water to maintain healthy flora in the lower intestine and control Herxheimer response. Add 10 to 12 drops with grapefruit seed extract daily.
• Detoxify regularly – check with your medical provider. I used a home based charcoal based treatment.

More On Mold Sensitive Foods

Physical

Maintain a regular exercise program. Stay focused on health. Ensure any new physician prescribing you medication confers with your specialist who is treating you for fungal exposure. Avoid re-exposure at all costs. Check your home and work environments for hidden moulds.

Commercial Anti Fungal Remedies

Commercial anti-fungals alone are not the only answer; and in many cases can worsen the situation if not used correctly. Most physicians are hesitant to prescribe them as they don't know how to use them correctly.

Rapid effective treatment of fungi can cause a reaction known as the Jarrisch-Herxheimer effect. This is generally short lived, and can be managed.

The "ideal" antifungal remedy isn't available yet. Fungal properties are so close to human properties, it's hard to effectively destroy one and not the other. With the current public denial and lack of responsibility for fungal related illness, little research is being done in this area.

Fungi exists in two forms:

1. Mycelial form
2. Spore or dormant form

According to Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, Medical director for MAST Immunosystems, California; "The only way one can destroy mold is in the mycelial form." It takes at least a year to overcome systemic toxicity.

Common Anti Fungal Treatments

Nystatin - an antifungal antibiotic, used to cure many disfiguring and disabling fungal infections of the skin, mouth, and throat, combined with antibacterial drugs to balance their effects. Uses for Nystatin have been as varied as treating Dutch elm disease to rescuing water-damaged works of art from molds. Nystatin, however, is not effective in killing fungi in the lungs or gut.

Econazole - an effective antifungal topical cream has never been available in any other form to my knowledge until now. Leiter's Pharmacy in California now carries Econazole oral powder available in 250 mg. capsules. It is very inexpensive. Leiter's has been compounding several types of anti-fungals for many years. For more information, you may give your physician their number, 800-292-6773. The also do mail order.

Voriconazole [especially effective for aspergilliosis] is known as anti-fungal chemotherapy. Normally only prescribed by highly trained specialists and in very extreme cases in two successive treatments at a cost of about $US11,000. Voriconazole is also available in pill form at a cost of approximately $US40 per capsule. It is highly effective and insurance has been known to pay for this procedure in some cases.

Flucytosine - the only available antimetabolite drug having antifungal activity. It inhibits fungal protein synthesis thus interferes with fungal DNA synthesis. It is available in capsule form.

Clotrimazole - a broad spectrum antifungal which inhibits ergosterol synthesis, an essential component of fungal cell membranes, leading to the destruction of the fungus.

Cancidas [caspofungin acetate] – used in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis in patients who do not to respond to or cannot tolerate other antifungal therapies. Aspergillosis is a potentially fatal fungal infection, often seen in immune suppressed hospital patients. Its mortality rate as high as 95%, with about one-third of patients surviving only 3 months after becoming infected.

Itraconazole [generic name for Sporanox AND Terbinafine [generic name for Lamisil In May of 2001, the F.D.A. issued an additional health warning for both Sporanox and Lamisil, based on claimed hepatic effects. Lamisil was created as anti-fungal fingernail and toenail drug, both Sporanox and Lamisil have been highly effective for the treatment for fungal disease and systemically in the lung and lower intestine. There is also a risk with Lamisil actually destroying human bone marrow. These drugs are very expensive. Sporanox costs about $9.50 per pill.

Fungastatics [Griseofulvin, ketoconazole, etc.] - are mold derivatives, that arrest the growth of mold, not kill it.

Cholestyramine [generic name for Questran] - a cholesterol absorbing drug used by the military on soldiers exposed to neurotoxins such as yellow rain Cholestyramine has proven very successful if taken over a long period of time, with very few complications. One major complaint is constipation and nausea. Use of Cholestyramine has been highly controversial, should be prescribed only by very experienced physicians.

A successful treatment of Cholestyramine in treating invasive mycotoxicosis generally takes several months, not 2 weeks as is commonly prescribed.

Medical Studies on Environmental Toxins

Called Clinical Ecology, this branch of medicine treats people with allergies and more severe ailments as symptoms of poisoning. Clinical Ecology is only in the early stages of development.

There are many other prescription anti-fungals on the market and different situations warrant different protocols. Most physicians are not knowledgeable in this area. Mycotoxicosis can be a serious illness with many consequences and the effects can be very serious. The long term effects of this are still unknown and vary from person to person.

Studies by Shuhei Sakaguchi and Shinobu Furusawa of the Cancer Research Institute, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University had confirmed that Kampo medicine Sho-saiko-to, commonly used clinically to treat chronic hepatitis, is also effective in treating toxicity due to household moulds.

Other Resources

Mold Held Org