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Mycotoxins can cause many diseases, and this is why the World Health Organization named it The Great Masquerader of the 21st century. Patients affected by mycotoxins present to their healthcare providers with a number of nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms, and mycotoxins are not routinely suspected. Many patients may be misdiagnosed with having chronic Lyme disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, and others with psychiatric disorders such as adjustment disorder and depression.
Mold spores can be found in many indoor spaces; however, they are dormant until they come into contact with moisture or water and start producing spores and releasing them into the ambient air. Mold spores are like a packet of seeds: put them in a container with soil, water them, and you get results. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health all agree that molds start to grow and sporulate when they have been wet for 24 to 48 hours.
It has been well documented in the medical literature that water intrusion from leaky roofs, pipes, windows, poorly maintained flashings, and flooding from leaking washers, dishwashers, ice makers, etc., in the home as well as in the workplace cause mold growth with the subsequent exposure to mycotoxins. Reports of such exposures include homes, office buildings, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, schools, and university dormitories.
Mold spores carry with them mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have potent toxic effects on humans. To use an analogy, molds are the gun, and mycotoxins are the bullet. It is common that one mold produces a number of mycotoxins, and different molds make one mycotoxin.
Mycotoxins are what mold spores produce to weaken and destroy health. Mycotoxins are very strong and powerful and destructive to organs and systems. The alteration of immune responses due to mycotoxin exposure may also adversely affect the ability of the immune system to respond to other environmental challenges. This may explain why patients complain of increased sensitivity to chemical irritants. These patients may report more sensitivities to a number of foods, chemicals, odors, etc.
The adverse health effects of mycotoxins range from acute toxicity to long-term effects such as:
* Autism
* Multiple sclerosis
* Alzheimers disease
* Parkinsons, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
* Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
*...