Mould & CIRS

"To put this into even simpler language, the mold toxin can enter a cell and set off a severe inflammatory process."
- Dr Neil Nathan

Dr Anjana’s Personal Experiences

Our home is our sanctuary, but sometimes even our home can become a source of environmental illness.

From my experiences living in a damp house, the first symptoms I noticed were sinus congestion, joint pain and fatigue. I noticed I was waking up tired and unrefreshed from sleep and experiencing afternoon crashes in energy. Unusual skin sensitivities, tenderness to light touch and night sweats were also new symptoms I’d never noticed before. Additionally, I started to experience bloating and gradually gained weight despite my efforts to manage diet and exercise. Eventually I noticed a decline in my immune system which left me predisposed to suffering from a major gut infection.

My experiences are a version of what we see at our clinic, which has an arm dedicated to helping people recover from environmental mould exposure. I am passionate about helping families recover from the insidious effects of mould illness as I have personally been in my patients shoes and can attest to the detrimental effects it can have on our health and wellbeing.

For more details on my experience read my interview here.

What is CIRS?

”Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a multi-system, multi-symptom illness caused by inhaling biotoxins and inflammagens produced by micro-organisms such as mould, bacteria, and actinomycetes found in water-damaged buildings. CIRS, when caused by a water-damaged building, is more commonly known as mould illness” – Toxic mould support Australia.

Simply put, the body gets stuck in an inflammatory state where it cannot eliminate biotoxins. Biotoxins can come from mould and other organisms. Dr Ritchie Shoemaker found that people who had difficulty eliminating these biotoxins would enter this chronic state of inflammation which was measurable on bloods. Unfortunately in Australia we don’t have access to the full spectrum of blood testing which makes diagnosis this way difficult.

What are the symptoms of CIRS?

CIRS can present with a variety of symptoms.

Family members within the one house exposed to the same mould toxins can each present with different symptoms. One may have worsening asthma attacks, sinusitis and hay fever. Another may have worsening gut symptoms and food allergies. Another fatigue and weight gain. There may be new hormonal issues such as heavy menstrual bleeding, infertility, period pain, worsening endometriosis or PMS. Some people experience major mood changes such as depression, anxiety and panic attacks. For kids it could be new onset recurrent nose bleeds, bedwetting, mood and cognitive learning changes and gut issues.

Importantly some members of the family do not experience any symptoms at all.

Here is Dr Shoemaker’s CIRS Symptoms Clusters where 8 or more symptoms cluster may indicate you have CIRS.

Approximately 25% of people are susceptible to the effects of mould due to their genetic predisposition and constitution – Dr Neil Nathan.

As mould can affect people differently, a common pattern I have observed is that sufferers may experience gas lighting from family and friends who remain unaffected. The incorrect assumption of attributing CIRS symptoms to psychological causes hampers the recovery process leaving them feeling isolated. It’s important to listen to our partners and support them in recovery. The path to recovery from mould illness is itself difficult enough.

How can I have CIRS if I can’t see Mould anywhere?

Mould may not visible to the untrained eye, however, it doesn’t mean that water ingress and mould growing beneath floors, above ceilings or within wall cavities isn’t present.

Its important to get a trained building biologist to investigate suspected mould and take air sampling. Nicole Bijlsma is the leading training body and her list of building biologists are linked here to check your house. I can’t tell you the number of patients who deny the existence of any water ingress in their homes, only for me to recommend an independent building inspection based on a high suspicion of mould exposure. Often in these cases a high mould spore count and long standing water damage is evident beneath the beautiful facades of our flooring, tiling, painted walls or ceilings.

What is the science behind Mould?

Mould research and mould literate practitioners is still evolving within Australia with many traditional practitioners still unaware of the severity, consequences and treatments available for mould biotoxin illness. I think of it akin to other environmental illnesses such as Asbestos or Silicosis from stone benchtops, both which were largely overlooked and disregarded by medicine for decades, however, are now main stream well recognized environmental illnesses.

For those interested in researching the issue further, I encourage you to investigate the research efforts of doctors such as Dr Ritchie Shoemaker and other practitioners listed on the toxic mould support page.

Our Approach to managing CIRS?

At our clinic we take an Integrative and Functional medical approach that combines aspects of the Shoemaker protocol as well as Dr Neil Nathans’s approach for recovery from biotoxin illness.

Below I’ve highlighted a roadmap to help you navigate the complexity of understanding illness from a damp property.

The first step in managing CIRS is to address the root cause of the problem, in this case the cause of the water ingress and mould growth within the environment. This may mean moving homes or for home owners, mould remediation and renovation works. Unfortunately, this is the part that can be significantly costly, if structural house repairs are necessary. However, addressing the underlying cause of illness is critical to promote accelerated recovery and decrease chances of re-exposure.

The way I see it there are 6 main aspect to mould in our body and not all people have all complications of it.

Mould spore allergy and colonization: asthma, sinusitis, recurrent respiratory infections
Mould biotoxins and CIRS – read more about this here.
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) & Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) – Dr Lawrence Afrin talks here about it.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) – read more here.
Immunocompromised infections – the infections you get as a results of having an immune system that is not working well due to biotoxins. This could include Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Gut microbiome issues or Myalgia Encephalitis (CFS) amongst others.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Limbic System dysfunction

Our approach is to understand you and develop a treatment protocol personalized to you depending on how you experience these 6 main areas. Every person is unique, so we take the approach of not just removing biotoxins out of the body, but balancing the whole body to achieve recovery and optimized health.

CASE: 35 year old professional woman

‘Ms A’ presented with brain fog, sore joints and fatigue. She had worsening digestive and sinus issues, stress and anxiety.

She found mild relief when she stayed away from her 100 year old inner city share house, causing her to suspect an environmental cause to her health issues.

Based on Dr Anjana’s extensive experience with CIRS and listening to Ms A experiences, she recommended mycotoxin testing for her body and a building biologist assessment of her home. This revealed a significant mould spore count which matched her clinical CIRS presentation.

A tailored treatment protocol centered around gut repair, biotoxin removal and sinus treatment was prepared.

Nervous system, anxiety and stress management were supported through herbals with our amazing Naturopath.

For some CIRS patients, mould treatment can be rectified within a few visits. For others like Ms A with a cascade of secondary complications to mould, treatment can take longer.

Happily Ms.A is now back and thriving, engaged in her social and professional life with a renewed sense of purpose and passion.

CASE: 40 year old father & husband

‘Mr L’ presented with a history of recurrent viruses that lasted for 4 weeks at a time, often leaving him bedridden. He had been to many general practitioners and sub-specialists but was not given any answers beyond symptomatic pharmaceutical medications.

He and his wife had just had a baby and he was unable to help and now unable to work.

Part of Dr Anjana’s in depth initial consultation is an exploration of the time line of symptoms. It was uncovered that Mr L’s symptoms began when he changed workplaces to an office where buckets were used to collect leaking water from the ceilings.

We were able to identify mould illness affecting Mr L’s immune system and created a personalized program focusing on his nervous system. This was based on fundamental approaches from Dr Neil Nathan, the Shoemaker protocol and my personal clinical experiences treating hundreds of CIRS cases.

Mr L is now back at work (in a different office), full of energy and a hands on father to his little daughter.