Mold avoidance

Mold avoidance is a strategy of reducing symptoms of mold biotoxin exposure by avoiding the source of exposure. In some cases this entails leaving a water damaged building. In others, it may require leaving whole areas.

Utilization of a sensation of the presence of toxins was reported in the 1985 Tahoe/Truckee "cluster" responsible for Drs. Cheney and Peterson decision to call the CDC for assistance, eventually culminating the creation of the CDC's research tool "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". One potential candidate for the chronic illness apparently recovered by spending time out in his camper, rather than the teachers lounge. This notable "exception" (9 of 10 teachers), was included in the 1994 Chester-Levine abstract, below. The source of the toxic sensation remained unknown, but persisted at this location for years after the outbreak until discovery of the toxic mold Stachybotrys Chartarum in 1998, at which time the school was remediated.

Concurrent SBS/CFS quote: "Truckee, California. Coincident with, and reported as part of an outbreak of CFS in northern Nevada and California [13, 17, 24], nine of 10 high school teachers who used a single, small, poorly ventilated conference room became ill sequentially. All nine teachers required a leave of absence, and two retired. Eight teachers remain ill 5 years after the onset of the outbreak. The one unaffected teacher spent less time than the others in the conference room, often doing his work outdoors."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8148452 Clin Infect Dis. 1994 Jan;18 Suppl 1:S43-8. Concurrent sick building syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome: epidemic neuromyasthenia revisited. Chester AC, Levine PH.

Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is usually characterized by upper respiratory complaints, headache, and mild fatigue. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an illness with defined criteria including extreme fatigue, sore throat, headache, and neurological symptoms. We investigated three apparent outbreaks of SBS and observed another more serious illness (or illnesses), characterized predominantly by severe fatigue, that was noted by 9 (90%) of the 10 teachers who frequently used a single conference room at a high school in Truckee, California; 5 (23%) of the 22 responding teachers in the J wing of a high school in Elk Grove, California; and 9 (10%) of the 93 responding workers from an office building in Washington, D.C. In those individuals with severe fatigue, symptoms of mucous membrane irritation that are characteristic of SBS were noted but also noted were neurological complaints not typical of SBS but quite characteristic of CFS. We conclude that CFS is often associated with SBS. PMID: 8148452 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

The relationship of toxic mold to the creation of "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" remained unrecognized and almost virtually unknown until the publication of Dr. Shoemakers book "Mold Warriors" in 2005.

http://www.survivingmold.com/

Mold Warriors by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker Gateway Press 2005

Chapter 23 Mold at Ground Zero for CFS

"The history of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) begins in Incline Village, Nevada in 1985. In the medical history of CFS, each of the concepts applies--failed theories and failed criticism. One victim, Erik Johnson, told everyone who would listen that mold was a cause of CFS. He came up with his theory at the wrong time in the politics of medical opinion, as a unknown viral cause was blamed instead. Johnson tried repeatedly to get the attention of leading CFS researchers then and now to look at what he knew about mold sensitivity. None of the heralded CFS researchers would listen."

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While there have been no clinical trials conducted on mold avoidance in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, many have reported significant improvements and in some cases remission of symptoms.

Online resources

 * Paradigm Change
 * Surviving Mold
 * Toxic Mold Facebook Group
 * Locations Effect Facebook Group
 * Mold avoidance Facebook Group