Toxic mold

Under various circumstances, some molds produce toxins. We call these mycotoxins (myco is the Latin word for mold). Not all molds produce toxins, and not all molds known to produce toxins will do so. The conditions must be right.

Mold is everywhere around us. We breath and eat molds everyday. Our bodies can tolerate them in small quantities. In larger quantities, mold can be a danger to human health.

In order to grow, mold requires moisture and an appropriate food source. The growing mold may shed spores into the air, enabling it to spread to nearby areas. One purpose of generating mycotoxins is to poison off other types of mold growing nearby.

Under the right conditons, some toxic molds can produce various mycotoxins. Significant exposure to these mycotoxins can result in a variety of symptoms in humans, including headaches, respiratory problems, cognitive problems, skin irritation, and bleeding.

Since Biblical times it has been known that molds growing indoors are a hazard to human health. See Leviticus 14:39-47. This knowledge has for some time gone unrecognized by the modern construction industry and medical community.

In the 1930s, mold was identified as the cause behind the mysterious deaths of a few farm animals in Russia. The mold responsible was Stachybotrys. It was found growing on wet grains the animals were fed. Today, the agriculture industry closely watches mold and mycotoxin levels on grains to prevent contamination of livestock and of our food suppy.

In the 1970s, building construction techniques changed in reaction to the energy crises. As a result, buildings are more air-tight than they used to be. Also, cheaper materials such as drywall came into common use. The increase in moisture and the paper-based building materials can provide a natural growth medium for molds. As these buildings age, the two factors have resulted in an increase in indoor mold growth.

Indoor mold commonly grows as a result of building maintenance problems. Leaks in roofs or from indoor plumbing problems can lead to mold growth inside homes, schools, or office buildings. Another source of mold growth is flooding. Once the flood waters recede, indoor mold growth often follows.

Toxic poisoning from molds can produce a host of mysterious symptoms in people that often go misdiagnosed. Making the problem worse, the majority of doctors are untrained to recognize the symptoms of toxic mold exposure and other toxic environmental poisoning. It is difficult to diagnose vague health problems that are environmentally rooted.

Exposure to mycotoxins can be hazardous. Like other forms of toxic poisoning, mycotoxin exposure can lead to serious health problems--sometimes permanent--and it can even be fatal.

Some links:

 * NIH: http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108-1/focus.html
 * Healthy Rooms: http://www.minnesotascience.com/fungi.htm
 * Toxic Mold Survivors: http://www.toxicmoldsurvivors.com/
 * The Mold Source: http://www.themoldsource.com/
 * Toxic Mold: http://www.dynamiclist.com/?toxicmold/index
 * Mycotoxins in grains and the food supply:
   + http://www.google.com/search?q=mycotoxin+grain+testing
   + http://www.indianacrop.org/Mycotoxin.htm
   + http://cropwatch.unl.edu/aflatoxin.html
   + http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/FS907.pdf
   + http://www.drthrasher.org/Aflatoxins_and_Aflatoxicosis.html
 * Stachybotrys: http://www.mold-help.org/stachybotrys_chartarum.htm