Week of August 27, 2024
1/ Environmental Testing
QUESTION: My home was tested for mold and the report showed that the air quality for mold on all four levels of the 1600 Sq. Ft home was better then the outdoor controlled sample and the visual inspection showed no sign of mold other than behind a sealed baseboard. I don’t understand any of this.
ANSWER: I suggest you do a HERTSMI-2 and never rely on air sampling.
2/ HERTSMI-2 testing
QUESTION: One of our children is having body rash issues that came on after we moved into our house 6 months ago. She has been treated with an antifungal but it is not clearing quickly. Our functional medicine doctor suggests that we look into mold and do a
HERTMSI-2 test. How do I do this?
ANSWER: HERTMSI-2 testing is either performed on dust that you have obtained by vacuuming an area 3x6 for 5 minutes using a special cassette obtained through Mycometrics. There is a
protocol in the instructions from that excellent lab that will tell you exactly what to do.
The recent paper that Dr. David Lark and I showed that use of Swiffer cloth testing was equivalent to doing vacuum sampling for dust provided a single Swiffer cloth is wiped in one direction at least over 10 horizontal surfaces that are not routinely vacuumed at home. You will not skew the HERTSMI-2 result from a Swiffer cloth if you have more than 10 surfaces but if you do less than 10 surfaces there could be a problem. Also, avoid areas of visible microbial growth when you do the sampling as we don’t want to overload
the cloth with visible organisms.
You may also be interested in the free HERTSMI-2 Scorecard available on the site.
3/ Mycotoxin testing
QUESTION: My doctor has recommended a urine test for mycotoxins as a useful step. Please comment.
ANSWER: Any urine mycotoxin test must be one in which there is strict dietary control to avoid possible falsely elevated readings. In addition, the mycotoxin test antibody must be shown to be monoclonal in published peer-reviewed literature to avoid confounders with a variety of epitopes. Finally, urine must be frozen to transport.
4/ Food intolerance from mycotoxins
QUESTION: I can’t tolerate any vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes dairy or grain. I can’t tolerate fish oil among others. All I can eat are chicken and beef and possibly coffee and almonds.
ANSWER: I do not agree that your case is reflective of intolerance simply due to fungal contamination or mycotoxin contamination of stored food. I would start by assessing the potentials of your case to be due to low levels of MSH providing inadequate regulation of inflammation in the gut.
Community Note: You may be interested in Shoemaker Protocol™ Partner and nutritionist, Judy Cho, and her clinic, book, and offerings based around “The Carnivore Diet.” LEARN MORE HERE
[Link to Judy Cho’s info page]
5/ Mycotoxins in food
QUESTION: What brands of chocolate, seeds and nuts have fewer mycotoxins than others? Are there any lists for my review?
ANSWER: To my knowledge, no stored foods can be assured to be safe from fungal growth. If the activity of water (AW) is over 0.85 there will be mycotoxin production from fungi growing on stored food. Food venders go to great lengths to prevent such contamination.
Rarely is this level reached in commercial storage. The good news is that extensive studies have shown that in normal patients, or control
patients if you will, eating standard diets in the U.S. and Europe do not have confirmed illness from ingestion, despite presence of mycotoxins from those foods being invariably found in urine using careful methods. The assumption that the problem is mycotoxins
remains unproven as that there are other elements that fungi and bacteria produce that can make people ill.
As well, the Shoemaker Protocol™ has been effective in tens of thousands of patients without altering the diet because of these factors. There are 2 situations where diet is altered during the Protocol: 1/ eliminating gluten in those with anti-gliadin antibodies in order to help inflammation improve. 2/ The low-amylose diet is used in step 7 in conjunction with correcting MMP-9 as needed.
The Low-Amylose diet was developed by Dr. Shoemaker to help people with CIRS who have high levels of MMP-9. Cutting back on amylose, a carbohydrate found mainly in starchy foods that mainly grow underground, works to lower MMP-9 levels.
6/ Exposure and running errands
QUESTION: Is it helpful to be quick inside a grocery store. There are some places I am just not sure about and I still have to run errands. Can I pre-order for pickup and run into a
store quickly?
ANSWER: Yes, you can run inside quickly as it takes about 10-minutes for exposure to hurt you. Some patients are even more sensitive, so be aware of your limits.
Many patients also use CSM as a proactive measure if they know they are trying out a new environment or going on vacation.
Learn more about CSM use in our premium resources:
The CSM Fact Sheet
https://www.survivingmold.com/docs/CSM_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Member Q&A: Can you take CSM as a preventative measure?
Comprehensive CSM Learning Module (available for purchase)
7/ Essential oils
QUESTION: Does washing clothes with Tea Tree essential oil have any efficacy for killing mold?
ANSWER: No, Tea Tree essential oil has no efficacy for killing mold. The first concept to understand is that the particulates causing CIRS in a moldy environment are not alive. Remediation and cleaning processes are designed to eradicate and remove the biotoxins.
In general, a standard machine wash is adequate in cleaning clothing. It doesn’t require special cleaning substances. Standard detergents are fine to use. If you are sensitive to detergents, the first choice would be to find one with minimal additives or fragrances.
We have no conclusive data on essential oils effectively removing mold toxins, but some patients have used them for basic cleaning without ill effects. If tea tree is the only cleaning agent you can tolerate try it in a warm or hot wash and see how it works for you.
8/ Humidity and remediation
QUESTION: How does one remediate a home with no visible mold? Is the high ERMI due to high home humidity? Does everything need to be discarded?
ANSWER: Use a moisture meter to measure the humidity. I suggest you read the IEP Consensus Statement paper on the Surviving Mold website and look at the 500 Frequently Asked Questions available for purchase on the Surviving Mold website as well.
9/ Outdoor Air
QUESTION: Does opening windows allow spores in from the outside or is it a good idea to open windows to get fresh air? I am thinking this would remove mold from the air?
ANSWER: Yes, opening the windows means mold spores and biotoxin particulates can find their way into the home. And no, mold is not removed from the air by coming inside the building from the outside. The air simply becomes a carrier for it and it can accumulate in the home.
If you are very CIRS-sensitive, it is best to keep the windows shut. Now with use of VIP in treatment, many patients are able to live with less sensitivity. If you have found you aren’t in the highly sensitive category after treatment, you could experiment with keeping windows open along with frequent rigorous cleaning practices and good air filtration systems in place.
10/ Humidity
QUESTION: Does opening windows increase the indoor humidity and potential for creating a moldy environment?
ANSWER: If you choose to open windows and find it tolerable, opening windows will keep the humidity levels similar to that of the outdoors. Dehumidifiers help with humidity levels in general, but you’ll have to try it out with windows open. It will most likely be less effective, but may still have some effect.
Also to note, CIRS/mold illness is caused from indoor water damage in both humid and dry environments. If the moldy biotoxins are present due to water damage, humidity may help them flourish. Humidity levels would have to be severe to create the water-damaged environment on their own.
