Week of December 4, 2022

QUESTION:  Am I putting my family a risk by putting a live Christmas tree inside? Each of my family members has a CIRS.

ANSWER: A living Christmas tree, like any other “indoor house plant,” is not unsafe for those with prior or ongoing CIRS. It is a better choice than a stored or store bought fake tree, which may come along with toxic particles or residue. Depending on a fake tree’s materials or makeup, cleaning it might prove to be tedious or ineffective.

There could be one possible scenario where a living Christmas tree presents a problem, and that would be if an indoor Christmas tree is kept in a large container, such as a metal bucket, and that bucket leaks, resulting in delivery of enough water to sink into flooring and subflooring. Then it is theoretically possible that would create an environment conducive for growth of harmful microbes.

In a nutshell… the Christmas tree itself provides no increased risk. Double check the container holding the tree for any leaks, and be watchful when watering it. We haven’t heard of any issues with live Christmas trees to date.

QUESTION: Can we have houseplants in our remediated home?

ANSWER: We have looked at the question of indoor presence of both moist soil and plants in some detail. It was a common “Plan B,” used by desultory mold defense attorneys and their highly paid consultants that was easily refuted. We have done repetitive re-exposure protocols in 15 patients. Those results confirmed that exposure to homes with house plants does not create an increased health risk for patients with prior chronic inflammatory response syndrome acquired following exposure to interior environment of water-damaged buildings. It is not necessary to remove houseplants from the home as part of remediation. Presence of houseplants should not change the outcome in litigation for people who are alleging injury acquired indoors.

QUESTION: I’m in the process of getting a CIRS diagnosis. I’m trying to make sense of the term ‘inflammation.’ I am told by a rheumatologist I don’t have inflammation as my CRP and RF markers are normal. He says I now have Fibromyalgia on top of my many years of CFS. I understand that a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is made because there is no inflammation causing the pain.

ANSWER: CRP and RF are parameters that look at inflammation from acquired immune responses.  We focus on innate immune responses; they are not the same. The inflammation created by CIRS is unopposed innate immune responses together with metabolic disturbances.

QUESTION: I had the Streptomyces griseus test done and the result is 150. Is that a good number?

ANSWER: The problem is that griseus is only one of 40 species to be worried about. Suggest using Envirobiomics for the actinomycetes panel. Call them if you can't identify which panel is actino

QUESTION: Would you explain the affects the VCS test has when it comes to column e.

ANSWER: There is no role for column e in diagnosing. Column e shows no difference in cases vs. controls.

QUESTION: Could dry eye syndrome affect the results of the VCS. If so, how can I get an accurate result?

ANSWER: If untreated, it is possible. (Dry eye) Treatment must be straight forward.