Molds,  Spores,  and Toxins

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Molds are one of the most ubiqutous forms of life on planet earth.  Molds have been around for billions of years,  and are one of the essential elements in the cycle of life.  They help to recycle organic matter such as humans,  though we try to postpone the inevitable.

Our interest is in trying to hold off  'Mr Mold'.  Those of us who have become sensitized to some version(s) of mold want to stop the process of increasing sensitivity and painful symptoms.  And we want to completely reverse this process if possible;  To re-enable our immune system to detect and to ward off all forms of mold,  and to eliminate any existing toxins from our system.

It is helpful to remember that since mold was on earth before humans evolved,  the human immune system had to successfully develop ways of combating mold's efforts.  And since we apparently evolved from other animal forms,  we inherited those animals' immune systems,  which were already mostly effective against mold  (else the animals wouldn't exist).  For example,  consider that some of our closest relatives  (chimpanzees, etc.)  live long lives,  and do so with nothing that we recognize as medical assistance.  How closely related chimpanzees' immune systems are to ours I do not know.

So we can expect that molds in all versions have evolved capabilities of combating our immune system the entire time that humans have been evolving.  But their approaches to interrupting and digesting life forms should be expected to be directed to a very wide spectrum of prospective food  (organic matter; animals and plants);  not just humans.  And,  partly because they are a very simple form of life,  they would be expected to develop a universal approach to disrupting and subsequently digesting other life forms.  And we see just that;  biotoxins composed of chemicals which to some extent successfully disrupt the life processes  (including immune systems)  of other life forms  (including competing molds).  And it is these biotoxins that mold produces that we are concerned about,  not the mold itself.  From our standpoint,  mold is the vehicle for delivering these biotoxins that can be so disruptive to our lives.

Mold typically exists as a colony of individual segments,  known as  'hyphae'.  For most of our human population,  mold can easily be seen,  and often smelled.  For those of who have become sensitized,  some of the molds that can affect us can just barely be seen with the naked eye.  Some varieties can be observed and analyzed  (watch their growth behavior)  with a  'hand-held'  microscope which has 100 - 200 X magification.  This preferably on thin,  white materials so the mold can be detected.

Since becoming sensitized to at least one particular version of mold,  my approach has generally evolved to be a strategy of  'mold avoidance';  on a path which has occasionally been a failure for me due to bad logic,  mistakes,  wishful thinking,  errors in judgment,  reliance on bad information,  trying to save money,  etc.  The strategy of  'mold avoidance'  does seem to be a consistent and effective approach among mold sufferers  (they're still alive!),  and seems to offer some hope for us in adapting it to our own unique situation;  possibly giving our immune system a chance to recover.

My initial effort reminds me of the approach to problems a good logger friend reported using:  'brute strength and awkwardness'.  Rather,  we shall desperately need to take the approach science uses,  depending on both explanation and evidence for our progress.  And,  as much as possible,  avoid the misdirections that come from both hope and fear.  We need to avoid bad information and wishful thinking if we are to effectively solve mold's incursion into our lives.

The approach of  'mold avoidance'  does not depend on our knowing what version of mold we have,  what the specifics of its toxins are,  or whether there are several versions to which we have become sensitive.  We simply try to avoid whatever mold is giving us symptoms;  at whatever levels of mold  (our threshold)  those symptoms are detected.  The concept of  'mold avoidance'  also gives us some  'room',  because it means we don't have to try to kill the mold.  We learn how to avoid it.  We adapt to it.

We are told that mold requires 3 things to grow

• moisture
• food  (for the mold)
• acceptable temperature

We also observe that there are different opinions about the specifics of each of these things.  Also, that the specifics vary by the version of mold.  So,  unfortunately,  we must simply find out what works for us.

I am still learning, after 3 1/2 years,  what works for me.  Tentatively,  the 2nd bedroom in my trailer which contains most of my daily clothing,  needs to be kept below about 70% relative humidity,  or the 100% cotton items  (like regular tee shirts)  will start producting mold.  This is above temperatures of 55+ degrees or so.  I have increasingly bought polyester-based clothing for wear in the trailer,  and particularly for night-time (no cotton in the sleeping compartment).  Am guessing it will take 90% or so relative humidity to get these  'mostly polyester-based'  clothes to produce mold.  I use a dehumidifier to try to prevent this growth,  but still have occasional failures.  In my case,  I never actually see nor smell the mold,  but feel its effects through the spores/toxins it produces and which are then inhaled.  For more discussion of mold on fabrics,  see the page discussing fabrics.

One item which has thus far worked for me is to learn sporulation times of the problematic mold.  In the case for using my special sleeping compartment,  it has been my experience that  'my'  mold typically sporulates between 3:30 am and 7:30 am.  Consequently,  I avoid being in the compartment during that time.  It is simply the easiest way to avoid the effects of this mold.  This does imply that there is mold growing,  or waiting to grow,  in the sleeping compartment while I am in there.  In that sense,  it is not yet a  'clean'  room.  Maybe semi-clean.  This seems to me to be consistent with the goal of  'mold avoidance'.

Molds reproduce via entities which we call spores;  these are like fertilized eggs.  They can live for long periods of time in a dormant state,  and then,  given the right environmental conditions,  start to grow and produce a new mold colony.  Most spores  (that bother us)  are apparently released by the colony in airborne form;  they can then be inhaled by us through our noses  (or mouths),  and be presented to our immune system for detection and disposal  (for mold-healthy people).  The spores dangerous to us have their specific biotoxins  'attached'  somehow to themselves.  These attached biotoxins serve the mold source,  through their spores as their  'attack system'  against target sources of food   (us)  and,  also,  other molds which would be competing for territory.

Though it seems to be common thought that it is only the mold colony that can produce spores,  it is the author's observation that individual hyphae may be able also produce spores.  Whether or not these forms of mold produce toxins poisonous to us I do not know.

Not all molds produce toxins which are dangerous to humans.  For those molds which do produce disruptive biotoxins, their spores seem to contain the most powerful form of these toxins.  In my experience,  a less powerful source of the same toxin is also much to be guarded against.  It is encountered when mold growth decays,  typically by bacteria after the mold is killed.  In the process of mold decay,  toxins that are stored in the cell walls of the mold are released.  During mold decay,  apparently some of the released material is in particle form,  and some in gaseous form.  In addition,  other offensive chemicals called VOC's  (Volatile Organic Compounds)  may also be released,  and can cause similar problems.  So it is not just mold spores that can have serious effects on us.  And the strategy of  'avoiding mold'  (including physical removal)  rather than killing it avoids the disruptive and often unavoidable effects of these  'secondary'  toxin releases.

We have had a tendency to use chlorine-based bleach to kill mold.  This was my general approach for several years.  It now seems that using this product has led me to become sensitive to the chlorine,  enough so that routine chlorine-treatment of water causes significant chemical irritation/sensitivity.  This situtation,  and the many discussions and warnings about the use of strong chemicals  (including the possibility of causing mold adaptation/mutation),  leads one to change approaches,  and try to solve problems in ways different from using a strong chemical.  In our battle with mold,  we can,  for example,  try physically to remove the mold source rather than to kill the mold.  One remembers at this point that if we can eliminate the mold somehow,  rather than try to kill it,  we avoid the problems associated with the decay of the mold  (release of the toxin in cell walls).

It is a significant and scary revelation to learn that mold can often successfully mutate  (adapt to a new form)  in the presence of strong chemicals.  Apparently,  some fungicides used to kill mold have been shown to dependably cause mold mutations;  so dependably that science in some cases uses a specific fungicide when they need to study mold mutation,  or some other use for mutated forms.  Our human systems depend a great deal on interactions of chemicals,  hormones,  etc.  It seems we will be best off trying to avoid upsetting this complex process by the naive addition of chemicals. 

One of the great difficulties in combating the effects of mold toxins is in identifying the mold causing our problem.  There are thousands of molds,  but a relative few that cause us problems.  And science has given us quite a bit of knowledge about these few specific molds,  whether they produce poisonous toxins,  the weight  (how commonly airborne?)  of the spores,  etc.  So identification of our problem mold would be helpful,  but testing can be expensive,  and can be undependable.  Consequently,  mold sufferers of all types tend to simply adapt the strategy of  'mold avoidance';  whatever the mold is,  avoid it in all its forms.

The concept of  'avoiding mold in all its forms'  should include the recognition that if one has a  'mold event'  (say a mold is actively producing spores which we are inhaling),  removing ourselves or the sporulating mold source   (say our socks)  from the area  (indoor)  does not entirely solve the problem.  We need to remember that those spores are now airborne;  nearly all of them that have been produced are still there,  and that location's air must now somehow be cleaned or removed in order to make the area safe for us again.  This same concept is true if we are experiencing mold decay  (with secondary toxins and VOC's)  rather than mold sporulation.  The airborne offending particles and/or chemicals must still be removed from the air.  And this is more difficult than removing just spores;  one can't just use a particle filter.  A fan or combination of fans is often needed,  and is often a superior approach to providing clean air.

Each mold-sensitized person's war with mold should be different.  Mold affects each of us differently,  and there are many versions of mold;  some apparently morphing/mutating into different forms.  But it is likely that we will be able to modify our approach  much faster than can Mr Mold.  Mostly,  in this war,  it will be a matter of us learning,  listening,  and then doing.  And experimenting; always experimenting, with our own bodies as  'guinea pigs'.  There doesn't seem to be an option to this.  We must suffer through the war in order to win it.

And it is a war;  against a long-time adversary,  Mr. Mold.  Success depends on our strategy,  our willingness to learn about Mr Mold,  our persistence even when discouraged,  and our willingness to do the things known that can help us. Unfortunately,  we cannot expect too much specific help from the medical community  (unless one has a pile of money).  We can and do already get help in what has been learned about mold,  the various toxins produced,  and their effects.  We cannot get much help from the medical community for our specific wars,  because the science cannot be done in any practical way.  Society's funding of research must go for projects that are of universal value;  that which applies to many people,  not just one of us.  So each of us,  in considerable measure,  is on our own to solve our own war.  But,  in addition to the universal knowledge science does offer to us,  we can help one another with our own experiences and our own insights concerning Mr. Mold.