“The Avoiding Mold Archives” Edited by Lisa Petrison and Liora Sauerkraut Published by Paradigm Change Copyright 2015, Paradigm Change/Lisa Petrison All rights reserved. Brief quotations of up to 300 words may be used without permission as long as proper attribution is included. For more information about the role of mold toxins in chronic multisystem disease, please visit the Paradigm Change website. www.paradigmchange.me 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 - Overview * Mold is Everywhere * Mold Allergy vs. Toxicity * What am I Reacting To? * Humid Climate * House Doesn’t Have Mold * How Much Improvement? * How Fundamental? * What Percentage Benefited? * Sudden Onset * Fibromyalgia * Developmental Delays * Books Chapter 2 - Hyperreactivity * Becoming Sensitive * Increased Sensitivity * Sensitization Chapter 3 - Getting Started * Will Avoidance Work? * Starting Blind * Seems Impossible * Evaluating Options * Symptom Alleviation * Not Feeling Better * Hosting a Newbie * Stepping Down Gradually * Skipping the Sabbatical Chapter 4 - Mold Sabbatical * Where to Go * Minimum Length * Low Functionality * Too Sick to Camp 3 * Easing In * Back Yard * Sick Leave * Food * Laundry * Bus Travel * Planning A Trip (1) * Planning A Trip (2) * Planning A Trip (3) Chapter 5 - Intensification Response * Getting Clearer * Chemical Sensitivities * Intensity * Housing Intolerable * Contaminations * Extremely Reactive Chapter 6 - Your Own Testing * Safe Enough to Heal * Rapid Deterioration Chapter 7 - Perceptifying * Mold Symptoms * Outside Air * Mold or Chemicals? Chapter 8 - Depression Response * Moods and Judgment * Depression and Anxiety * Lifelong Depression Chapter 9 - Cross Contamination * Protecting A Clean Space * Less Than Optimal Setting * Dishes and DVD’s 4 * Books * Taking Your Things Chapter 10 - Decontamination * Decontaminating Routinely * Best Practices * Hair * Driving Home from Exposures * Negative Effects from Showers * Decreasing Reactivity Chapter 11 - Clothing and Bedding * Type of Bed * Washing Clothing * Materials * Reacting While Washing Clothing * Cross-Contaminating Washer * Another Cross-Contaminating Washer * Still Another Cross-Contaminating Washer Chapter 12 - Practicing Avoidance * Principles * Old Friend * Caregivers * Event * Indoor Swimming Pools * Gym * Composting * Air Conditioning * Water Spill * U-Haul * A Doctor’s Visit * Dishwasher * Preparing to Move Out * Settling Into a New Apartment 5 Chapter 13 - Remediating Objects * Conventional Wisdom * Second Moldy Home * Dry Desert Environment * Couch * Flaming * Air Sterilizer * Laptop and Cell Phone * Technician Chapter 14 - Tent Camping * Tent Brands Chapter 15 - Mobile Environmental Containment Unit * Commercial Trailers * Free Trailer * Renting a Trailer * Fumes and Dust * Traveling Around * Connectedness on the Road Chapter 16 - Food * Spoiled Food * Peanut Butter * Shellfish Chapter 17 - Super Toxins * Delayed Responses * Worst Toxin * Contaminated Package * Protecting a Clean Item * Laptops * Hell Toxin & Grocery Stores * Computer with Hell Toxin 6 Chapter 18 - Outdoor Toxins * Growing Outdoors * White Fungus * Fog Chapter 19 - Locations Effect * Caribbean * Altitude * Mold Escape * Ski Resort * Desert Heat * Dry Climates * Dry vs. Damp Climate Chapter 20 - Specific Locations * Optimal Places * Permanent Residence * New Mexico * Arizona or New Mexico * New Mexico * Oahu or Anaheim * Southeastern U.S. * Denver Area * Cortez (CO) * Big Bend (TX) * Canada * Seattle * Washington (DC) * Little Rock (AR) * Mold Avoidance in Austraia * Holland (MI) Chapter 21 - Weather * Rain Chapter 22 - Detoxification * Does Detox Matter? 7 * Going Through Detox * After an Exposure Chapter 23 - Coffee Enemas * General Thoughts * Contaminants Chapter 24 - Cholestyramine * Overview * Increasing Effectiveness * Still in Exposure * Treatment Schedule * Adding to Enemas? Chapter 25 - Exercise * Exercise Tolerance Chapter 26 - Other Treatments * Still Suffering Greatly * Helped Most * Shoemaker Protocol * Mold Illness Doctors * Colloidal Silver * Increasing Glutathione * Fish Oil * EMF’s * Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization * Nutritional Supplements * Antivirals * Vitamin A Palmitate Chapter 27 - Housing * Best Kind of Home * Small Changes * Finding Mold-Free Homes 8 * Basements and Adobes * Feeling Respiratory Symptoms * A Clean Place * Exchange for Rent * Going on Vacation * Burst Pipe * Water Pipes * Keeping Drains Mold-Free * Inspection Schedule * Selling a Problematic Home Chapter 28 - Construction * Building from Scratch * A Safe Home * Monolithic Domes Chapter 29 - Remediation * Floor Drain Backup * Indoor Environment * After A Flood * Do It Yourself * Re-Doing Basement Bathroom * Covered by Insurance * Thieves Oil * Soy Candles Chapter 30 - Filtration * Best Face Masks * True HEPA Mask * HEPA Filters * Filters Harbor Mold * Filter Goes Bad Chapter 31 - Ozone * Words of Advice * Ozone Experiences * Moldy Basement * How Long is Long Enough? 9 * Worse From Ozone * Car Ozoning Chapter 32 - Environmental Testing * Best Kind of Test * ERMI and Cross-Contamination * My Son’s House * Doing the ERMI * Petri Dish Test * Air Testing Chapter 33 - Mold Characteristics * Toxin Names Chapter 34 - Medical Testing * Mold Susceptible Genotypes * Mold Sensitivity Gene * Importance of Genetics * Homozygous * Negative VCS * Elevated VEGF * Serious or Irreversible * My Son’s Bloodwork * Which Shoemaker Labs * Connection Between CD57 and Mold * Urine Mycotoxin Test * Mycotoxin Test Results * Allergy Testing Chapter 35 - Symptoms * Viral Symptoms * Vulnerability to Infections * Gut Problems * New Exposures, Detox and Infections * Breathlessness * Fungal Ball * Ear Canal * Brain Function 10 * Neurotoxicity * Valley Fever Chapter 36 - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity * More Than Mold * MCS Reversal Chapter 37 - Increasing Tolerance * Does This Last Forever? * Cure Chapter 38 - Making Decisions * Location vs. Buildings * Severely Limited Finances * Children * Work and Money * Earning a Living * Fishing * Prompt Action * Having Children * Brain Down * Consultation * Motivation * Social Connections and Work * Writing a Health Care Proxy Chapter 39 - Others’ Responses * Tips for Explaining * Lost Relationships * Seeing a Toxicologist * Medical Journal Articles * In-Laws Visiting * How Is This Possible? * Cultish Detox Center 11 Chapter 40 - Case Studies * Case Study 1 * Case Study 2 (1) * Case Study 2 (2) * Case Study 3 * Case Study 4 * Case Study 5 12 Chapter 1 Overview 13 Q. 1:1 - Mold is Everywhere How on earth does one avoid mold if it is everywhere? That does not seem possible. Lisa Petrison It's hard to get away from mold entirely, and most mold does seem to make toxins that are slightly problematic to people who have become sensitized. However, some mold toxins are much worse than others -- meaning that if you can just avoid those toxins, you have the potential of getting a whole lot better. When I moved out of the house where I lived for the 14+ years of my acute CFS, leaving behind my stuff, I got a lot better within just a couple of months. I was still in Chicago and the apartment I moved to was not pristine, but the exposure that I was getting didn't prevent me from improving. Even a little exposure to my cross- contaminated belongings from the bad house were enough to throw me back into full- fledged illness though. Later, when I went camping in a good location and got really clear, I got even better (to the point that pretty much all my symptoms went away). That was great, but wouldn't necessarily be realistic for everybody. Getting away from just the worst mold toxins and getting considerably (but not fully) better is something that I think many people realistically can do, if they pursue it in the right way, though. A.M. Runyan Sure, mold is everywhere, but what you really want to avoid is certain mold toxins/ biotoxins. Those are typically present around water-damaged buildings or trailers etc., as well as in certain geographic locations. There is plenty of "mold" that is not really a problem. In terms of how to avoid it: Live in a city that is not known to be extremely toxic (see Locations Effect board), find a well-maintained dwelling with no history of water damage that is not around moldy buildings (preferably not old housing), and practice good mold hygiene: clean up spills, keep the humidity low, use mold-killing natural cleaning products, circulate fresh air, beware of moldy vents/ducts/central heating and cooling, etc. 14 Julie Rehmeyer: What other folks have said pretty much covers what I'd say too, except for one other thing that occurs to me: When I was very reactive, it was critical that I take a shower whenever I got home after being out. I live outside Santa Fe, and while the air on my land is very good, the air in town isn't so great, because there are a lot of moldy buildings in Santa Fe (I think because of the flat roofs). So anytime I went into town, I ended up with some amount of mold on my skin, hair and clothes, and if I didn't rinse if off before going to bed, I felt terrible. Karen Dean Mold spores are everywhere. So if you want mold, just add water and wait. That said, the seeds, or spores are everywhere, but mostly in a quiet, dormant state. Mold growth, when it becomes a colony, a visible toxin forming colony, is what is for the average person, or average avoider, to be avoided. Those sensitive must also avoid areas that a colony has released fresh spores. Mold plumes can form, wafting off of moldy houses, air conditioners, or travel trailers. So things to be avoided