DR. DAN TUTTLE, DC, LCSW

One of the surprising things that can happen to a person as they undergo healing from mold illness is something called intensification.

What is intensification?

Intensification is an increased sensitivity to mold, toxins and other noxious things, especially the things that made you sick.

This can result in an increase in symptoms. Without understanding this, the patient will then think they are getting worse. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Intensification is a sign of healing.

One way of looking at intensification is the body protecting itself. Much like a sprained ankle, the body has been injured by toxins and is hyper reactive to defend itself.

Another way of looking at intensification is that the immune system was so compromised by mold it couldn't react to it. With healing taking place the immune system can take a more active role, again, to protect the person.

How long does it take to start intensification?

There is no hard rule. It can start within days or weeks of getting out of a moldy environment, or it can be months or years. You can intensify to one type of mold and then have that improve and then intensify to another for a period of time. 

How long does it last?

Again, no hard rule. Can be days or months and hopefully not years.

Does it ever go away?

Yes, as the body heals the reactivity dies down. Ideally a person is able to still recognize dangerous situations but not be so reactive to it that it causes major interference in their life. 

Is it just mold?

Sometimes  a person exposed to mold for a long period of time will become sensitive to other things like perfumes or other artificial scents. This can occur alongside Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). 

If you are a mold patient experiencing this, help is out there. I am available to treat mold illness. As a psychotherapist, I can also treat the psychological aspects of mold illness and you can work with your current doctor. 

The thing about exposure to toxic levels of mold is that different people experience symptoms differently. Some people may be very sick while another in the same place may not have any symptoms they are aware of.

This can create great stress in relationships as one person is seemingly well while the other suffers.

So often in my practice one person, more often female, is very sick while the spouse, more often male, isn't. The healthy person then will doubt if the illness is real and/or the significance of all the necessary steps in identifying mold in the home and treating it. I have many examples of this, with (usually) husbands sabotaging figuring out the source of the problem which is exposure in the environment. Below are some of the things I hear from (usually) husbands.

I don't see mold

Most mold that makes people sick isn't seen or people would have already dealt with it. Mold can be behind walls, in attics, under floors, in crawl spaces and in the HVAC system among other locations. All of it can make you sick. Mycotoxins can pass through walls. 

I don't smell mold

Only certain molds smell and only when they are in a certain part of their growth cycle. Some toxic ones have no smell and mycotoxins, which are what most often make you sick, have no odor whatsoever. Smell can warn you of the presence of mold but no mold smell doesn't mean the house is mold free.

Mold testing is expensive

Yes, properly done mold testing can cost more than the average mold test and certainly more than the one at Home Depot that is a waste of money. That is because the inspector is taking more time to investigate the home and run additional tests if necessary. It is the critical thinking during inspection that is often more important than the actual test. Most patients with mold illness have spent  tens of thousands of dollars on treatments for themselves which either don't work or meet limited sucess because the underlying problem isn't being addressed. From that perspective mold inspection is actually relatively inexpensive. 

Mold remediation is expensive

Yes it can be. Again, people will spend much more money in the long run treating the symptoms of mold illness and not get better if they don't remove the cause of the problem. The need for treatment almost always greatly reduces once the proper environment is established for the person who is sick. 

Mold is everywhere

I already wrote another blog on this which is here.

My HVAC guy, general contractor or handyman says there's no mold

Taking advice from unlicensed people is also a poor choice. If you needed surgery would you have one of these people do the procedure? 

Don't be that guy

Don't be the guy who stands in the way of the health of yourself and your family. Understand that others may respond differently to mold than you do. Also understand that you may have problems which you attribute to other things but that really are symptoms of mold exposure. Understand that mold is serious business and needs to be addressed.