AUTOIMMUNE CLINIC
LONDON
CIRS - Mould Biotoxin Illness
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome . Laboratory Testing
The difficulties arise due to a significant gap between practitioner understanding and published literature regarding mould exposure and its management.
People facing mould-related illness often encounter significant challenges within the healthcare system.
One of the biggest challenges faced by people sick from mould is the fact that doctors, friends, and family members dismiss their symptoms simply because they do not get sick when exposed to mould.
Many victims of mould sickness are labelled as hypochondriacs which is so sad as these people have no control over their sickness because their bodies have a genetic predisposition to mould illness.
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF MOULD IS CRUCIAL.
Mould thrives in damp environments, commonly found in buildings with water damage and high humidity. Individuals with chronic illnesses often report feeling worse in specific environments, such as their homes, where they experience symptoms that improve when they are away.
Have you heard of Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) ?
IN SIMPLE TERMS, 25% OF THE POPULATION CANNOT EFFECTIVELY MOUNT AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO MOULD TOXINS TO CLEAR THEM FROM THE BODY.
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) is a multifaceted condition first identified and elaborated by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker in the late 1990s. It is also called mould biotoxin illness.
Currently, there are over 1,700 scientific articles discussing this syndrome.
CIRS is characterised as a multi-symptom illness triggered by exposure to biotoxins or neurotoxins from biological sources. 80% of CIRS cases are mould illness cases.
Because of the inadequate response of the immune system, it continuously produce cytokines in an attempt to eliminate these toxins.
This persistent but inefficient response leads to chronic inflammation and tissue damage over time. Whilst approximately 25% of the population is genetically predisposed to developing Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) when exposed to significant amounts of biotoxins, as estimated 2% of people have genes that make them highly susceptible to severe symptoms from prolonged or recurrent biotoxin exposure.
The problem sadly for these individuals with CIRS is that their bodies become severely compromised and weakened from the vicious cycle of invading biotoxins, immune response, and inflammation.
THEIRS BODIES ARE DAMAGED AND THEY ARE LEFT WITH A WIDE RANGE OF HEALTH CONDITIONS, SOME LIFE THREATENING.
Theirs bodies are damaged and they are left with a wide range of health conditions, some life threatening.
What about the remaining 75% of the population you ask? These individuals' immune system, when exposed to mould toxins, respond by binding with the invading poison that allows its cells to filter the biotoxins through the liver, kidneys, and other organs. No ongoing symptoms persist and the inflammatory process returns to normal.
Helpful Tools
WHERE TO START IF YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY HAVE CIRS
The 37 Symptom Cluster Questionnaire
Here are the 37 symptoms associated with CIRS. Most people with CIRS, especially when being exposed to mould or with repeated exposures will typically present with some of these symptoms:
)%20(Worksheet%20(Landscape))-5.png)
The VCS Test
VISUAL CONTRAST SENSITIVITY TEST
Mould can have devastating effects on different systems throughout the body, including neurological functions.
The visual contrast sensitivity test (VCS test) indicates how certain biotoxins, such as mould, affect the brain and retinal artery blood flow. This interferes with the ability to discriminate between white and gray contrast as seen in the test. If you have a multi-symptom, multi-symptom illness and a failed VCS test, the likelihood that you have CIRS is 98.5%.
See here an example of what the VCS test looks like.
Testing for CIRS
LABORATORY TESTING
It's likely that no one has looked at markers directly associated with CIRS. Conventional doctors might test for mould allergies if you suspect mould is causing your illness, and many functional medicine practitioners mistakenly use urinary mycotoxin tests to investigate mould illnesses. However, none of these tests look at on the innate immune system, which is where the core issue lies.
Tests for CIRS specifically look at how your innate immune system is responding to a biotoxin and the biological changes that take place with this immune activation
Are you looking for help?
Don't be on this journey on your own. CIRS is poorly understood by many and it is a complex area.
The main issue with CIRS is the fact that there are so many symptoms associated with the condition that many struggle to connect the dots, practitioners and doctors included.