Biotoxin Illness – Causes & Fastest Way to Overcome

Feeling crummy, and you can’t seem to put your finger on it? Maybe even your doctor is having trouble finding a diagnosis. 

Biotoxin illness might be your root problem. 

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about what causes biotoxin illness, what are the main symptoms of biotoxin illness and also how to treat and recover quickly from biotoxin illness. 

What is Biotoxin Illness?

Biotoxin illness is a blanket term that refers to sickness caused when an individual is exposed to the neurotoxins produced by biological organisms.

Biotoxin illness is environmentally acquired as the organisms that cause this live in the individual’s environment, such as home, school, or work. Most frequently, biotoxin illness occurs after exposure to a water-damaged building. Water damage creates an environment for mold spores to grow, and these spores produce mycotoxins, the most famous form of biotoxins that can cause severe illness.

Can You Overcome Biotoxin Illness?

Speaking from very personal experience, it is completely possible to become extremely ill from mycotoxin exposure, even if you cannot see or smell the mold!!

A leak behind a wall can make you just as sick as the widely visible classic ceiling leak we’ve all witnessed – even if just in the movies.

The reason why it is often so hard to put a finger on biotoxin illness as the cause of someone not feeling well is due to:

1. The source of the actual exposure is often hard to pinpoint.
2. The reason for the strange string of mystery symptoms that so many individuals experience are extremely diverse.

At a point in time, we hired 4 mold experts to check out our home- one of them being nationally recognized – a highly published author even!! We were still told there were no biotoxins worth noting in our home. All the while, we became more sick and fatigued as time slowly passed.🤕 

Oh, and by the way, it was a new townhome. We were the first to live in it after construction. It was nowhere near the old 1901 Victorian home that most picture in their head when they hear of mold exposure. 

Is Biotoxin Illness Real?

YES! Not only is biotoxin illness real, but it is common.

In fact, whenever a situation occurs where an individual does not feel well for an extended period of time, and their doctor is unable to diagnose, biotoxin illness is often the root of the problem.

Genetics and exposure dictate the severity of illness.

What are the Symptoms of Biotoxin Illness?

The symptoms of biotoxin illness can vary from person to person. However, the comprehensive list below covers all of the most commonly experienced symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Generalized weakness and or body aches and even muscle cramps
• Joint pain
• Morning stiffness
• Poor memory/ inability to process new information as well/trouble finding words or difficulty with name recall. Things that should come easily to you are not.
• Headaches
• Sensitivity to light (sometimes this is one of the biggest dead giveaways for me as a practitioner as this is not often associated with other illnesses)
• Shortness of breath when there should be no reason for it (I had this terrible when exposed to mold!!)
• Tingling sensations. My clients describe it as  if their body feels like its vibrating
• Cough
• Sinus issue – some experience constant clogging while others complain that their nose won’t stop running (I believe this has to do with the specific strain(s) of mold.)
• Excessive thirst (another unique and dead giveaway)
• Waking up to urinate in the night, at least once, almost every night
• Urinary frequency and sometimes almost feeling like you could have an accident
• Extreme hunger and or extreme sugar cravings
• Unexplained sweats
• Difficulty regulating body temperature (I also experienced this terribly!!)
• Changes in eyes/vision, but yet the eye doctor says nothing is wrong. Red eyes, floaters, and blurred vision are what I see most frequently with my clients.
• Mood swings and unexplained anxiety that were not there before
• Constant gut issues (bloating, diarrhea, pain)
• New onset of food sensitivities, asthma, or allergies
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Numbness
• Vertigo
• Metallic taste in mouth
• Excess static shock (another unique and dead giveaway)
• Intolerance to aged/fermented/somewhat moldy foods like cheese or overripe bananas
• Extreme sensitivity to chemicals- perfume, cigarette smoke to the point where you want to scream or jump out of your skin if you are trapped in a room with it. (Very different than “Eh, that’s kind of gross.”) Many often report experiencing an immediate headache or nausea when exposed.

What Causes Biotoxin Illness?

Biotoxin illness occurs when you have been exposed to environmental toxins, typically mold, AND your body struggles to clear these toxins. One does not tend to fall ill unless the body, mainly the liver, cannot remove the toxins at a fast enough rate.

Long story short, the body is exposed, the immune system reacts, the liver processes the toxins, and the body eliminates them via methods such as sweat, feces, etc.

Sidebar #1: Our article on The Ultimate Mycotoxin Exposure Guide might be helpful if you fear you might have been exposed at home or work. 

Sidebar #2: Coffee is one of the most mycotoxin-filled products on the market! If you love coffee, check out our list of the Cleanest, Mold Free Coffee Brands.☕️

Perhaps most important of all is the fact that genetics plays a major role in the cause of biotoxin illness.

Roughly 25% of the population has a genetic mutation that does not allow them to clear toxins efficiently. This is why one individual may be exposed to a small amount of toxins for a short period of time and feel horrible from head to toe, vs. someone else could be unknowingly living in a pile of black mold yet only complain of a headache and sniffles. 

If you’ve ever heard the term CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome), this occurs when an individual has been exposed to biotoxins and cannot clear them, thus eliciting an extreme and chronic inflammatory response. Cue the fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, etc.

How do you Treat Biotoxin Illness?

Biotoxin illness experts tend to have their own philosophy regarding treatment. This makes sense as we gain knowledge while working firsthand with patients. However, after working under many experts and reading the work of many others, combined with my own experience treating hundreds and hundreds of patients, I have a few thoughts.

1. I do not agree with the old school approach of “detox the patient aggressively. They will be ill, but just have them fight through it; they’ll be fine in the end. This is what is needed to clear the mycotoxins.” In my experience, this has proved to not only be untrue but to cause a lot of serious long-term damage. 
2. I no longer agree with the popular theory that “Each form of mycotoxin should be treated with a different binder, such as cholestyramine for ochratoxin.”

Instead, this is the philosophy behind our biotoxin illness treatment protocol at FWDfuel:

1. Help the patient remove or limit mycotoxin exposure, then begin treatment.
2. When treating, use a high-quality, professional-grade biotoxin binder and only advance as fast as the patient can tolerate the treatment. Sometimes, this means ⅛ of the standard dosing until the patient is so non-symptomatic that we can move forward. * Focus on opening up drainage pathways FIRST so that no matter what needs to come out, it can successfully come out! This is often why so many practitioners fail to clear the patient’s biotoxins. They are so hung up on this med or supplement for this strain that they miss the most important step – ensuring that lymph nodes, liver, kidneys, etc., are ready and able to do the job.
3. Teach and instill the principles of proper hydration and clean, fresh, whole foods.
4. Consider adding detox modalities such as dry brushing or an infrared sauna to enhance clearance.

What is the FASTEST Way to Overcome Biotoxin Illness?

Biotoxin illness can be incredibly complicated. However, simply put, the fastest way to overcome biotoxin illness boils down to two steps:

1. Remove yourself from the exposure. If this is not possible, limit your exposure as much as possible.
2. Work with 👉a functionally trained registered dietitian who has experience👈 treating biotoxin illness. He or she can help create an individualized food and supplement routine (with the main emphasis on a professional-grade biotoxin binder) to help you effectively clear the toxins.
3. Glutathione is often a key driver in the mobilizing and clearing of toxins. Be sure to read ➡️ our list of the best glutathione supplements because it can save you money, and you will see some supplements are much more powerful than others.💪
4. Check out our full guide on How to Get Rid of Mycotoxins for more details on how to overcome biotoxin illness on your own.

How Testing and Professional Guidance Can Speed Up Biotoxin Illness Recovery

Your dietitian can also run advanced testing if need be to help ensure you are on the right path to full healing. The body must be supported and replenished with nutrients while detox modalities are in motion.

Unfortunately, Googling your symptoms and attempting to piece everything together for yourself likely will not work. And if it does, it will take you 3x as long as it should. 

With proper testing you can pinpoint exactly what type of biotoxin illness you have and track your recovery to know if you are going down the right path.

If you’ve been working on healing from biotoxin illness for 6 months and are still having symptoms, how do you know if you’re making progress of you didn’t do testing to start? We found it incredibly helpful to see when we were still sick that after 6 months of treatment, we had eliminated one of the 3 mycotoxins that were previously elevated in our body.

Pro Tips From Our Personal and Professional Experience with Biotoxin Illness

Speaking from personal experience, it is best to work with a professional who has worked in the trenches and seen hundreds of clients with similar issues. I wasted so many hours in doctor’s offices and spent so much money on unnecessary testing and supplements. I wish I had just gone to a qualified professional with experience in treating biotoxin illness from the start. 

Lastly, if you try to detox from biotoxin illness too fast it can do more harm than good by placing enormous stress on your immune system.

Be sure to look out for biotoxin and mold detox symptoms as a sign that you may be going too fast or using the wrong approach. You could be using the wrong binder, taking too much, not giving your body the support it needs to maintain energy levels to detox, and more. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to treating biotixin illness, and you need to listen to your body to avoid causing other issues.

Summary

In summary, biotoxin illness is very real, and it is also very common. Most importantly, it is something you can absolutely overcome.👌

If you need 1 on 1 help overcoming biotoxin illness, we can help. Reach out and schedule a free 15- minute strategy call to map out a plan for working together to get started right away.

References: 

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19854822/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8619365/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3654247/