Review Article
A Review of the Mechanism of Injury and Treatment Approaches for Illness Resulting from Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings, Mold, and Mycotoxins
A Review of the Mechanism of Injury and Treatment Approaches for Illness Resulting from Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings, Mold, and Mycotoxins
Janette Hope
Environmental Medicine, 304W. Los Olivos Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Janette Hope; janettehopemd@yahoo.com
Received 15 January 2013; Accepted 10 February 2013
Academic Editors: O. Aruoma, P. Maˇcek, and J. B.T. Rocha
Copyright 2013 Janette Hope. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Physicians are increasingly being asked to diagnose and treat people made ill by exposure to water-damaged environments,
mold, and mycotoxins. In addition to avoidance of further exposure to these environments and to items contaminated by
these environments, a number of approaches have been used to help persons affected by exposure to restore their health.
Illness results from a combination of factors present in water-damaged indoor environments including, mold spores and hyphal
fragments, mycotoxins, bacteria, bacterial endotoxins, and cell wall components as well as other factors. Mechanisms of illness
include inflammation, oxidative stress, toxicity, infection, allergy, and irritant effects of exposure.This paper reviews the scientific
literature as it relates to commonly used treatments such as glutathione, antioxidants, antifungals, and sequestering agents such as Cholestyramine, charcoal, clay and chlorella, antioxidants, probiotics, and induced sweating.
mold, and mycotoxins. In addition to avoidance of further exposure to these environments and to items contaminated by
these environments, a number of approaches have been used to help persons affected by exposure to restore their health.
Illness results from a combination of factors present in water-damaged indoor environments including, mold spores and hyphal
fragments, mycotoxins, bacteria, bacterial endotoxins, and cell wall components as well as other factors. Mechanisms of illness
include inflammation, oxidative stress, toxicity, infection, allergy, and irritant effects of exposure.This paper reviews the scientific
literature as it relates to commonly used treatments such as glutathione, antioxidants, antifungals, and sequestering agents such as Cholestyramine, charcoal, clay and chlorella, antioxidants, probiotics, and induced sweating.
