Mould Exposure
LIKELY ROOT CAUSE OF 50% OF LONDON'S HEALTH ISSUES
I'm on my second coffee today and it's only just gone past noon. I had one before leaving home because I fancied one to wake up properly. I've also ordered one in the cafe since, well I have to buy a coffee or tea to be there, but also because I feel as though I need it. I'm struggling to focus on "boring" tasks today. I usually get the most boring or complicated things done first when my mind is fresh, then I get round to the fun stuff later. Not so easy today.I think part of it was my lack of good sleep overnight. I kept waking up, and even when I sleep, it wasn't so deep. Poor quality sleep, means a poor quality day. It's been happening more lately. What's causing it? I'm not sure, but having done some research, I think I may have a hunch - mould.
Before I elaborate, check this out. For many years I used to have hay fever. I had it pretty bad with the swollen eyes and blood stained nasal discharge, sneezing and wheezing. I was eventually prescribed some anti-histamines and even some steroidal products to reduce the inflammatory and autoimmune response. It helped, of course, but the effect was always temporary.
I also developed an allergy to amoxicillin, a kind of antibiotics, that could be life threatening if I accidentally consumed in large enough amounts. Apparently these are somehow linked, hay fever and some antibiotic allergies, hay fever being pollen allergy. I also developed other respiratory issues like a mild asthma but thankfully nothing too extreme. I have never needed an inhaler, even though recently I've considered having one on standby just in case.
Today, I still have the mild asthma, and the amoxicillin allergy. The hay fever, however, is gone. What happened? Well, I stopped drinking milk. It's been over a decade now that I've had hay fever symptoms. Right about now, when the flowers are blooming and spreading pollen, I'd be suffering pretty badly and would need anti-histamines to even function. Now I can sniff flowers and deliberately inhale pollen with no effect at all! I believe this is all because I stopped drinking milk.
It turns out I have a milk allergy. This is not to be confused with Lactose Intolerance which is a completely different thing. My allergic reaction to milk was somehow made worse by flower pollen, leading to the hay fever symptoms. Now, without the dairy in my system, I can handle pollen no problem. Another thing to consider is that dairy causes a lot of mucus in our bodies, especially in the pulmonary and respiratory tract. I'm not 100% sure what the mechanism is. All I know is I gave up dairy, now I don't have hay fever anymore. I'll take the victory.
The mould connection
Amoxicillin is a kind of penicillin antibiotic. Penicillin is derived from a type of fungus. Penicillium Fungi. For a nice story of how penicillin was developed, check out this article. Very interesting eh? So yes, I'm one of those 25% of people that are allergic to mould toxins.
If I accidentally take amoxicillin, I'd get a full body allergic reaction where every inch of the skin on my body develops itchy, prickly rashes. This includes the inside of my mouth and eyes. It's a terrible thing. The reaction usually lats about three days and it's utter hell. Luckily it doesn't involve the constriction of my airways. This massive reaction is because of the large amount of antigen introduced to the body of course.
One then wonders what the effects are when smaller, microscopic amounts, of antigen are introduced to the body gradually over a sustained period of time. I've been researching the effect of mould, which I most probably have in my house, like most people in London, on the human body. I knew about the asthma and respiratory issues, but I wasn't aware of the mental health effects. So, there are at least two ways mould exposure can affect sleep; directly by attacking the respiratory system leading to sleep apnea, or via the psychological path.
Apparently there has been a link found between mould toxin exposure and anxiety/depression!. WHAT?! That's crazy! This is a great video that talks about some of the direct and indirect effects of mould exposure
As if it wasn't bad enough that we are Vitamin D deficient, which can lead to mental health issues like depression, our damp and mouldy homes can also add to the problem. Again, if you think about it, in summer time people are more likely to open their windows and let fresh air in the house, as well as dry their laundry outdoors. This reduces condensation and, hence, mould.
If you follow my posts, you'd know I just recently returned from the mountains where the air is fresh and free of most pollutants I'm exposed to in a big city like London. Whenever I'm over there, funnily enough, my symptoms are cut in half - I breathe more easily and sleep much better. The same in the tropics, where virtually all my symptoms vanish. I have a saying; "Whatever is wrong with me, the sun heals 90% of it".
Removing the root cause
Like in the case of my hay fever, which is now effectively cured, I am embarking on removing the underlying issue that's causing my asthma-like symptoms. The constant congestion and wheezing may well be a reaction to the ambient conditions in my house. I have booked a "mould inspector" to come round to have a look to see if I really do have mould. The thing is, they may be inside of the walls where I can't see them. If this is the case, I'd have a very important decision to make - fix it or move out.
In the mean time, I've been looking at some air purifiers that can trap and kill mould spores in the air. We now also know that they would have been quite effective against the pando germs. The effective ones have the "3-hit combo" of a Heppa filter, activated carbon and UV light. I've noticed the cost of these purifiers has doubled since the last time I looked a couple of years ago. I wonder if that's due to the coronavirus related high demand or inflation. Probably a combination of the two.
I love London so much, I really do, but every day I'm getting nudged to move somewhere sunny. Canary Islands I'm looking at you 😅 ☀️
Peace & Love,
Adé