What to do if you get 'moulded'

So you’ve recovered, or are recovering from mould exposure or CIRS (mould impacts everyone, but more so if you have the ‘mould gene’), and you visit somewhere that stinks of mould, meaning it’s around.

This has happened to me repeatedly since leaving my mouldy house a couple of years ago.

For example, there was an expensive show I had tickets for at a well-known Sydney theatre that reeked of it. And four out of six houses I rented for holidays turned out to be water damaged and mouldy, even though I grilled the agents about them before hand.

Basically, unless you live in a truly dry environment, mould is all around us, and we need to find ways to deal with it.

What can you do if you get moulded?

First, don’t panic.

I’ve seen people seeking help for such situations on social media forums. I understand that when you’ve been truly sick with mould and have worked very hard to get better, it can be terrifying to think you could go back there.

But fear and stress only put your body into an emergency state, lowering your immunity and causing sleeplessness, which further weakens your immune system. Remember, it’s short term and mould is usually accumulative.

Second, and ideally, you can walk away.

As it turned out, I decided to stay and watch that theatre show, and afterwards took detoxification measures.

But when it comes to staying somewhere longer term, this may not be advisable.

On one occasion, when I turned up at a holiday rental property, the mould was so bad throughout the entire place that I felt I had no choice but to walk away. I called the letting agent to inquire on an alternative place, and luckily there was one. But this course of action relies on non-mouldy stock being available, which isn’t always the case.

But if you have no choice

If you’re forced to stay somewhere mouldy for the short term, this is what I’ve found helps:

1. Spend as much time as possible outdoors such as on the balcony or in the yard

2. Sleep in the least mouldy room if one exists

3. Have the windows and doors as wide open as possible day and night

4. Consider wearing a surgical grade mask, readily available now

5. I meditate too, visualising my immune system as strong and my body detoxifying efficiently

Mould kit

Importantly, carry an emergency 'mould kit’ with you to support your body to deal with the mould and mycotoxins. This should include…

• Glutathione for antioxidant support

• Phosphatidyl Choline for cellular detoxification

• A binder to carry out mould and mycotoxins

• Vitamin C (whole food or liposomal) to support your immune system

• Trace minerals

So far I haven’t suffered after taking these measures, although I am considering what more I can do to avoid mouldy places in the future. But I’m not going to be stuck at home for the rest of my life living in fear of mould.

Mould allergy

There is one proviso to all of this. Sometimes when people suffer from mould illness they develop an allergy to it. This causes a true allergic response such as hives, breathing problems and more.

In this case, you have little choice bit to leave. Afterwards, consider whether you need further detoxification and immune support (including by dealing with mast cell activation syndrome) to help de-sensitise your body.