Can Mold Cause Autoimmune Disease?

Mold and Autoimmune Disease: Is There a Connection?

Many people who visit our practice want to know what causes autoimmune disease? And that’s a good question because if you have an autoimmune disorder like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, it’s important to discover the root cause. More and more often, with people seeking help at our practice, we’re discovering that mold is one of those underlying causes of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases. Sometimes, the mold is making your autoimmune symptoms worse. 

Conventional medicine often doesn’t suspect mold as the culprit behind autoimmune issues, but a good functional medicine doctor will investigate whether mold is a problem.

In this blog post, we’ll answer the question: “Can mold cause autoimmune disease?” We’ll describe the symptoms of mold exposure in autoimmune patients, discuss the two types of mold, how to know if mold is the problem, and natural treatments for mold.   

Common Hiding Places

A lot of people don’t realize there’s a mold problem because they don’t see the mold and they don’t realize that it can be everywhere. It’s not just in old buildings. It could be in hidden spaces in your house without you knowing. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that 47% of residential buildings in the United States have visible mold or mold odor.

Mold can hide in and near bathroom showers and sinks. It also could be in the basement or attics or even in places like washing machines and dishwashers. One of our practice members recently found the mold in her house originated from a leak under her dishwasher. Mold can even be in the walls, especially if there’s been water damage. Mold is also in the environment. It’s in water, air, and everywhere.

Symptoms of Mold Exposure in Autoimmune Patients

The symptoms you experience when exposed to mold can depend upon which type of mold you’re exposed to. Some molds, such as black mold, produce mycotoxins that are toxic to everyone. However, the majority of molds are spore producers that cause problems only in susceptible people while other people who come into contact with these spores have no reaction at all. 

The spore-producing molds can cause allergy-type respiratory symptoms in susceptible people, such as asthma, sinus symptoms, congestion, runny nose, coughing, skin rashes, itchy, watery eyes, brain fog, and immune reactions. On the other hand, molds that produce mycotoxins are often the main focus in people who are having more dramatic reactions to exposure.

Mycotoxins can do a lot of harm by damaging the mitochondria, the batteries for our cells, which are needed to produce energy, and for your body to heal, and repair. This is part of why mycotoxins have such damaging effects. 

Mycotoxins trigger the immune system, which can lead to  like:

• Anxiety

• Autoimmune flares

• Brain fog

• Chemical sensitivities

• Depression

• Fatigue

• Headaches

• Hormonal disruption 

• Immune system issues

• Memory issues 

• Migraines

In people who have autoimmune disease, actively breathing in mold spores or mycotoxins can trigger the immune system to be in a more hyper-alert state and trigger autoimmune flares.  People who have autoimmune disease are especially susceptible to mold exposure since their immune system already is dysregulated. Another consequence is that over time, exposure to mold spores and mycotoxins can lead to immunosuppression in some people. Their immune systems become worn out to this constant exposure. 

How To Know If You’ve Been Exposed to Mold

If you’re having any of the symptoms mentioned in this article, talk to a functional medicine provider about getting tested for mold exposure. Another red flag? You feel worse when you’re at home and then feel better when you’re away on vacation or at work. Then your symptoms return when you get home. That is a clue your symptoms could be due to mold exposure in your home. In some cases, your workplace could be contaminated and you feel better when you return home.   

Another reason to suspect that your symptoms are due to mold exposure is if another member of your household is also sick. A practice member of ours just casually mentioned that her husband was having issues he had not had before, such as headaches, allergies, and other general symptoms. They had their house tested and we also ordered a mold blood test for each of them. The results indicated they were being exposed to mycotoxins from black mold.  

Testing for Mold 

The first step is to use a kit in your home to collect dust samples around the house, because the dust contains mycotoxins and spores. It’s a DNA analysis that can test for over 30 different types of mycotoxin-producing and spore-producing molds. I recommend the EMRI test, which is a tool to evaluate the potential risk of indoor mold growth and associated health effects to occupants. It’s one of the more affordable options, and it’s still the gold standard test. If you suspect your exposure is at work, talk to your boss about having the test done in the workplace. We also test people individually using a mycotoxin panel blood test to identify which molds are affecting their health. 

Mold Detoxification 

After a home or workplace tests positive for mold, the goal is remediating the space to remove the source of exposure. Ideally, you will want to work with professional mold remediators. Your functional medicine provider can provide a recommendation for someone in your area. 

A second priority is to detoxify the mold from your body. This means a lot of antioxidant support along with bolstering the immune system. Glutathione is one of the most important antioxidants that our bodies make. When we get exposed to these mold toxins or spores, we use up all our glutathione. Either you don’t have enough glutathione in your body or you can’t keep up with production. I recommend taking antioxidants like glutathione after mold exposure, and I’ve referred people for IV glutathione, which seems to be really helpful.

If the immune system is reacting to other factors such as food sensitivities or environmental allergens, it’s important to address those factors along with the mold. It’s also important to support the protective barriers of the body such as our sinuses, lungs, skin, and gut because leaky barriers provide an entry method for the mold toxins and spores to get in to your body. 

I usually will recommend people get HEPA air filters in their homes, at least one filter per room of the house where they spend a lot of time. The bedroom is especially important because you’re breathing that air in all night. 

These are all suggestions to help support people while they are waiting for the mold remediation of their home or workplace. We can do a lot of things in the meantime to help them.

Help for Mold and Autoimmune Disease

At the Caplan Health Institute, we can work with you to identify if mold exposure is the cause of your autoimmune disorder or if it’s making your autoimmune disease worse. 

The first step? Schedule a free 15-minute discovery consultation, by phone or video. 

If you decide to come on board as a practice member, we can take a complete medical history and order a mold panel blood test to identify if you’ve been exposed to mold. After that, we can devise a treatment plan to detoxify your body of mold. We call our patients practice members because they take an active role in their health. In addition, our Caplan Health Institute coaches also can work with you to make sure you’re sticking with the plan. By ridding your body and your house of mold, you’ll have fewer autoimmune flares and be equipped to face life’s everyday challenges with renewed optimism and energy.