"Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly should consider the airs, the waters, and the places in which people live." — Hippocrates
If your health changed after a house move, a leak, a flood, or time spent in a damp building — and no one has been able to tell you why — you are not imagining it. Illness from water-damaged buildings is real, biologically plausible, and routinely missed.
I see patients who have been told their bloods are normal and their symptoms are stress. My role is to take the environmental history seriously, look at the whole picture, and use the tools with a genuine rationale here — removing the exposure, herbal medicine, nutritional medicine, and FSM.
What is mould illness — and why does it persist?
Water-damaged buildings do not just grow visible mould. Damp building materials harbour a complex mix of mould spores, fragments, mycotoxins, bacteria, endotoxins, and volatile compounds. Breathing this in day after day is what drives the problem — not a single bad spore.
Most people exposed to a damp building are fine, or have short-lived symptoms that settle once they leave. But a subset — often those with a genetic make-up that affects how efficiently the immune system clears biotoxins — do not clear the load. Instead, the innate immune system stays switched on, producing chronic, multi-system inflammation. This is what practitioners mean by CIRS: a chronic inflammatory response syndrome.
There are several reasons it persists:
- Ongoing exposure — you cannot recover while still living or working in the building
- Mycotoxins and biotoxins are fat-soluble and slow to clear, particularly when the body's elimination pathways are sluggish
- The inflammatory response becomes self-sustaining and no longer needs the original trigger
- Mould illness frequently overlaps with Lyme disease, mast cell activation (MCAS), and gut dysbiosis
Mould toxicity symptoms I see most often
- Persistent fatigue and post-exertional crashes
- Brain fog, poor memory, difficulty concentrating, word-finding problems
- Headaches and sensitivity to light, sound, and smell
- Sinus congestion, cough, breathlessness, recurrent respiratory infections
- Muscle aches, joint pain, morning stiffness, unusual cramps
- Temperature dysregulation, night sweats, unexplained weight changes
- Mood changes — anxiety, low mood, irritability
- Tingling, numbness, "electric shock" sensations
- New or worsening sensitivities to foods, chemicals, and medicines
- Excessive thirst, frequent urination
If a cluster of these resonates — especially alongside known damp, a musty smell, or a history of water damage — mould is worth investigating properly.
What often travels with mould illness
- Lyme disease and tick-borne co-infections — mould frequently underlies stalled Lyme recovery
- Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) — driving the sensitivities, flushing, and reactions
- Gut dysbiosis and fungal overgrowth (Candida) — both a consequence and a perpetuator
- Reactivated viruses such as Epstein-Barr
- Nutrient depletion, methylation issues, and an overloaded detoxification system
My approach
Removing the exposure
You cannot get well in the building that made you ill. Before anything else, we try to identify the source — home, workplace, or car — and make a realistic plan to remediate it or remove yourself from it.
Supporting clearance — mould detox, done properly
Once exposure is controlled, the focus turns to helping the body process and eliminate what it has accumulated — supporting the liver, bile flow, gut, and lymphatics so that mobilised toxins actually leave the body rather than recirculate. Done gradually, paced to how you feel.
Herbal medicine
Herbal antifungals and anti-inflammatories — chosen to your picture — can help address fungal overgrowth, calm inflammation, and support the organs of elimination. Prescriptions are individualised and introduced slowly, because people with mould illness are often highly reactive.
Nutritional medicine — rebuilding resilience
Targeted nutraceuticals for antioxidant capacity, immune regulation, and detoxification: glutathione and its precursor NAC, vitamin D, zinc, B vitamins, magnesium. Practitioner-only, food-state supplements at clinical doses.
FSM — calming the inflammatory response
Frequency Specific Microcurrent protocols aimed at neuroinflammation, the vagus nerve, and a nervous system stuck in a state of high alert. Often a useful piece for the brain fog, sensitivity, and exhaustion that mould illness brings.
Diet, sleep, and the basics
Lowering the overall inflammatory and dietary mould load, restoring sleep, and steadying blood sugar — without these, no protocol works as well as it should.
The evidence
- World Health Organization (2009). WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould. Occupants of damp or mouldy buildings have up to a 75% greater risk of respiratory symptoms and asthma, alongside measurable effects on the immune system.
- Mechanism-of-injury review (2013). A review of the mechanisms of injury and treatment approaches for illness resulting from exposure to water-damaged buildings, mould, and mycotoxins.
- Brewer et al. (2013). In patients with a prior diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, 93% had at least one mycotoxin detectable in urine, with a history of exposure to water-damaged buildings in over 90% of cases.
Testing
- Mycotoxin testing (UK) — a urine panel identifying which mycotoxins are present
- Home or workplace testing — ERMI/HERTSMI dust analysis, or a professional damp and mould survey
- Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) — a simple screening marker of biotoxin-related inflammation
- Inflammatory and immune markers
- Comprehensive stool analysis (GI-MAP) — gut function, dysbiosis, and fungal overgrowth
- Organic Acids Test (OAT) — metabolic, mitochondrial, and yeast picture
- Nutrient status, thyroid, and hormones as needed
What to expect
A first consultation is 60–90 minutes, in person at my Fulham clinic or by online appointment. We map your full history — every building you have lived and worked in, the timeline of your symptoms, and what has and has not helped.
Mould recovery is rarely quick, and it depends heavily on controlling the exposure. With the source addressed, most patients see meaningful improvement within 1–2 months, with continued progress over the following year. We pace the work to your sensitivity and your stamina.
FAQ
Do I have to move house?
Not always — but the exposure has to be dealt with. Sometimes that means professional remediation; sometimes it means leaving. We work through what's feasible for your situation.
Can you test my home?
I do not carry out building surveys myself, but I can guide you on the right testing — dust analysis or a qualified surveyor — and help you interpret the results.
Is CIRS recognised by the NHS?
Not as a formal diagnosis. The harms of damp and mould are well recognised; CIRS as a defined syndrome is not. I work with the evidence as it stands and am transparent about what's established and what's emerging.
Can FSM help with mould illness?
It can have a role, particularly for the neuroinflammation, brain fog, and nervous system overdrive. It supports the wider plan.