Mold Illness (CIRS)
A Comprehensive Resource on Mold Exposure, Mold Toxicity, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
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Mold illness—often referred to as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)—is a complex, systemic condition triggered by exposure to water-damaged environments and the inflammatory compounds produced by certain molds. Unlike acute allergic reactions, mold illness reflects ongoing immune dysregulation that can persist long after exposure has ended.
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Individuals affected by mold illness often experience years of unexplained symptoms affecting the brain, immune system, hormones, digestion, joints, and energy production. Because conventional medical models frequently overlook environmental biotoxin illness, many individuals seek out mold literate doctors who understand the full physiological impact of mold exposure and mold toxicity.
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At Keystone Total Health, mold illness evaluation is guided by Dr. Martin Hart, DC, and Dr. Koji Aoki, DC, who work extensively with individuals navigating complex chronic illness, including mold illness, Lyme disease, autoimmune conditions, and neuroinflammatory syndromes. Our clinic is located in Columbia, Tennessee, serving the greater Nashville area, and welcoming clients from across the United States seeking experienced, mold-literate care.
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Reviewed by Dr. Martin Hart, DC & Dr. Koji Aoki, DC
What Is Mold Illness (CIRS)?
Mold illness, or Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, is a condition in which exposure to mold-related biotoxins triggers a persistent innate immune response that does not properly shut off. In genetically susceptible individuals, the immune system fails to recognize and clear these toxins, resulting in chronic inflammation and dysregulation across multiple body systems.
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CIRS is not an allergy and is not driven by IgE pathways. Instead, it involves innate immune activation, cytokine imbalance, neuroinflammation, and impaired detoxification signaling. This distinction explains why many individuals with mold illness have normal allergy testing yet experience severe, life-altering symptoms.
Mold Exposure vs. Mold Toxicity
Mold exposure refers to contact with mold spores, fragments, or volatile organic compounds commonly found in water-damaged buildings. Mold toxicity occurs when exposure leads to systemic inflammatory effects driven by mycotoxins and other immune-activating compounds.
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Not everyone exposed to mold becomes ill. Mold toxicity depends on factors such as genetic susceptibility, duration of exposure, cumulative inflammatory burden, immune resilience, and detoxification capacity. This variability is why two people in the same environment may respond very differently.
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Common Sources of Mold Exposure
Mold exposure most commonly occurs in water-damaged buildings, including homes, schools, workplaces, and healthcare facilities. Chronic moisture intrusion from roof leaks, plumbing failures, flooding, or high humidity creates conditions where mold can proliferate behind walls, under flooring, and in HVAC systems.
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Importantly, mold exposure is often hidden, meaning individuals may not see or smell mold yet still experience health effects due to airborne fragments and toxins.
How Mold Toxicity Affects the Body
Mold-related biotoxins disrupt normal physiology at multiple levels. These compounds can interfere with cell membranes, impair mitochondrial energy production, alter hormone signaling, and activate inflammatory pathways throughout the body.
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Once inhaled or absorbed, mycotoxins can cross the blood–brain barrier, contributing to neuroinflammation and cognitive symptoms. They also affect immune signaling pathways, leading to persistent cytokine release and failure of inflammatory resolution.
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This multi-system disruption explains why mold illness rarely presents with a single symptom and instead affects energy, cognition, mood, digestion, immunity, joints, and hormones simultaneously.
Neurological Effects of Mold Illness
Neurological symptoms are among the most common and disabling aspects of mold illness. Individuals often report brain fog, memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, headaches, dizziness, light sensitivity, and emotional lability.
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Mold-induced neuroinflammation can disrupt autonomic nervous system regulation, contributing to anxiety-like sensations, heart rate irregularities, temperature dysregulation, and poor stress tolerance. These symptoms are frequently misunderstood or misattributed to psychological causes rather than recognized as neuroimmune inflammation.
Mold Illness and Chronic Fatigue
Profound, persistent fatigue is a hallmark feature of mold illness. This fatigue is not simply a lack of rest but reflects mitochondrial dysfunction, immune activation, and inflammatory burden.
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Many individuals with mold illness experience post-exertional crashes, exercise intolerance, and inability to recover from physical or mental activity. These patterns often overlap with chronic fatigue syndromes and are a key reason mold illness is frequently misdiagnosed.
Mold Illness, the Immune System, and Autoimmunity
Chronic exposure to mold toxins can disrupt immune tolerance and promote immune dysregulation. Over time, this may contribute to autoimmune patterns, inflammatory arthritis, thyroid autoimmunity, and connective tissue inflammation.
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Mast cells may become hyperreactive in mold illness, releasing histamine and inflammatory mediators that amplify symptoms. This overlap explains why mold illness frequently coexists with MCAS and histamine intolerance.
Mold Illness and Gut Health
The gut plays a critical role in immune regulation and detoxification. Mold illness is commonly associated with increased intestinal permeability, dysbiosis, and digestive symptoms such as bloating, nausea, food sensitivities, and irregular bowel patterns.
When gut integrity is compromised, immune signaling becomes further dysregulated, creating a feedback loop that sustains inflammation.
Mold Illness and Lyme Disease
In clinical practice, Dr. Hart and Dr. Aoki frequently observe mold illness overlapping with Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. Mold exposure can weaken immune resilience, making it more difficult for the body to regulate infections effectively.
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When mold illness and Lyme disease coexist, symptoms are often more neurological, more inflammatory, and more resistant to standard approaches. This complexity is a primary reason individuals seek out mold literate doctors with experience in both environmental and infectious contributors.
Why Mold Illness Is Often Missed or Misdiagnosed
Mold illness is frequently overlooked because symptoms span multiple systems, standard labs may appear normal, and environmental exposure history is often underestimated. Many healthcare providers receive limited training in biotoxin-related illness, leading to fragmented or incomplete explanations for symptoms.
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As a result, individuals may spend years seeking answers before mold exposure is considered.
How Mold Illness Is Evaluated by Mold Literate Doctors
Mold-literate evaluation focuses on pattern recognition, not a single test result. At Keystone Total Health, evaluation considers exposure history, symptom clusters, immune and inflammatory patterns, neurological involvement, detoxification capacity, and overlapping conditions such as Lyme disease or autoimmunity.
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Many individuals pursue this comprehensive evaluation through the Keystone Root Cause Intensive, which provides an immersive framework for understanding complex chronic illness.
Why Symptoms May Persist After Leaving a Moldy Environment
Leaving exposure is essential, but symptoms may persist when immune activation remains elevated, detoxification pathways are impaired, neuroinflammation continues, or coexisting infections or autoimmune patterns remain active. This explains why recovery is rarely immediate and why ongoing evaluation is often necessary.
Who Should Consider Mold Illness Evaluation?
Mold illness evaluation may be appropriate for individuals experiencing chronic fatigue, brain fog, neurological symptoms, inflammatory or autoimmune conditions, unexplained sensitivities, or persistent illness following time spent in water-damaged environments, especially those actively searching for mold literate doctors.
Serving Columbia, TN, Nashville, and Clients Nationwide
Keystone Total Health is located in Columbia, Tennessee, serving individuals throughout the greater Nashville area and welcoming clients from across the country who travel to work with experienced, mold-literate practitioners specializing in complex chronic illness.
Mold Illness FAQ
The following questions address common concerns about mold illness, mold toxicity, and how mold-literate doctors evaluate complex biotoxin-related conditions.
What is mold illness?
Mold illness is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by immune dysregulation following exposure to mold-related biotoxins, often referred to as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).
What is the difference between mold exposure and mold toxicity?
Mold exposure refers to contact with mold, while mold toxicity occurs when exposure leads to systemic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and chronic symptoms.
What symptoms are common in mold illness?
Common symptoms include chronic fatigue, brain fog, headaches, dizziness, mood changes, digestive issues, joint pain, immune sensitivity, and exercise intolerance.
Can mold illness cause neurological symptoms?
Yes. Mold toxins can trigger neuroinflammation, leading to cognitive impairment, autonomic nervous system dysregulation, and mood changes.
How does mold illness affect the immune system?
Mold illness disrupts innate immune signaling, leading to persistent inflammation, cytokine imbalance, and increased risk of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Is mold illness connected to Lyme disease?
Yes. Mold illness and Lyme disease frequently overlap, with mold exposure weakening immune regulation and complicating chronic infection patterns.
Why do people look for mold literate doctors?
Many individuals seek mold literate doctors because mold illness is often overlooked, misdiagnosed, or inadequately addressed using conventional models.
How is mold illness evaluated?
Mold illness evaluation focuses on exposure history, symptom patterns, immune and inflammatory signaling, neurological involvement, and overlapping conditions rather than a single test.
Can symptoms persist after leaving mold exposure?
Yes. Symptoms may persist due to ongoing immune activation, impaired detoxification, neuroinflammation, or coexisting conditions such as Lyme disease.
Who should consider evaluation for mold illness?
Individuals with unexplained chronic symptoms, autoimmune conditions, neurological complaints, or known mold exposure may benefit from evaluation by mold literate doctors.
Resources & Further Reading
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/lyme -
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
https://www.nih.gov -
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS)
https://www.ilads.org -
Global Lyme Alliance
https://globallymealliance.org -
Frontiers in Immunology (Lyme Disease Research)
https://www.frontiersin.org -
Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal
https://academic.oup.com/cid -
Pathogens Journal
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens