Think mold exposure is harmless?

I'm copying this blog post from Andrea Fabry whose entire family was sickened by toxic mold in their home. She writes about how mold toxins (mycotoxins) are well-known in the military world for their harmful effects. Stachybotyrs was one of the molds found in my condo.

I spent some time tonight reading a report issued by the United States Military. The report is titled "Medical aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare". I find it astounding that the military has known about the dangers of toxic mold for decades and the general public knows so little. The yellow rain used by the Russians in Vietnam and later Afghanistan was comprised of the same mycotoxin found in stachybotrys. The details of this are contained in the report. This is an excerpt from the introduction:

This family of mycotoxins
causes multiorgan effects including emesis and diarrhea,
weight loss, nervous disorders, cardiovascular
alterations, immunodepression, hemostatic
derangements, skin toxicity, decreased reproductive
capacity, and bone marrow damage.4,6
In this chapter, we will concentrate on T-2 mycotoxin,
a highly toxic trichothecene that, together
with some closely related compounds, has been the
causative agent of a number of illnesses in humans
and domestic animals.1,2,4 During the 1970s and
1980s, the trichothecene mycotoxins gained some
notoriety as putative biological warfare agents in Southeast Asia.

The report is quite detailed but here's the summary:

... trichothecene mycotoxins are proven lethal agents in warfare.
Symptoms include vomiting, pain, weakness, dizziness,
ataxia, anorexia, diarrhea, bleeding, skin
redness, blistering, and gangrene, as well as shock
and rapid death. Sensitive immunoassays and
chemical procedures are available for the identification
of trichothecene mycotoxins in biological
samples, but no detection kits have been fielded.
Prevention of exposure is the only current defense,
with a protective mask and clothing worn
when under attack. Previous successful lethal attacks
have always occurred against unprotected civilians
and soldiers. Skin decontamination with
water and soap can be used effectively up to 6 hours
after exposure. Experimental treatments for systemic
toxicity are being investigated, but no therapy
is available for humans..

This explains why avoidance for those exposed to stachybotrys is the first and foremost line of defense. The good news, of course, is that there are now therapies available.

If you would like to see the report it is available at this website.
http://www.envirochex.com/Downloads/Chapter34_Military_Medicine.pdf