Have you been struggling with fatigue, brain fog, or unexplained respiratory issues, and nothing seems to help? You’re not alone. Many people across Michigan are dealing with mysterious symptoms that don’t go away, no matter how many doctors they see or treatments they try.
One possible reason? Mold exposure.
Because of Michigan’s older housing, humid summers, and long, cold winters, mold can often grow quietly in places like basements, bathrooms, and inside walls, especially in homes that are closed up tightly for months at a time. With snow and freezing temperatures lasting from fall into spring, most people spend a lot of time indoors, often without realizing that indoor air quality could be affecting their health. And the impact of mold goes far beyond seasonal sniffles or allergies.
The truth is, mold exposure is an overlooked but real health hazard that could be behind many chronic symptoms. Research shows that mold can affect your immune system, brain, lungs, and even emotional health, sometimes mimicking other conditions like anxiety, autoimmune disease, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
So here’s the big question: Could mold be the missing piece in your health puzzle?
Let’s take a closer look at how mold exposure happens, what it does to the body, and how functional medicine can help you heal.
Symptoms of Mold Exposure You Might Not Recognize
Because mold and mycotoxins can quietly build up in your home or workplace, exposure often happens without you even realizing it. And when your body starts reacting, the signs aren’t always obvious.
Instead of showing up as a clear allergy or visible rash, mold illness often causes a mix of vague, frustrating symptoms — the kind that make you feel “off,” but are hard to explain. That’s part of what makes mold toxicity so tricky to recognize.
In many cases, people live with these symptoms for years, never realizing that mold exposure might be the root cause. The signs often look like everyday health complaints and are easy to dismiss or blame on stress, aging, or other common conditions.
Some of the most frequently reported symptoms linked to mold exposure include:
- Fatigue that doesn’t go away, even after a good night’s sleep
- Brain fog or trouble concentrating
- Headaches or migraines
- Sinus problems or chronic congestion
- Shortness of breath or wheezing
- Mood changes, such as anxiety or depression
- Muscle and joint pain
- Sensitivity to smells, chemicals, or bright lights
These symptoms often overlap with other chronic illnesses, like autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or Lyme disease, which is why mold-related illness is so often overlooked or misdiagnosed.
One study published in Toxicology Reports found that breathing in mold can affect parts of the brain tied to memory, mood, and focus, helping explain why so many people report emotional or cognitive changes after long-term exposure.
If you’ve been living with these symptoms and haven’t found answers, it may be time to consider whether mold could be contributing to your health story.
How Mold Exposure Affects Your Immune System and Overall Health
How does mold actually disrupt your health?
It starts with your immune system. When exposed to mold and mycotoxins, your body sees them as a threat, and your immune system responds with inflammation to protect you. That’s a good thing in the short term. But when the exposure continues, your immune system can stay stuck in “high alert” mode, which creates long-term problems.
This constant state of inflammation can wear down your body’s natural defenses and lead to something called immune dysregulation, where the immune system becomes overactive, confused, or simply exhausted. Over time, this can show up as:
- Ongoing fatigue and low energy
- Trouble with memory, focus, and mood
- Worsening asthma or breathing problems
- Disruptions in gut health and nutrient absorption
- Inflammatory or autoimmune-like reactions
Research has shown that mold exposure can interfere with how the brain and immune system communicate, helping explain why many people report feeling anxious, foggy, or emotionally off-balance.
If mold exposure goes unaddressed, it may contribute to more serious, long-term health issues like asthma, neurological dysfunction, or even the development of autoimmune conditions.
What About Testing Your Home for Mold?
If these symptoms sound familiar, it may be helpful to consider your environment as well. Mold isn’t always easy to spot — it can grow behind walls, in crawl spaces, or anywhere moisture has been trapped. Thankfully, there are at-home mold testing kits available online that allow you to collect samples and get a clearer picture of what might be lurking in your space. These kits can be a helpful first step in identifying hidden exposure at home.
A Functional Medicine Approach to Mold Exposure
By the time mold becomes a health problem, it’s often been affecting your body for months or even years. That’s why healing requires more than just covering up symptoms. It means getting to the root of the issue and supporting your body’s ability to recover.
That’s where functional medicine comes in.
At Michigan Health and Wellness, we don’t just ask what symptoms you’re experiencing—we dig deeper to understand why they’re happening. If mold exposure is involved, we use targeted testing and personalized, natural therapies to help the body detox, restore balance, and regain resilience.
How We Test for Mold Exposure
Getting an accurate picture of mold toxicity starts with the right tests. At our center, we may recommend:
- Urine mycotoxin testing – to detect specific mold toxins in the body
- AO Scan – a non-invasive scan that assesses imbalances and energetic stress
- Comprehensive blood panels – to evaluate inflammation, immune function, and nutrient deficiencies
How We Support Your Body’s Healing
Once mold exposure is confirmed, we create a customized plan to help your body detox and repair. This may include:
- Targeted supplements – to support your liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system as they work to clear toxins
- Binders – natural substances that “bind” to mold toxins in the gut, helping your body safely eliminate them and preventing reabsorption
- Immune-support protocols – to calm chronic inflammation and rebalance your immune system
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy – to increase oxygen at the cellular level, reduce inflammation, and support whole-body healing
Healing from mold toxicity takes time, especially if your exposure has been ongoing, but with the right support, your body can recover.
We work closely with our patients to ensure their treatment plans are realistic, gentle, and built around their unique needs.
Breaking Free From Mold Toxicity
If you’ve been living with mysterious symptoms that don’t seem to have an explanation, it’s worth asking: Could mold be the hidden cause?
Mold exposure is more common in Michigan than many people realize, and its effects go far beyond itchy eyes or a stuffy nose. It can quietly impact your brain, immune system, energy levels, and overall well-being, often without a clear warning sign.
The good news is that once you identify mold as a root issue, you can take real steps toward healing.
At Michigan Health and Wellness, we believe your body was designed to heal — it just needs the right support. We can help you uncover what’s really going on and create a clear path forward using natural, science-backed tools. You don’t have to keep guessing about your health.
If this sounds like your experience, know that you’re not alone, and there is help available.
Resources
Harding, C. F., Zeligs, B. J., & Kuhn, D. M. (2020). Mold inhalation causes innate immune activation, neural, cognitive and emotional dysfunction. Toxicology Reports, 7, 1186–1194. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7231651/
Hope, J. (2004). The adverse health effects of indoor molds. Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, 14(3), 261–274. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253011596_Adverse_Health_Effects_of_Indoor_Molds
Portnoy, J. M., Kwak, K., Dowling, P., VanOsdol, T., & Barnes, C. (2006). Health effects of indoor mold. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 118(2), 286–290. https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(05)02591-1/fulltext
