Dear Subscribers,

People have written many e-mails to me privately, and it is simply impossible to answer all them thoroughly. Instead, I will steal some thunder from my forthcoming webinar series (and perhaps try to offer both series simultaneously) by emphasizing immediate priorities.

First, however, I do want to acknowledge that this event will stir up the debates on climate change as well as countless theories about weather engineering and other plots. For me, the priority right now is the safety of individuals who have been exposed to the flood, to those who are dislocated, and those whose health is at risk. This includes many first responders and clean up crews as well as family and friends of flood victims.

Personally, I believe in prayers. We live in an energetic field in which there are responses to our petitions, but my experience is that the more impersonal requests get the highest level of response. What did I just write? On the soul level, we have the power to bless and sometimes to heal others. When we are praying for the highest good, we tend to get a response from the level where precious actions can be taken. If the requests are more personal, one's guardian angels will most likely be tasked with responding. They can obviously be very benevolent and helpful, but if we want to heal the entire Gulf Region, we might need to escalate the request to the highest level possible.

All this said, there is a great deal one can do for oneself. The general rule is that if mold damage exceeds one square foot, the project is not a do-it-yourself job. I think we could extend this somewhat but also add nuance. If someone is already immunocompromised or is allergic to mold, there are no mold remediation projects that fall into the DIY category. It took me years to figure out I am allergic to mold. For some people, the first major exposure is also the last. I do not like to create fear, but there are people who have died within minutes of being exposed to mold. Some of the individuals were apparently healthy, young, and even fit. In short, mold is a formidable adversary, but it has a function. We have to respect the fact that we would all be shoulder-deep in things we have thrown away were it not for the ability of mold to compost what we recycle.

The extent of the mold's capacity can be estimnated by the role of fungi in nuclear disasters. I have mentioned before that mold was found inside the reactor in Chernobyl. In Japan, mushrooms are tackling some of the radioactivity. Many of you may not remember my first tests in the supermarket after getting a Geiger counter. It went crazy in the produce department near mushrooms as well as in one area of the cereal department. I think the explanations are different. It seems probable that the reason so many people have grain allergies is that the quality of the grains is inferior.

Mold is microscopic. When you can see mold with your bare eyes, it is because it has colonized. You know this happens because what appears to start as a dot takes over more and more of the target. Now, let's learn something from what we can easily observe. Where do we often see mold in the kitchen? Oranges, strawberries, bread, cheese, and even ginger. If someone were selling a citrus based fungicide, what should we do?

I use citrus oils but only to stretch the mixture. Cloves are very fungicidal but intense. I only needed a few ounces of clove oil to kill all the moss on my roof. I diluted the oil in gallons of carriers like citrus cleaners, soaps, and just plain water. Most of these oils are effective at 1-2% of the total liquid content.

Next, I would like to discuss herbs. As you know, I spent many, many years, decades actually, studying herbs, especially cancer herbs. However, there are hundreds of different kinds of cancer, not just categories like carcinomas and melanomas or breast cancers and brain cancers, but about 900 types. There are also people who maintain that cancer is caused by oxygen deficiencies that promote anaerobic growth, that it is due to parasites, microbial infections, or fungi. The list goes on and on.

One of the most interesting historic authors was Dr. John Pattison. He wrote a book about bloodroot escharotics and later about goldenseal. Bloodroot easily becomes fungal. Within a day or two of harvesting, white begins to appear on the delicate roots. I have yet to see a trace of mold on goldenseal. Nature is a very good teacher if we observe Her.

Keeping this is mind, what would one choose as an immune herb given one's known health status? People sometimes think I make things too complicated, but the reality is we just need to think clearly. If one has Candida albicans or multiple chemical sensitivity or high blood sugar or AIDS or any other condition, the selection can be made from among the herbs or formulae that are most likely to address several issues simultaneously.

Keep it Simple

Over the next weeks, I will try to describe a number of herbs in detail so as to help people make better decisions. For the short-term, I want to emphasize that the proper attire for mold removal is a full Tyvek suit with gloves and respirator. When work is being performed, the area needs to be sealed off. Here is a warning, serious one. Because mold is technically regarded as natural, it is legal to use a highly sophisticated vacuum with HEPA filters and to vent the exhaust into the open space around a structure.

As fate would have it, my two graphics people are both working on the updating of moldherbs.com. It will be similar to toxicteeth.com when complete. Gina just notified me that she can build a system for incorporating my posts into the site and/or Facebook. Earlier today, Damien asked me for the originals of the images used in the header. This is always a trip through memory lane. The patient was an elderly lady with breast cancer. We met in Switzerland. She said that the symptoms began almost immediately after renovation work began in the building next to where she lived. She said there was construction dust and she felt deathly ill.

Obviously, the doctors wanted to treat the breast cancer in the conventional manner, but once I found the mold in her blood, we took a different approach. I know she recovered because we remained in contact for some years, but she was in her eighties when we met in 2005. I will never forget her because she totally understood that her suffering began as a result of poor procedures used during demolition and renovation.

Not to get up on my wobbly soapbox, but the movement of the EMF meters has taught me a lot about the power of community. We come to grips with the reality that our protective measures are sometimes only as good as what our neighbors are doing. In my particular neighborhood, there was a lot of talk when the fiber optic cable was installed. Not too many people went the route of hard wiring their connections. Now, of course, everyone who is returning to flooded areas will be interacting with neighbors, and it is really important that the remediation work is done safely.

One can get a mold infection that starts with a cut and open wound, but the most common routes of infection are ingestion and inhalation. During remediation, inhalation is obviously the main risk. People are going to be throwing away bedding and furniture and clothing. Everything needs to be covered and sealed thick plastic bags and buried in a proper managed landfill. Shaking something could be seriously dangerous. Mold does not respect heroism or machismo. Wear respirators!

Initially, most of the recovery effort is domestic, but once people start using saws and blowers, there is a neighborhood to consider so bringing everyone up-to-speed is important. I will maintain that even when things begin to look almost normal again, something as simple as mowing the lawn can set spores moving. Some people are going to feel weak and they may be under the impression that working out in a gym or doing something else that is supposed to be good for them is going to help them, but if the person has become mold-infected, heavy breathing, not to mention coughing, can set spores flying, Now consider your dentist. Just how safe are his procedures? I have seen proper dental offices in videos but not yet in person. Yes, I know dentists who studied biological dentistry, but they are usually in a hurry and have some lame excuse or other for taking what they know are risks. I am sorry to say that many of the protective measures benefit the dentist more than the patients. People have to be very careful now or we are going to have epidemics. Please, please share this information with your contacts. It is time to raise awareness, to build community and networks, and to exercise caution. I will post more often now until my soapbox collapses.

Many blessings,

Ingrid
http://www.moldmisery.com

Cryptococcus gattii: Pacific Northwest || Flowers and Fungi || Indoor Air Quality
Fusarium, Contact Lens, and the Drug War || Radiation Eating Fungi
Fungi, Antibiotics, and the Immune System || Mold Control

Guduchi || Mold Chikitsa

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