Why - the Mold Chronicles?

Well - it's not all that difficult really. Since I began dealing with what I found out later to be a severe allergy to all eleven (11) types of mold, I have kept an unofficial journal of my journey though this condition. I hope that through this series of stories of my plight with the allergy and the information I've gleaned in the process of trying to understand it - I can help others who may be suffering without knowing the source. I've been there. I know the frustration. And in some cases the fear in just 'now knowing'.

I will also be 'back-dating' some of these entries - just so they are more chronologically correct. OK .. it's not really important - but I like to keep things like this in order if possible. Indulge me this one vice. I'll only make this request every few weeks .. whether I need it or not. "8^)

As you might perceive, I've learned far more about mold than I ever thought I would - or than I ever WANTED TO. The education process has been slow - nerve wracking - but cathartic in many ways. However, I believe the benefit comes more from just becoming informed about the condition. Because knowing more has NOT made me any less susceptible or bothered by the condition.

I do not intend to become lewd or disgusting in the discussion of the condition - though some may find the topic, at times, quite distasteful and disturbing. My only comment to this is simply - "you should have been here if you think the discussion is disgusting" !!

Living it is a nightmare.

MoldChron

How it began ... I think

I am allergic to mold .. all molds. Not just one, or two or three .. but all eleven (11) mold species. And I am allergic to them ALL YEAR LONG. But I didn't always know I was allergic to molds. But come to find out I've been 'bothered' by molds all my life.

So where do I begin ... at the beginning of course.

I have been allergic to Penicillin since I was born. My mother was allergic to penicillin and sulfa drugs. So the doctors pretty well assumed that I would be as well. They tested me - and yes, I reacted: violently! I nearly died of anaphylactic shock when I was 3 and that pretty much nailed that problem. I began having problems with Strep-Throat when I was about 3.5 years old. I was administered an antibiotic that was both penicillin and sulfa based -- WOW -- that was NOT good. So that really nailed the door closed on any penicillin and sulfa drugs for me.

That I was so allergic to penicillin - and that penicillin is made from a mold extract - should have been a warning that me and mold might not mix well. But hey, that was the near 'dark ages' of medicine back in the late '50s. There were a lot of mistakes made then. And a lot of them being made today as well. But that is another story.

Now jump forward 47 years; to December 2002 to be exact. That was when I was noticing a 'problem'. An avid kayaker - doing roughly 1500 miles each year on the water - I had my share of 'water rash' incidents. But this was different. It wasn't going away. And because most of my paddling was in the Wabash River - not known as a pristine clean waterway - I was beginning to wonder if I had 'contracted' something in from the water.

I attempted to 'treat it' with the typical remedies: ointments, salves, cremes, and the like. I even resorted to taking some herbs that are to build the immune system. But nothing seemed to work. The 'itchy spot' became an 'itchy area' and then turned to an 'irritating zone' and finally an unbearable pain-in-the-arse .. LITERALLY!

I was at a real quandary. What to do? What was this anyway? More in my next installment.

MoldChron