Living and working in Tampa, Florida, as we do, we witness on a weekly basis at least one patient who displays signs of mold sickness and depression. We can put much of the blame for this malady on water-damaged buildings, which are found in abundance in our humid, damp, tropical southern climate. Because of these climate-specific surroundings, we almost always ask our patients about their living and working environment because we are strong believers in the notion that there is a direct link between water-damaged buildings that can cause mold sickness and associated depression. Mold-related Signs of Depression Some signs of depression — no matter the cause — often include the following:
Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
Recent reports published in the Tampa Bay Times— one in which our Dr. Matt Lewis is referenced in — call attention to a serious health problem at a military housing facility and VA medical center in South Florida… chronic, recurring mold outbreaks that are literally making military personnel and their family members, patients, and treatment providers sick. The reports focus specifically on mold present in housing at MacDill Air Force Base and a mold outbreak at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center. However, mold poses a serious health risk throughout Florida, where heat and humidity provide the ideal environment for it to grow. According to the World Health Organization, more than a quarter of U.S. buildings are water-damaged. One can logically conclude that the percentage is significantly higher in Florida, where we receive an average annual rainfall of 60 inches. Nearly 45 million people across the U.S. live or
As the title of today’s post suggests, we’ve got a lot to cover in this, one of our final posts of the year, so let’s get right to it. We promised this in last week’s post — BioDesign Wellness is offering an innovative program for the New Year that features a 30-day medically-supervised detox for only $799 (which is much less than our normal $1,900 price for a 60-day program and includes all the supplements you need, plus three one-on-one coaching sessions). In order to participate, you need to purchase the detox kit from our office by the cutoff date of Friday, Jan. 18. The kit can be purchased over the phone and mailed to your home or office, or you can stop by and pick it up at our Tampa functional medicine clinic. For questions or further details, please call our patient care coordinator, Lori, at (813) 445-7770. If