Children & Environmental Toxins – Must Read Info for Pediatricians and Parents

Adults are not the only ones affected by Mycotoxins, chemicals, and other environmental contaminants. From my research and interviews with medical professionals, mold remediators, and affected families, I can tell you that children, especially young children are just as vulnerable as adults to illnesses caused by environmental toxins.

One of my favorite people who covers this topic exceptionally well is Ruth Etzel, MD. I purchased her first book, Handbook of Pediatric Environmental Health, and learned a lot from it. Dr. Ruth Etzel’s work is significant because she was the leader of a study in the nineties that concluded that babies were being affected by Stachybotrous, referred to as (black mold) inside of sick buildings. The reason why she was tasked with investigating was that a pediatric pulmonologist began seeing too many cases of babies with bleeding in their lungs. 

She is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. From 2009 to 2012, she was Senior Officer for Environmental Health Research at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2007 she received the Children’s Environmental Health Champion Award from the U.S. EPA for outstanding leadership in protecting children from environmental health risks.

She is the founding editor of Pediatric Environmental Health. It’s a really fantastic book that has served thousands of doctors around the world and trained them efficiently to know how to recognize, diagnose, treat and prevent sicknesses in children caused by environmental toxins. This is a must-read for all pediatricians, pediatric specialists, holistic practitioners, and parents.

Too often, I read, see, or hear about children who have been misdiagnosed for years on end. Chronic allergies, digestive issues, sinus infections, ear infections, severe cognitive impairment, neuroimmune conditions, and respiratory issues can go on throughout childhood without properly addressing the root cause. The root cause can be as simple as a family living in a sick building, around a farming area, and or consuming contaminated food.

Mycotoxins emitted from certain types of mold can be found in water-damaged homes and on foods like corn, sugar, soy, peanuts, and grains; they can cause an array of health issues and seriously weaken the immune system and cause toxic effects to all organ systems. There is a class of mycotoxins, though, that is like no other; they are the mycotoxins produced by Stachybotrous. These poisons can cause serious damage to humans and animals. According to the World Safety Organization, “The human body, once exposed to a mycotoxin, runs a triple risk to its toxic effects. The triple risk factors are direct toxic effect of the mycotoxin, acquisition of mutated RNAi from the mycotoxin’s parent fungus, and creation of an internal biofilm, which will harbor a toxic soup of disease.”

Toxic Mold, along with chemicals from pesticides, has been linked to endocrine system disruptions, ADHD in addition to MCS, CFS, and cancer.

Please help me get the word out on environmental toxins and the danger of living, working, or studying in a sick building. As Dr. Etzel saw, children’s lungs were bleeding due to the poisons emitted by Stachybotrous. If it was possible, then it is still possible now. These poisons can cause an array of symptoms that differ from person to person, but one thing is clear, they can destroy your health.

You can also take action by sharing Dr. Ruth Etzel’s book with your family practitioner and with other parents.

Click here for helpful resources on toxic mold.

Other important resources are:
A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children  Book by Beth Lambert
Is This Your Child? Book by Dr. Doris Rapp
Global Indoor Health Network
Healthy Child Healthy World Website