Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS)
What is CIRS?
CIRS is an acronym for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome.
One in four homes in Australia is water damaged and can be a source of CIRS. 24% of individuals are predisposed to biotoxin illness as a result of their genetics.
Biotoxins include mould, vector born bacteria such as Borrelia burgdorferi and cyanobacteria from still water such as ponds. Statistically, 80% of CIRS patients have been exposed to mould for an extended period of time. 20% of people with Lyme Disease do not recover, as often the mould illness component is not addressed. Mould illness is commonly part of a chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia picture.
Book in for a 10 minute discovery session with our Patient Care Coordinator to discuss how we can assist you.
Think you could have CIRS? What’s Next?
CIRS is complex. The person impacted often experiences fatigue, brain fog, joint and muscle pain and feels very overwhelmed with their predicament.
Working with a knowledgeable, supportive and empathetic practitioner makes the burden of the journey easier.
Step One: Complete the Mould/Biotoxin Questionnaire. Put a stroke next to every symptom. Each shaded area represents a cluster. One positive answer in a cluster means that you are positive for that cluster. You may be positive for several answers in one cluster but that still accounts as a positive for just one cluster. If you are positive for 6 or more clusters this result is a positive and you proceed to the next step.
Step Two: Complete the Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) test online: Choose NatMed Clinic as the practitioner. https://www.vcstest.com/.
You need to do this test in a well-lit room and it is best completed during the day. Please read the instructions carefully. There is a small fee for the VCS Test. If your VCS Test is positive for biotoxins further investigation is recommended. Testing positive for both step one and two means there is a very high statistical chance you have CIRS. Please remember to choose NatMed Clinic in the drop down as the practitioner. This test is an indicator only.
Step Three: Book an Initial Consultation to assess your results so far. We will discuss further testing, if indicated, such as the Organic Acids Test and Hair Mineral Analysis and some specific bloods tests through a referral to our Nurse Practitioner. Dietary changes will be discussed to assist in reducing inflammation and oxalic acid levels, where indicated. This blog explains what people with high oxalic acid can experience. Further information on dietary support for mould impacted clients can be found here. Environmental issues will also be considered. If your CIRS is driven by mould exposure, it is vital to ensure you are no longer exposed to the mould impacted environment, or if you are, there is remediation of the environment. Client stories of living in water-damaged homes can be found here.
And if all of this feels too complex, or you are unsure of how to proceed – just book in for a free 10 minute Discovery Call with our Patient Care Coordinator, and they can guide you further.
Emotionally, living with CIRS can be a tough. Patients often feel others do not understand just how unwell mould illness or CIRS make them feel. Often, they have seen numerous health practitioners over an extended period of time with little or no success in improving their health. Sometimes, unfortunately, their symptom picture is dismissed or worse still, they are told it is a mental health issue.
The journey of CIRS, or mould illness, is a long one and can often feel lonely. Step by step, we will work with you to restore your physical and emotional health and the health of your environment.
