CIRS, or Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome is a condition that follows exposure to a biotoxin. This biotoxin is often a protein produced by mould, when a patient lives or works in a water damaged building. Some chronic infections – Lyme disease in the USA for example – can produce symptoms that are identical to CIRS symptoms.

CIRS has been studied meticulously in the USA and the science is no longer challenged in mainstream medicine. Patients invariably present with fatigue, but also a variety of unusual symptoms which may involve the brain (like poor memory or difficulty concentrating) the respiratory symptom (like shortness of breath) the gut (abdominal pain) and the musculoskeletal system (aches and pains, numbness or tingling) and a variety of other possible symptoms too.

There are various clinical and history clues to the diagnosis and testing can make the diagnosis even more likely. Sadly the definitive testing done in the USA (a blood test for particular CIRS markers) is not available here in Australia. Treatment is certainly possible and follows a careful path to right all the inflammatory processes.