Biotoxin exposure

Biotoxin exposure means contact with poisonous substances produced by living organisms, including certain molds, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and other marine or terrestrial life.

Exposure can occur through breathing contaminated indoor air in water-damaged buildings, eating shellfish or fish that have concentrated algal toxins, or contact with tick-borne organisms. Reported effects depend on the toxin and route and can include respiratory irritation, headaches, gastrointestinal upset, neurological symptoms and fatigue. Mold in damp buildings is the exposure most often discussed, and its documented health effects in the general population are mainly allergic and respiratory.

Assessment relies on exposure history, environmental testing of the building or food source and, for some toxins, blood or urine testing. Chronic inflammatory response syndrome is a contested label that attributes lingering multisystem symptoms to biotoxins. No evidence establishes cannabidiol as a treatment for biotoxin exposure, and removing the source of exposure remains the recognized first step.