Dr. Tiffany Sturgeon: Hi. My name is Tiffany Sturgeon. I’m an internal medicine and pediatrics physician here in Montrose, Colorado and I do primary care for all ages. I did my training in Pittsburgh in Buffalo. My mom recently was diagnosed with a very rare disease called avian hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which is a mouthful, but it basically means that her lungs react to the protein that [is] in bird feathers and develop a chronic permanent scarring. So, it’s sort of like the COPD you get from smoking but it’s from bird exposure. And our family had had pet birds for years! So, the bird protein was in our clothes, our homes [and] all our belongings. [We] had to do research on how to industrially clean this protein and get rid of it because if we’re not ruthless in eliminating it, my mom’s lung function will continue to worsen. … We learned about a process called chlorine dioxide gassing… I had to do some research from a medical perspective to tell my mom is this going to work. So, I’ve learned a few things:

Chlorine dioxide can be in a liquid or a gas and it’s used as an antiseptic in a lot of areas.

Hospitals have been using it to keep their water system free of bacteria [and] to clean the camera the camera scopes used for endoscopies and colonoscopies.

It has been used by cities to keep the municipal water treatment clean

And it is used sometimes by farmers to help keep bacteria from living on the plants or even eggs that can carry Legionella. So, [I found] it has been explored in a lot of different ways industrially and it does a couple of things:

It kills off bacteria and viruses

 It inactivates spores [created by molds]. [Spores are] basically an inactive life form in a protective shell. The spores are formed intentionally so the mold can survive very unpleasant environments… whether that’s a very acidic environment or a very cold or hot environment. It is very hard to kill off that spore because it was created to survive the things that would usually kill it. Then when [the spore] gets in a more pleasant environment, it breaks out of its shell, comes to life and the mold begins to grow again. So, when you have any kind of disease bothered by molds, you can’t just kill the living mold. You [must] get rid of the spores – because they will just hang out and wait for their chance to grow again. Other bacteria form spores too but mold is the biggest issue.

Chlorine dioxide gas or liquid will kill bacteria [and] viruses and inactivate those molds that are so resistant to so many treatments. There are a variety of illnesses that humans suffer from: bacteria and viruses obviously and mold spores. Mold spores can cause a lot of respiratory issues, everything from severe sinus infections to severe lung disease, to triggering asthma and allergies.

Chlorine dioxide can help with all those mold spore-triggered diseases [and also] kills off the bacteria and viruses, in part because it ruins the protein that they’re made of.

So, in my mom’s case, she didn’t have something caused by mold or spores and she didn’t have living bacteria or viruses, but she was reacting to the protein in those bird feathers – and this process ruins or destroys the protein just like it destroys the spores and the bacteria. So, once the chlorine dioxide has gone in and ruined that protein, her body can’t react to it anymore. [Chlorine dioxide] is a really interesting way to eliminate exposure to the thing that was making her sick [and it’s use] is pretty broad. It can help people whose asthma or allergies are being triggered by something perhaps in an old home whether it’s mold or heavy allergens. It could be cat dander or bird protein – whatever in the environment [that] is really causing that sickness – if it’s related to protein spore life form, bacteria [or] viruses – this will really help reduce all the exposure and eliminate that risk. It has great potential because – a chlorine dioxide gas or a liquid that is sprayed will cover every surface – whereas [with] the normal industrial cleaning, you’re wiping things down and trying to clean everything but, you might miss some and [using] this [method] – because it’s a gas, it just spreads. It covers everything! And [by] using this method, you can eliminate full exposure [for] people with the bad asthma, allergies [and] lung disease – [and they] can finally start to stabilize and even improve lung disease, can finally start to stabilize and even improve. At [the] least prevent worsening and you might save them from having to move to a completely new home because you’ve eliminated exposure. So, the chlorine dioxide gassing has a lot of medical benefit. I don’t think it has been studied as much in the personal home medical environment because it has been used in the industrial environment. The pharmacists studied it. The municipal water treatment places have studied it. The hospitals have studied it for antiseptic care. But now there are companies like AmeriDri who [Eliminate Odor, Bacteria, Viruses and Allergens] and now they’re working on bringing this to individual homes who really need it; and there’s definitely some evidence to support the medical benefit. [End of transcript]

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