My Chemical-Free House: What is Hell Toxin (HT) and How to Break, Decon and Clean It

What is Hell Toxin (HT) sometimes referred to as HCCT? Hell Toxin is a group of unidentified environmental toxins experienced by hundreds or perhaps thousands of people. The toxins all known as HT have similar properties to each other (sometimes they are differentiated into different strains), and are experienced in similar ways to folks who are reactive. Many who have gone through mold avoidance or been exposed to toxic molds experience this toxin and react to it.

"6 of 365: Light Painting 2" by Rina Pitucci (Tilling 67) licensed CC BY-ND 2.0

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The Typical Reaction

The typical reactions to this toxin are burning and other skin irritations, sometimes even resulting in what looks like burn marks. However, not everyone who is reactive to HT gets a burning feeling or tingling sensation on the skin.

Keep in mind that burning alone, does not define an HT reaction or presence of the toxin. I have seen many people over the last year panic over skin burning, itching or other irritations, who found out it was to a myriad of toxins or allergens that were not HT. Those who "simply have burning" can usually easily, or much more easily, find the cause and avoid it.

I have also seen folks mistake EMF sensitivity for HT reactivity as well. EMF sensitivity abates with the absence of the trigger and there is no physical toxin that is present that can spread. It can be confusing to figure out the difference in some cases.

The typical experience includes high ability to cross contaminate. At the mildest stage this could simply be spreading by water, instead of it washing out or improving with washing like most toxins, and having to throw out items instead of cleaning them. But in the more typical advanced reactivity stage, it is highly cross contaminating and it cannot be mistaken for something else.

Will I Unmask to HT with Mold Avoidance

Keep in mind that unlike cyano, or mystery toxin or stachy, not everyone who embarks on mold avoidance will become sensitised/reactive to HT, most don't. This is a misconception that everyone will "unmask", and this came from MT (Mystery Toxin) and HT being discussed together and discussed more widely in the forums now. I also don't consider HT to be an outdoor toxin the way MT is, though it certainly can contaminate outdoor environments.

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Do I have HT?

If you are unsure whether you are have HT, check in with a few folks who have a lot of experience to run them by your reactions, symptoms and experience. Dr Daniel Cagua-Koo helps patients through physical treatments and cleaning protocols. I help folks in the beginning stages on how to manage this toxin which can become quite costly and devastating. Please get more than one opinion if you are unsure. There are a number of ways that experienced folks will look at how the toxin acts to identify it.

How do we Know we are all Reacting to the Same Toxin?

One other way to tell is that those who have this reaction react to the same items, there are brands of electronics, clothes, entire warehouses in Kentuky, and other common stores and places where we find the same toxin - and while we are all a bit different - our experiences with the toxin are similar enough to have been able to define this as a toxin in the environment and not just an internal reaction. We have also at times sent items to each and visited each other or visited buildings or homes of another reactor to see if we are talking about the same toxin and we have found we do react to the same places or items and therefore have identified it through these ways.

"ghosting." by kathryn in stereo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Why do we not get it Tested?

Many discussions have taken place on how to get this toxin properly tested and identified, however a large amount of funding is needed to undertake this testing. Mold testing experts and industrial hygienists have given their thoughts on this and after taking in the information have agreed that the funding needed would be a very high amount and is not available at this time.

Keep in mind we do not know what this toxin is. Dr Daniel Cagua-Koo hypothesizes that it has a biological component to it as well as another non-biological component (a chemical or metal). Most people who react to it seem to agree with this assessment and theory. Where to send it for testing and how to collect it are other challenging areas. The substance acts in similar ways to candida auris but has not been identified as the same thing.

While prominent doctors have not spoken publicly about it, many doctors who treat mold illness, CIRS, and related illnesses do acknowledge this toxin. I do not want to mention their names here. Wilson practitioners also seem to be aware of this toxin/reaction.

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What informs our Hypotheses on what this Toxin is

While we can hypothesize based on our symptoms and how the toxin acts, we start to confirm a theory based on what kills or cleans it up, as well as places it is likely to be found.

What are the Main Cleaning Protocols

Kill methods (do not usually resolve the problem on their own, they are one step of the cleaning protocol). They include: Silver Hydrogen Peroxide, Ozone (though extreme caution here, I don't recommend ozone on or near HT, but some have used this), boiling, flamethrower torch, antimicrobial essential oils, tinctures or teas: black pepper, tea tree oil, cedarwood oil (those are Canada and here is the US: pepper, tea tree, cedar). Sage, juniper (wood), turpentine, and citronella can also be used. Other methods that may work in this stage are high temps over 40C for prolonged periods and enzyme cleaners.

Break down or compete with the toxin - enzyme cleaners break down a number of toxins from biological to chemical. Enzymes used on HT include MoldToxin Klear (US), Enzyme Komplete (Canada) and Liquid Ate (Canada and US). Probiotics help to compete with the toxin, the main one used in EM1. Teraganix is the brand used throughout the US and Europe. I have also used probiotics soaps (I really like the soapnut probiotic soap, although it's not essential), and made a lotion using oral probiotics mixed with body lotion, any oral probiotic will do - this part is essential for me.

"Cedar Tree" by veggiefrog is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Binders. Binders that work to help clean up the toxin include, Bar Keepers Friend, Zeolite (odourout), Pectin, quaternary ammonia (Steramine, Shockwave, Unscented Downy).

Repopulate the biome with EM1 after killing and binding.

I have found enzymes and cedar tea (soak cedar branches, the green part, in water, boil it at least twice and then soak overnight) to both be good cleaning products that work for kill and clean up.

Cleaning Protocols

Silver Peroxide protocol

Dr Dan's Protocols

Sara Tamames Protocol with boiling and EM1 (also soap nuts and swiffer)

Vulpex protocol

Plants, teas, extracts and essential oils

Protocols for Personal Care of the Body

I have found probiotics mixed into unscented body lotion to be a big help. I also find that spraying Liquid-Ate (very light citrus scent may not be noticeable to those with a normal sense of smell) on my skin helps to nuetralise small amounts on my skin. Another tool I use is the Yes to Tomatoes Charcoal Wipes (warning they are scented), these can be used to wipe small amount off of the skin (I have also used to them to protect items like cards). I have also used EM1 to wipe down the skin.

Swimming in a chlorine pool has been a good way to decon, I have found, and many others have too.

Since many people find Amazon .com to be challenging, I use Amazon .ca and find this to be good 80%-90% of the time. Here are items I recently purchased which are free of HT and also help me with cleaning and preventing the spread. I don't think you should avoid the .com if you are not sensitive to HT.

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Hair Washing

I haven't had my hair be prone to contamination but others have. They have used baking soda, essential oil shampoo, anti-dandruff shampoo and other strategies.

The consensus on ordering supplements and personal care products is that Vitacost is usually good.

Helping prevent the spread in the environment

I use 6 mil poly on beds and change it out when necessary. It's a better idea to use sleeping mats and discard them when necessary unless you have this more under control, since it's not possible to remediate a bed. It is better to be off the ground though, a camping cot can help.

At times I have put foil over floors and sometimes on the face of cabinets to help prevent the spread. Just regular heavy duty foil. It's by no means a perfect block, but it has helped me.

The main prevention is to prevent contaminated objects and people from coming into the environment.

Airtight metal and glass containers can be of some help, but it's not the same strategy as sequestering other toxins like mold.

Breaking from HT

If you have a certain case of HT that you need to "break" from it I recommend joining the Facebook group and reading through other folks' accounts of breaking from HT. There are various experiences breaking from HT - 1) those who did a successful clean break - some people had to do it many times to get clear, 2) those who broke but it didn't work they ran into it again or found that maybe the source was colonisation and very quickly were back in the same situation, 3) those who are fine with living with some of it around so are not trying to break from it 100%. They might just break from stronger strains/the worst item or end up bringing down their internal reactivity.

Breaking 100% is a difficult task and takes a lot of planning.

Healing