Ava Heartwell mold recovery and healing from toxic mold and mold exposure tips and lived experience

Why Mold Made My Body Forget How to Regulate Temperature

Why Mold Made My Body Forget How to Regulate Temperature

Feeling hot, cold, flushed, or feverish without a fever — and why my body couldn’t find neutral anymore.

At first, I thought I was coming down with something.

I felt feverish — heavy, flushed, almost sick — but every time I checked my temperature, it was normal.

Other times, I couldn’t get warm no matter how many layers I wore.

There was no consistency. No obvious explanation.

Just a body that couldn’t decide what temperature it wanted to be.

When your body can’t find neutral, it’s often because the system that regulates safety is no longer stable.

What Temperature Dysregulation Actually Felt Like

This wasn’t a simple case of running hot or cold.

It was unpredictable, uncomfortable, and deeply unsettling.

  • Feeling feverish without a measurable fever
  • Sudden flushing in my face, neck, or chest
  • Cold hands and feet even in warm rooms
  • Chills followed by overheating
  • Sweating during minimal activity — then freezing afterward

It made it hard to trust my body.

And harder still to explain to anyone else.

When temperature stops responding to logic, the issue is often regulatory — not infectious.

Why Mold Can Disrupt Temperature Control

Temperature regulation isn’t controlled by one organ.

It’s governed by the autonomic nervous system — the same system that controls heart rate, blood pressure, and stress response.

In my case, mold exposure kept that system stuck in a state of threat.

And when the nervous system is dysregulated:

  • Blood vessels constrict or dilate at the wrong times
  • Sweat signals misfire
  • Inflammatory responses mimic fever
  • The body burns energy inefficiently

This was happening alongside other symptoms — especially the racing heart and adrenaline surges I wrote about in
why mold made my heart race and why doctors missed it.

They weren’t separate issues.

They were different expressions of the same system under stress.

When multiple automatic systems start malfunctioning together, it’s rarely a coincidence.

Why This Symptom Is Almost Always Dismissed

If you tell a doctor you feel feverish, they check for infection.

If you tell them you’re cold, they check thyroid labs.

When those come back normal, the symptom often disappears from the conversation.

But what doesn’t get addressed is why the body is sending mixed temperature signals in the first place.

Environmental stressors — especially chronic ones — can quietly override the body’s regulatory systems.

And because there’s no single lab test for “my nervous system feels unsafe,” this symptom gets lost.

A normal test result doesn’t mean your body is regulating correctly — it just means it hasn’t failed catastrophically.

The Pattern I Didn’t See Until Later

Once I stepped back, the pattern became obvious:

  • Temperature swings were worse at home
  • They intensified during periods of exhaustion or poor sleep
  • They flared alongside palpitations and dizziness
  • They eased when I spent extended time away from the house

At the time, I blamed hormones, stress, or random illness.

But my body was responding consistently — just not in a way I understood yet.

Your body often makes sense long before you have the language for what’s happening.

What Helped Me Stabilize — And What Didn’t

What didn’t help:

  • Chasing infections that weren’t there
  • Ignoring the symptom because it seemed “minor”
  • Trying to force my body into comfort

What helped:

  • Reducing exposure to the environment triggering the response
  • Supporting hydration and mineral balance
  • Allowing my nervous system to downshift instead of pushing through
  • Recognizing this as a regulation issue, not a personal failure

Stability didn’t return when I tried harder — it returned when my body felt safer.

A Quiet Question to Consider

If your body feels feverish without illness…

If you’re constantly adjusting layers but never comfortable…

If temperature changes seem tied to where you are, not what you’re doing…

It may be worth considering whether your nervous system is responding to an environment it no longer tolerates.

That realization reframed everything for me.

FAQ

Can mold really affect body temperature?
Yes. Mold exposure can dysregulate the autonomic nervous system and inflammatory pathways, both of which play a role in temperature control.

Why do I feel feverish but never have a fever?
Inflammatory signaling and nervous system activation can mimic the sensation of fever without raising core temperature.

Does this go away after exposure ends?
For many people, temperature regulation improves gradually as the nervous system stabilizes and overall load is reduced.

If your body feels like it can’t settle into comfort anymore, I want you to know this:

You’re not broken. Your system may simply be overwhelmed.

Sometimes the most confusing symptoms are the ones telling the clearest story.

— Ava Hartwell
IndoorAirInsights.com

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