He Used to Dread the Rain. Then Something Changed.
Dr. John Erickson, DC | Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies | Loveland, CO
Case 004 | Series Post #4
He Was Glad He Lived in Arizona
Most people appreciate sunshine. He had a more specific reason to be grateful for it.
Rain made him sick. Not the damp chill — the day after. Every single time it rained, he felt miserable. It happened so reliably he had started thinking of it as a law of nature.
He was glad he lived in Arizona. It didn’t rain much there.
A Man Who Had Mapped His Triggers
He was 44. Sinusitis, itching eyes, lung congestion, nausea — a familiar cluster of misery that flared on a predictable schedule.
He lived on the outskirts of town. Every time the neighboring cotton fields were sprayed with pesticide, his discomfort intensified. He had figured that out through years of observation. Field gets sprayed, he suffers. No spray, better day.
The rain pattern was similar. Not during the rain — after it. The next morning. Like clockwork. He had adapted his expectations around it.
He came in for evaluation. Testing identified sensitivities to multiple environmental factors. Dust, weeds, and pollen were present. The most significant findings were mold — consistent with his post-rain reactivity — and later, pesticides and cotton.
We began with the foundational NAET protocol, then addressed mold specifically. The cotton field and pesticide sensitivities came next.
It Rained. He Went Outside.
Shortly after his mold treatment, the area had a brief rainstorm.
He came back and told me what happened. He had played in the rain.
No reaction during. No misery the next day. The pattern he had lived with for years simply didn’t happen.
After we addressed the pesticide and cotton sensitivities, the story continued. The itching eyes settled. The lung congestion eased. The nausea became unremarkable. When the fields were sprayed, he no longer paid for it.
Multiple Systems, One Overloaded Response
Assessment revealed a body carrying a significant environmental sensitivity load — mold, pesticides, cotton, and additional environmental allergens all contributing to his overall reactivity pattern.
In NAET, we work through substances systematically, identifying what the body appears to be treating as a threat and addressing the neurological signal associated with that response. For this patient, mold — particularly the kind that proliferates in soil after rain — appeared to be a primary driver of his post-rain pattern.
The cotton and pesticide sensitivities were separate findings that contributed to a different but related reactivity window — specifically tied to field spraying events near his home.
Patient-Reported: The Calendar No Longer Controlled Him
He reported no adverse reaction during or after the rainstorm that followed his mold treatment. The post-rain misery pattern that had been a reliable feature of his life did not occur.
Following treatment for pesticides and cotton, he reported a dramatic change in his response to field spraying events. Itching eyes, lung congestion, and nausea — all previously reliable after spraying — showed significant reported improvement.
He still lived in Arizona. He just stopped being grateful that it didn’t rain.
Fungal Sensitization Is More Complex Than Most People Know
Mold is among the oldest documented human allergens — fungal spores were among the first substances to which humans were noted to be sensitized. Research published in Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology has documented that sensitization rates to fungi typically exceed five percent of the general public, with higher rates among the atopic population, and that germinating spores after rainfall produce a different and often increased allergen picture.[1] The rain wasn’t making him sick. The mold it activated was — and his body had learned to associate the entire sequence.
This is where the nervous system connection matters. Research in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has confirmed that neurons and immune cells are physically colocalized in tissues — the nervous system doesn’t just observe the immune response, it actively regulates it at a cellular level.[2] When the body has encoded a reactive pattern around a complex of triggers, addressing that pattern requires working at the neurological level, not just the chemical one.
How many people are managing post-rain misery with antihistamines, never knowing that mold sensitization is driving the entire sequence — and that the sequence itself might be addressable?
Some Patterns Feel Like Facts. They’re Not Always.
He had lived with a weather-dependent health pattern for so long it had become part of his identity. Rain came, he suffered. That was just how it worked.
It turned out it wasn’t a fact. It was a learned response. And learned responses can sometimes be unlearned.
If you’ve been managing environmental triggers for years — mold, pesticides, seasonal factors — and the management has a ceiling that never moves, that’s worth a conversation.
— Dr. John Erickson, DC | Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies | Loveland, Colorado
To learn more about NAET at Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies, visit laserchirorockies.com or call 970-412-3212.
Individual results vary. This story is de-identified and shared with permission. It represents a reported patient experience and is not a guarantee of outcome. NAET is a complementary wellness approach and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.
[1] Barnes, C. “Fungi and Atopy.” Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2019;57(3):439-448. PMID: 31321665. DOI: 10.1007/s12016-019-08750-z
[2] Veiga-Fernandes, H. & Artis, D. “Neuro-Immune Crosstalk and Allergic Inflammation.” J Clin Invest. 2019;129(4):1475-1482. PMC: PMC6436850. DOI: 10.1172/JCI124609