Aussie Woman Raises Alarm on Mould Health Crisis in Homes

A young Aussie woman has highlighted what she believes is a "big problem" affecting countless Australian homes after spending years battling debilitating health problems, which she described as feeling like her body was "burning inside and out".

Ellie Randazzo, 25, has spent the best part of 20 years battling debilitating allergic reactions that started as sinus and ear infections and escalated to crippling nerve pain, with doctors even suggesting she undergo a hysterectomy at just 18 to solve her mystery illness.

Despite healthcare professionals' best efforts to pinpoint the cause of Ellie's excruciating pain, a simple threat lurking inside her house – and prevalent in thousands of homes nationwide – was eventually identified as the root cause: mould.

Now, Ellie is warning others that mould exposure is far more common than many Aussies are aware of, with the health consequences potentially reaching the extreme.

"It's such a monumental issue," she told Yahoo News Australia. "Now that I am aware of mould, I see it everywhere."

Over the years, Ellie has been given multiple diagnoses, including endometriosis and fibromyalgia, and has undergone multiple invasive procedures and surgeries – none of which worked. It wasn't until a doctor found mould inside her ear that the extent of her exposure to the toxin was realised.

Ellie was later diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) in December 2024, which was brought on by her exposure to mould.

MCAS causes the body to experience a host of anaphylaxis symptoms such as hives, swelling, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, and severe diarrhea, whereas CIRS is a multi-symptom illness caused by exposure to biotoxins such as mould.

Living in the northern rivers region of New South Wales, which has been severely impacted by flooding in recent years, Ellie theorises that many of her neighbours are living in similarly "shocking" conditions.

"People are forced to live in mould because there isn't anything you can really do about it," she said.

But it's not just in northern NSW where she's been impacted by mould. Ellie mentioned, "I started experiencing health issues from very early on," having lived in the Northern Territory as a child, where high humidity and flooding are common during the wet season.

"From the time I was five, I started getting reoccurring ear and sinus infections, and it progressed from there. No one was aware these things were connected," she recalled.

"Upon reflection, I realised why I would get sicker in these areas and it was due to mould," she said of living in high-humidity regions.

Ellie's life was full of promise, but her condition forced her to give up a lucrative job in mining because of her mysterious ailments, which culminated in her living in a mouldy home in Perth.

After several serious procedures, including four laparoscopic surgeries, she was left with nerve damage that means she can never return to a job operating heavy machinery.

Ellie believes the problem is so extensive that if authorities recognise it, "we'll have big problems".

"It is not ok to be living in these homes," she stated, adding: "But we'll have a bigger problem if people are displaced or aware and have nowhere to go because of it. With the housing crisis, it's something not worth bringing to light at the moment for governments because they can't fix the problem," she argued.

She isn't the first person to highlight their experiences living with mould. For 18 months, Katie Williams, an ex-beach sprinter and contestant on Big Brother Australia, suffered from physical symptoms including rashes on her eyelids and bad asthma.

An expat living in Australia also detailed her "concerning" health battle after moving Down Under, suffering from severe hives and skin reactions after moving into her then property.

Dr Nicola Willand, from the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT, remarked that it's "difficult to say" how prevalent the issue of mould has become as there are no accurate statistics categorising the problem. However, a study from a few years ago suggested over 20 per cent of homes selected at random across Victoria were found to be contaminated, she told Yahoo News Australia.

"In this housing crisis, a rental crisis, renters are not able to choose a home that is mould-free. From a rental rights perspective, the home should be mould-free," she noted.

Ellie has no choice but to continue living in a mould-infested property, having exhausted her dwindling savings. "I have nowhere else to go; I can't afford a new lease or a bond because I've lost everything," she shared.

Claiming a Disability Support Pension, Ellie has set up a GoFundMe to help her secure a mould-free home and increase her medication. "I am having to choose between medication and food or fuel," she said.

Through a combination of antihistamines, mast cell stabilising medication, enzymes to help her digest food, and anti-fungal treatments, she is starting to feel better.

"They've already benefited me significantly," she stated. She can now eat without becoming sick, sleep for longer, and even do small amounts of exercise, which previously caused her allergies to flare up.

"It's blown me away how quickly I've responded," she expressed.

Now, she hopes to eventually work and get her life back on track. "It's been bittersweet because I've had to lose everything to get here," she concluded. "I am excited for the future now, and I haven't been able to say that in a long time."