Woman diagnosed with dementia at age 37 after unknowingly living in a house infested with black mould

A woman has claimed she was diagnosed with dementia age just 37, after a water leak caused a secret mould infestation in her house.

Amie Skilton moved into a home in Manly, New South Wales, Australia in 2016.

The home suffered a water leak which led to an unknown mould infestation under the carpet in her bedroom. This is not usually a life threatening issue, but Amie had a pre-existing genetic vulnerability to mould that left her devastated.

It only took two months for the effect of the mould to start to ruin her life, gaining 10kg of weight without explanation and suffering from severe fatigue.

Amie noticed that her brain function began to fail and she was losing chunks of time.

She spoke to The New York Post, saying: “Some days I couldn’t figure out how to get dressed.

“I would look at clothes and just be really confused as to how to put them on.

“I went to fill out a form one day and I was staring at the box that said my name and I was like, what is it again?”

The 42-year-old was eventually diagnosed with Type Three Dementia, but she did not know that it was due to the mould in her apartment that her health was deteriorating.

It was only thanks to a friend who had gone through a similar illness in his own home that Amie started to think about mould as a possible root cause.

Her friend took a turn for the worse when a leak in his flat occurred, which got Amie thinking about the state of her garage.

She hired a building biologist who found black mould under the carpet in her bedroom and home office.

Once Amie knew what to look for she searched her apartment and found it in her mattress.

Shockingly the letting agent on the property told Amie they were aware of a mould problem in the apartment and were in discussions with the apartments owner to fix it.

“They left us there knowingly, which is probably the thing that enrages me the most,” she said.

“They knew and it was poisoning us.”

Amie has since recovered from dementia.

Her experience has inspired her to help others and she has trained to become a mould testing technician.