Mold in Home
Dangers of Toxic Mold Spores on your Health
If you have an allergy to mold, its presence in your home can make you feel sick. More importantly, it is mold spores that can have a negative impact on your health. The symptoms triggered by mold exposure can vary from person to person.
Mold Spores
Mold releases spores, which can become airborne and inhaled into the lungs of person(s) living in the home. Some spores produce mycotoxins, or toxic compounds. Mycotoxins on mold spores have been linked to serious health problems and disease. (1)
Mold Exposure Symptoms
For each person, the immune system identifies the spores as foreign particulates. The body's response varies, depending on the individual's level of sensitivity to the mold spores as well as to existing health factors.
The list of common symptoms you may experience due to a mold allergy is long. The symptoms resemble what you may expect from a cold or hay fever. In addition to sneezing, you may have a runny nose that keeps you reaching for a tissue.
Here is a larger list below:
- Eye Irritation - causing them to feel itchy or water for no reason.
- Other - headaches, dizziness and fatigue. (2)
- Postnasal Drip - that leads to coughing.
- Respiratory Illness - see serious illness below.
- Skin Irritation - dry skin that eventually develops scales or rash.
- Stuffy Nose - the need to clear your sinuses.
- Throat Irritation - itchy or scratchy, requiring the use of cough drops.
For people who live in older homes with damp basements, the symptoms may occur all year. For other individuals, their symptoms may occur only during the winter or rainy seasons.
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Serious Mold Illness
While mold spores in the home is dangerous for anyone, they are even more harmful for people with compromised immune systems. In addition to cold-like symptoms, the body may experience more severe reactions to mold, including chronic conditions.
Exposure to mold can lead to mucous-membrane and/or skin infections in people with poor immunity.
Other serious problems are:
- Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis - a condition affecting the lungs of individuals with cystic fibrosis or asthma.
- Allergic Fungal Sinusitis - an inflammation of the sinus passages.
- Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis - a serious condition leading to inflammation of the lungs due to exposure to mold spores.
Perhaps the most commonly experienced severe reaction to mold spores occurs in people with asthma, a respiratory disease in which breathing becomes restricted as the individual's airway becomes inflamed.
Wheezing, Shortness of breath, Tightness in the chest and coughing are symptoms of asthma. When asthma and a mold allergy are both involved, the individual is likely to experience a severe asthma attack when exposed to the mold.
Long Term Exposure
If you have been exposed to toxic mold spores for an extended period or want to know if you could be highly allergic to mold spores than get a Mold Blood Test or Swab.
Black Mold
There are more than 100 kinds of mold, only some of them are known to cause allergic reactions or sickness. Black Mold like Stachybotrys Chartarum and Aspergillus are examples of Toxic Mold.
Black mold can cause a vast array of physical ailments including breathing difficulties, coughing, disorientation, eye damage and brain fog. (3)
Stachybotrys Chartarum is a greenish-black mold that can grow on material with a high cellulose content, such as fiberboard, gypsum board and paper. (4)
Eliminate Mold & Mold Spores
- Use a Mold Air Test Kit to detect if toxic mold spores are in the air.
- Use a Hepa Air Purifier to filter out those toxic mold spores which have become airborne in your home.
- Use a Steam Cleaner to kill mold at its source with vapor hot steam. These machines use no chemicals and can heat tap water to 240° F - 260°F.
- Use a Dehumidifier to lower your humidity to normal levels (30% to 50%). Mold needs relative humidity over 50% to grow & release spores.
Mold Removal
If the mold in your home has not spread, you can try to remove the mold yourself. Here are some Easy Mold Removal methods to use.
Mold Remediation
If you see mold is widespread in your home and can't be removed by yourself here are some tips to find a quality Mold Removal Company.
Conclusion
When a person breathes in mold spores, the immune system responds in ways that are unpleasant. While prescriptions and over-the-counter medications can help to manage your symptoms, reducing your exposure to it produces better results.
References
1. How to get rid of Mold in the House - https://theairpurifier.org/mold/black-mold-removal-guide - retrieved Nov 12, 2020.
2. Mold and Your Health - Illinois Department of Public Health - Environmental Health Fact Sheet - retrieved Nov 23, 2020.
3. How to prevent Black Mold Growth - https://theairpurifier.org/mold/black-mold - retrieved July 16, 2021.
4. Facts about Stachybotrys Chartarum - CDC (Centers for Disease Control) - https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm - retrieved Dec 15, 2020.
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