Mold Health Issues

Does your nose suddenly get congested when you walk into certain rooms in your house? This could be a sign that you might have mold lurking somewhere and it’s getting into your respiratory system.

Mold grows best where it is wet or damp. Mold produces spores that can get into the air. Most health problems caused by mold involve these spores getting into your lungs.

If you have a stuffy or a runny nose it may be the sign of mold allergy. Another health problem caused by mold is shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing. You may experience asthma-like symptoms even though you do not suffer from asthma.

In some cases, exposure to mold can also give people headaches, fevers or skin rash.

Mold also grows on rotten food: on vegetables, cheese and bread.

If you find that you have moldy food, throw it out and do not risk eating it.

Mold is normally non-toxic. Currently there are no major long-term health problems associated with mold. If you suffer from asthma or chronic sinus problems, mold could be a particular problem for you.

If you have asthma, avoid mold as much as possible. Mold will aggravate your asthma and bring on attacks. The constant exposure of children with asthma to mold has been shown to have long-term consequences, leading to trouble breathing when they are adults.

Mold will aggravate your sinuses, if you suffer from sinus trouble. The symptoms of mold allergy are similar to sinus infections, so it is difficult to determine the exact cause of your symptoms.

Although mold is not terribly dangerous, some health problems caused by mold can be inconvenient and painful. Try to keep your home as mold-free as possible.

The most common household mold is black. It grows around your shower or in your kitchen. If you see this kind of mold, you should clean it immediately. Simple soap and water will usually do the trick, but detergent helps as well.

If you suffer from health problems caused by mold, but you do not see the mold, it may be wise to get professional help. You might have a build-up of mold under carpets, inside walls, in crawlspaces, and other hard-to-reach places that might be better handled by an expert.

Health problems caused by mold are very common, but by reducing the amount of mold in your home, you can help alleviate the symptoms.

The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your Health
by: Jeffrey C. May
publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, published: 2004-04-07
ASIN: 0801879388
EAN: 9780801879388
sales rank: 469045
price: $8.47 (new), $2.98 (used)

The image was shocking: a couple wearing protective suits and masks in their own home! The accompanying USA Weekend story documented the mold-related headaches, fatigue, and respiratory problems that forced Melinda Ballard and Ron Allison to abandon their dream house, leaving all their possessions behind. Another family was so terrified that they had their mold-filled house torn down.

Mold growth threatens property managers and builders, as well as home owners and renters. Legal settlements in some mold cases have reached the millions, and home insurance rates are skyrocketing. Some people argue that mold concerns are exaggerated; others are convinced that mold growth is destroying their health.

In The Mold Survival Guide, a prominent indoor air quality professional teams up with a writing specialist to describe mold, to explain where and why it flourishes in homes, and to offer advice on how to eradicate mold while minimizing health risks. The book includes a chapter by two physicians who explain how exposure to mold can affect health.

With clear scientific explanations and expert advice, The Mold Survival Guide is a valuable resource for anyone worried about a common household problem that can have serious consequences.

Advances in Environmental Health Effects of Toxigenic Mold and Mycotoxins (Health and Human Development)
by: Ebere Cyril Anyanwu
publisher: Nova Science Publishers, published: 2011-03-30
ASIN: 160741953X
EAN: 9781607419532
sales rank: 982293
price: $88.00 (new), $101.96 (used)

Chronic exposure to environmental toxigenic molds mycotoxins, especially in water-damaged buildings is an indoor environmental health problem to which escalating health and property insurance costs are raising concerns in recent times. Hence, controversies exist, some of which are based on misunderstanding and economic motives. Nevertheless, it must be stated that moulds and fungi in general have both pharmaceutical desired and toxicological undesired effects on human and animal environmental health. However, a lack of sufficient scientific interest and recognition shroud the status of moulds and fungi as the most important and oldest known component of human adaptive flora to which nature provides human survival with all the basic ingredients to defend them against undesired microbial pathogenic attacks. However, because these adaptive provisions are common, they are casually neglected from serious interests in terms of vigorous research values and exploitation for human benefits. Consequently, the unraveling of the myth surrounding the complex functional ambivalence of toxigenic moulds and mycotoxins may after all hold the key to human infectious disease control. This book is unique in the sense that it assumes a pioneering position based mainly on published work in peer-reviewed literature and it integrates all the facets of evidence based clinical environmental mycopathology with basic analytic laboratory scientific findings. It highlights the importance of the environmental health effects of toxigenic molds and mycotoxins and the need for further development of knowledge in this area through transnational clinical and basic science research. The overall organisation of this book reflects the author’s many years of research, teaching and published work in clinical neurophysiology and environmental mycotoxicology.

Mold Warriors :Fighting America’s hidden health threat.
by: Patti Schmidt
publisher: Otter Bay Books, published: 2010-12-29
ASIN: B004PLMBYS
sales rank: 115937

Fighting America’s hidden health threat.

Health Effects of Mold Exposure
Inhalation exposure to fungi in indoor environments can cause health effects in some people. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and, in some cases, potentially toxic substances known as mycotoxins. Mold is also a known asthma trigger.

Mold Health Issues

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 at 8:36 AM and is filed under Health issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.