How Can You Tell If Theres Mold In Your Lungs
If your exposure to mold is fairly minimal, chances are you may not even experience any symptoms. For more prolonged cases of exposure, the symptoms are generally recognizable across the board: sneezing, coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or discomfort, and shortness of breath are all strong indicators that there are mold spores in your lungs.
The issue here is that all of these symptoms can be found in a variety of illnesses or allergic reactions, so it can be difficult to directly pin down mold exposure as the cause. Pay close attention to your symptoms, as well as when they started and how they change. Make a mental note of when you discovered mold growing around you, how long you were around it and whether or not you had any protection . If you fear at all that there may be mold in your lungs, dont hesitate contact medical professionals and let them know whats going on. Its always better to be safe than sorry.
Mold exposure can potentially cause serious problems, but most healthy people have nothing to worry about aside from some uncomfortable, temporary symptoms. If youre worried about mold in your home, contact your local professional to learn what you can do about it.
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What Are The Effects Of Breathing In Mold Or Mildew
Mold and mildew, found everywhere in the environment, are both fungi that need to be in moist areas to grow. Areas that are dark and have poor air quality can also contain mold and mildew. These fungi will eventually damage the surfaces they grow on by spreading seeds or spores. These spores can enter the air and be inhaled, or come into contact with your skin. While not always harmful, inhaling or touching mold or mildew can cause both minor and serious symptoms in some people.
If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.
Can Mold Cause Breathing Problem
If you have asthma and mold allergy, mold exposure can trigger severe breathing problems. The other problematic symptoms are:
- Fever, cough, and chills
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Rapid heartbeat
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Why Mold Causes Problems
Molds alone dont usually cause many health problems. Its when they land on damp surfaces and reproduce that you feel their nasty health effects.
Mold spores produce allergens substances that can cause you to have allergic reactions resulting in hay-fever-like symptoms: itchy, red eyes, runny nose and asthma. If these persist, you can develop respiratory infections. Its rare, but exposure to mold spores can eventually cause organ damage, cognitive difficulties and even death.
Whats more, mold spores can irritate your lungs even if youre not allergic to mold. When introduced to your body, spores irritate your airways in your nose, mouth and throat, Dr. Ibrahim says. They can also cause burning and bleeding if they become lodged in your mucus membranes, such as in your sinuses and lungs.
What Do Mycotoxins Do
These chemical substances can cause many health problems ranging from mild to severe. Even if you are not allergic to mold, you can be affected by mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins can be absorbed by the body in a number of ways including: through the skin, the airways , and through the intestinal lining . Detrimental health effects caused by mycotoxins can range from acute poisoning to long-term effects such as immune deficiency and cancer.2 Chronic disease sufferers, such as people with immunosuppressive disorders or underlying lung disease may be more sensitive to molds and mycotoxins in their environment.4
One of the main ways people and pets become poisoned by mycotoxins is through eating contaminated foods. Foods such as apples, cereal grains, coffee beans, nuts, spices, dog and cat food, and more can become contaminated with fungi that produce mycotoxins.
To learn more about mycotoxins in foods check out the World Health Organizations article: Mycotoxins.
Did you know that toxic mold can affect your pets as well? To learn more about how mold affects your pets check out our article: Mold and Pets 10 Things You Most Likely Didnt Know.
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Some Of The Symptoms Associated With Mold And Mycotoxins Can Include:
- Chronic burning in the throat and nasal passages
- Coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath
- Eye irritation red eyes, blurred vision
- Increased urinary frequency, increased sweating , or increased thirst
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating
- Metallic taste in mouth
As you can see, the list is quite long! It is also not a list of symptoms that would immediately point a doctor to a specific illness. Some symptoms manifest immediately, but others such as poor color distinction, dizziness, fatigue, poor memory, and difficulty word finding may take months or years to develop.
How Mold Affects Your Health
How Mold Affects Your Health
How Much Does Mold Affect Your Health?
Mold is a type of fungus that grows on organic matter in moist environments. Certain kinds of molds are toxic to humans and produce allergens that cause allergic reactions in most people.
Black mold is what you have to watch out for the most. It causes allergic reactions that can severely affect your breathing, skin, energy, immune system, and blood circulation. As a result, the affected person could become significantly ill. It all depends on how many mold spores were inhaled into the lungs. If you have mold in your home or business in San Diego, call Orange Restoration today!
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Does Mold Cause Health Problems
In one word Yes.
Mold is an insidious, invisible predator in your home. It hides in places no one ever thinks to look like under cabinets, in crawl spaces, attics, and behind furniture. People may spend weeks, months, and even years fighting illness, and never know what they are really fightingmold. Many of our customers find us after a recommendation from their doctor, that they may in fact have a mold problem, and not just an illness.
Mold is most often associated with allergies and asthma, but mold is much more menacing than people know. While all molds have the potential to cause irritation and allergy symptoms, molds can also cause much more dangerous health problems including: fungal poisoning from mycotoxins to mental health issues.
How Can I Be Exposed To Mold
People are exposed to molds every day, usually by touching or breathingthem. Because molds naturally exist outdoors and indoors, living in a totallymold-free environment is practically impossible. As molds grow, spores can bereleased into the air where they can be easily inhaled. People who inhale largenumbers of spores may get sick. Possible health concerns are an importantreason to prevent mold growth and to clean up molds in indoor environments.
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Is Spending Lots Of Time In Damp Indoor Environments Bad For Lung Health
Research has shown that living, working or going to school in a damp indoor environment can cause a number of problems.
These could include:
- Asthma – flare-ups for people that already have the condition and possibly the onset of asthma
- Catching colds or the flu
- Catching chest infections that are caused by breathing in tiny pieces of moulds
- Being short of breath or finding it hard to breathe
- Rhinitis – swelling of the lining of the nose, causing sneezing and a runny or blocked nose
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis – when the tissue in your lungs has an allergic reaction to a substance you breathe in and becomes inflamed . It is, however, quite rare to get this condition because of a damp indoor environment.
- House dust mites also thrive in warm, damp environments, and can cause allergic reactions
People with lung conditions, babies and children, older people and those with weaker immune systems are more at risk.
It is not clear what it is exactly in the damp and mould that causes lung health problems – but there are steps you can take that have been proven to reduce symptoms and protect lung health.
When I react to mould, I firstly move away from the source. Then I take a significant dose of a steroid and my inhaler to help with my breathlessness.
Nona, Italy
Rental Properties With Mould Issues
When a rental property has mould, the owner should fix any mould caused by faults in gutters or other fixtures, but the tenant should ensure that extractor fans are used when available and the home is aired regularly where possible.
Sometimes, the cause of the mould growth may be due to a building fault that may not be easily rectified.
If as a tenant, you have taken measures to make sure the building is properly ventilated and mould is still growing, you should raise the issue with the owner.
Information on mould in rental properties is available on Consumer Affairs Victorias website.
on Tel. .
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Does Mold Cause Tuberculosis
Despite recent progress and advances in medicine, tuberculosis is still not a disease of the past. In Canada alone around 1 600 new cases of tuberculosis are reported each year.
On March 24 this year, the Ontario Lung Association stated that tuberculosis remains a serious public health concern in Ontario, with one-third of all cases in 2009 occurring primarily in the Greater Toronto Area.
With that in mind, learning more about tuberculosis causes and what you can do to prevent it is the key to keep you and your loved ones safe from this disease. In fact many things we do in our daily routine can be the cause behind the weak immune system and increase risk of tuberculosis. Living with mold is definitely one of those things
Mold Toxicity: How Mold Can Affect Your Mental Health
Educator & Author: Helping families create a happy and calm home.
Did you know that mold toxicity can affect mental health – even in young children?
In my teen years, I had severe health issues and anxiety because I was unknowingly affected by toxic mold in my home.
Later on in my life, my family home was infested with mold behind the walls, and my young daughter was the most affected by the mold.
This all happened during the 2020 pandemic, so the stress and changes that my family and I had to endure were doubled.
Once we figured out that my daughter had mold toxicity, which was causing her severe anxiety and affecting her mental health greatly, we moved out of our home immediately and started the healing process.
When my daughter’s mold levels were reduced significantly, her anxiety went from 10 to 0.
Mental health concerns and conditions CAN stem from physical health problems, too.
That’s why I wanted to create this post about the harmful physical and psychological effects that toxic mold can have on us.
Unfortunately, this often overlooked and silent health condition doesn’t get talked about enough in the medical world, in my opinion.
I’ve been through many doctors and health specialists for myself and my daughter, and we were both misdiagnosed or given treatments/protocols to follow to help our ease our symptoms.
I hope this post helped you!
Thank you for reading!
Hope From Mold & Free Ebook: https://www.hopefrommold.com/
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Summary Of Health Problems
Many types of indoor mold, not just black mold, may cause health problems in some individuals.
Long-term exposure to high levels of mold in the home, however,
People who are most at risk of the symptoms of mold exposure are:
- infants and children
- people with allergies or asthma
- people with weakened immune systems
The main health risks related to mold exposure are allergies and irritation, which typically cause respiratory symptoms.
People with weakened immune systems may also have a risk of fungal infection.
Does Mold Cause Nasal Congestion
Nasal congestion, otherwise known as a stuffy nose, can happen to you regardless of whether or not you have allergies. Often, a stuffed up nose can be the result of a cold, the flu or dry air and shouldnt be a cause for concern. However, if you notice recurring and persistent nasal congestion, particularly at night, then there may be something in your environment thats causing your body to react this way. One of the most common reasons for a stuffy nose is mold, and if you experience this repeatedly over a long period of time, you likely have a mold problem somewhere in your house one that should be remediated as soon as possible.
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Getting Rid Of The Damp And Mould
Get rid of the mould and damp. You may be able to do this yourself, or you may need help from a professional.
1. Damp
The building may need repair work to make sure there are no water leaks causing problems with dampness.
Heating and ventilation are both very important.
Make sure that the building is well-ventilated – either by regularly opening windows, or by using a fan ventilation system. When showering, bathing or cooking, open a window, use an extractor fan and close the bathroom or kitchen door.
A dehumidifier may also help to reduce the amount of water vapour in the air.
You should also avoid drying clothes by hanging them up indoors, as this adds moisture to the air. Use a tumble dryer or hang up laundry to dry outdoors instead. If drying your clothes indoors is your only option, use a dehumidifier in the room.
Keep the building at a suitable temperature. The World Health Organization recommends between 16-20°C in bedrooms, and between 19-22°C in the rest of the house. When away from the building, keep the temperature above 15°C.
2. Mould
Once damp has been dealt with, it is time to remove mould.
Fabrics close to the source of mould could be contaminated. All affected items will need to be disinfected or, preferably, replaced.
Ralf, Germany
How To Know If You Have Black Mold In Your House
Mold isnt always visible. If you can see mold, its only a sign of the real potential health risk the unhealthy levels of harmful types mold in the air of your home or workplace.
Airborne mold is all around us in both the outdoors and indoors. The types and amount of mold determines the potential health risk. Most of us are accustomed to the varieties and amounts of mold present in our outdoor environments.
Healthy indoor environments will have mold conditions similar to or better than those in the surrounding outdoors. Over time, because of moisture , many indoor spaces develop unhealthy types and/or unhealthy levels of airborne mold that can be harmful to you or your pets.
These signs could mean you have unhealthy mold conditions in your house:
- Allergic symptoms
- A damp or musty odor in one or more places
- Frequent headaches
- The air in the home feels different
- Your house has been flooded or currently has leaks
- You previously tried removing mold yourself
Take note of how you feel in and out of the house. If the symptoms disappear or decrease when youre out and about, then you might have a mold problem, yes, even if you cant see mold.
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Signs Of A Mold Illness
How To Minimize Your Risk
To know how to protect yourself, start by knowing where mold spores thrive. Besides growing best in warm, damp, humid spots. Outside, youll find mold in shady, damp areas or where leaves or other vegetation break down. Inside, mold grows in high-humidity locations, such as basements and showers, she says.
If you are prone to breathing problems, such as asthma, you should consider limiting exposure to damp, humid areas such as basements and saunas, she says.
Here are other things you can do to minimize your mold exposure risk:
- Use an air conditioner or dehumidifier to keep humidity levels below 50% at all times.
- Check the humidity level in your home at least once a day because humidity changes with temperature shifts.
- Be sure your home is adequately ventilated. If you have exhaust fans, use them especially when you shower.
- Use paints fortified with mold inhibitors.
- Use mold-killing bathroom cleaning products, such as bleach.
- Dont carpet bedrooms or bathrooms. If you own your home and can afford to, remove carpeting from your home and replace with another surface, such as laminate tile, thats easy to clean.
- Remove or replace carpets and upholstery that have gotten wet or soaked through in the past as these are breeding grounds for mold spores.
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Symptoms Of Mold Exposure
Home > Blog > Biotoxin Illness | October 28, 2020
Mold spores can easily be brought into your home on your shoes or clothing or through open windows or doors. If these spores can find a warm, damp, humid environment, they can begin to multiply. Soon, your home can be filled with toxic mold. If you think mold has invaded your home, look for various symptoms of mold exposure.
How Do Doctors Test For Mold Exposure
If you are aware of mold growth in your home and you feel sick, inform your doctor about the mold and your symptoms right away. But sometimes you cant see mold, and it is not clear whether its mold exposure thats made you sick or not.
Because mold allergy or mold exposure symptoms can resemble that of other allergies, the doctor will typically start by asking about your medical and family medical history. Additionally, doctors usually run tests for mold exposure which may include one or more of the following:
- Skin test for reactions to allergens, including mold
- IgG mold antibodies test to see the immune systems reaction to molds. A positive test means that an individual was or is currently exposed to mold
- Urine mycotoxins test
- A fungal culture of the nasal sinuses
The type of testing youll receive depends on the doctor you visit, so be sure to ask questions ahead of time so you can feel confident in your diagnosis.
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