How To Know If You Have Mold Toxicity

How Is Mold Poisoning Treated

9 Signs You Have Toxic Mold In Your Home

Treatment for mold exposure and allergies may involve the use of nasal sprays or rinses, allergy shots, over the counter drugs, and oral medication. Nasal corticosteroids and over-the-counter medications help to reduce inflammation caused by mold allergies along the airways. You may also be given oral medications to reduce the amount of mucus in your airways. Your doctor may recommend getting frequent shots to boost your bodyâs immune system over time.

It is important to seek immediate medical attention once you notice any symptoms of mold poisoning since prolonged exposure to mold can cause severe health problems. The best treatment for mold is to avoid being exposed to mold spores as much as possible. It is also important to have professional mold remediation in your home as it ensures your home is safe and healthy for you and your family.

Getting Rid Of Black Mold In Any Room

Unless the mold is very extreme and prevalent, it should not be necessary to call in professionals.Affordable mold testing kits are available to test the home and urine sample tests can be done by laboratories if you are worried you may have been exposed to unhealthy amounts of mold spores.

Conventionally, mold in the home can be treated using a bleach solution. But why use harmful chemicals when there is a gentler, more natural way? like this DIY Tea Tree Mold Spray If items like carpets, clothing or shelving, that is porous, are infested, you may have to toss them out.

Via : helloglow.co

Your Baby Coughs At Night

According to a study published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, infants exposed to mold in their homes were three times more likely to develop asthma by age seven. Symptoms to watch for include coughing, especially at night difficulty breathing fast breathing frequent chest colds and wheezing or whistling sounds when exhaling. Heres how to remove mold from your babys toys.

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The Paint Is Bubbling On Your Walls

Have you noticed that the paint is bubbling on the walls of your bathroom or near a window? One of the most common reasons paint begins to bubble is moisture. And where theres moisture, theres probably mold. You wont be able to cover up the problem with a fresh coat of paint you have to find the source of the moisture. It could be a leaky windowsill, too much humidity, or leaky plumbing. Once you fix the moisture issue, then you can repaint. Just make sure to scrape, patch, clean, and thoroughly dry the walls before rolling on the first coat. Watch out for these sneaky everyday objects you touch every day that can be toxic.

Mold Cleaners: Do They Work

Mold Toxicity: Everything You Need To Know About It

Most mold cleaners sold in stores only bleach the mold so that its no longer visible. But the mold roots are still there and spreading underneath the surface. This is why its important to follow this advice when it comes to mold in your home:

Do NOT try to clean a mold infestation yourself! This will spread the spores and further contaminate the area. At best, messing with mold can give someone some sinus issues.
Do NOT use bleach to clean mold. Even though this advice is rampant on the internet, bleach wont kill mold, and the moisture can feed mold growth on porous surfaces. The Environmental Protection Agency does not recommend bleach for mold.

Sanitizing cleaners that will remediate mold from personal, non-porous items include Moldex and other EPA-approved products. For those sensitive to chemicals or strong fumes, tea tree oil also works.
Unfortunately, if youve had mold in your home, you may have to throw away certain porous items that have been contaminated. Paper, leather, and plastics cant be properly sanitized after mold exposure and could continue to spread it.

If non-porous items have been in contact with mold, be sure to use a cleaner that will destroy the mold and mycotoxins, under professional advice.

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Five Of The Most Common Indoor Molds

Alternaria: Commonly found in your nose, mouth, and upper respiratory tract can cause allergic responses.

Aspergillus: Usually found in warm, extremely damp climates, and a common occupant of house dust produces mycotoxins can cause lung infections.

Cladosporium: This very common outdoor fungus can find its way indoors to grow on textiles, wood, and other damp, porous materials triggers hay fever and asthma symptoms.

Penicillium: Very common species found on wallpaper, decaying fabrics, carpet, and fiberglass duct insulation known for causing allergies and asthma some species produce mycotoxins, one being the common antibiotic penicillin.

Stachybotrys: Extremely toxic black mold that produces mycotoxins that can cause serious breathing difficulties and bleeding of the lungs, among other health problems. Thankfully, less common in homes than the other four, but not rare found on wood or paper , but NOT on concrete, linoleum or tile.

Mold illness is the variety of health problems that can occur from any type of mold exposure. Although a mold allergy is the most common problem caused by exposure to mold, mold can cause illness without an allergic reaction. Mold can also cause infections or irritants and toxic reactions. Infections caused by mold can lead to a variety of problems from flu-like symptoms to skin infections and even pneumonia.

How Can I Treat My Mold

Dont worry if your test results show that you have mold toxicity. The professionals at The Metabolic Institute have extensive experience treating people who are dealing with the harmful consequences of mold exposure.

A Variety of Options

We will work with you to develop a custom treatment plan to address your mold-related health conditions. Although everyones treatment plan will be different, many people benefit from receiving binding agents and anti-fungal medications. We may also treat your conditions by asking you to take nutrients that will help you detoxify and heal.

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A Single Exposure To Mold Only Causes A Single Reaction

The reality isfor genetically-susceptible people, a single exposure can cause a life-long problem. If you have the wrong HLA gene type, your body simply cannot target and remove biotoxins. A single exposure could cause an indefinite recirculation of these toxins, provoking chronic inflammation from a continuously triggered immune system.

If this is you, even after avoiding exposure for days, weeks, months, years, or even decades, you could suffer from CIRS. Thankfully, recovery is not only possible, its probable. Dr. Shoemaker had developed and applied a systematic protocol, The Shoemaker Protocol, to remove biotoxins from the body and re-regulate the immune response to stop inflammation and reverse chronic symptoms.

It begins with removal from exposure. Exposure must be carefully monitored throughout the entire protocol. If there is a new biotoxin exposure from a water damaged building or other source, you must begin the entire protocol from the start. In many cases, re-exposure causes CIRS patients to get sick more quickly. The sicker quicker phenomenon is backed by evidence showing an increase in certain biomarkers in as little as four hours after re-exposure.

Many CIRS patients are highly sensitive to mold and other biotoxins. The smallest exposure can trigger inflammation and feelings of anxiety, agitation, and danger. Its best to trust your bodys reaction and leave a potentially contaminated building immediately.

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Getting A Mold Checkup

How do I know if I have mold toxicity?

Getting rid of the mold in your home is your first priority. Since CDC guidelines dont distinguish between different types of mold and recommend the prompt removal of all mold in your home, testing beforehand isnt a priority if youve already decided you have a problem. Testing can be useful when you want to make sure your property is free of mold after a cleanup, though.

There are a couple of ways you can arrange for a test. You can purchase an in-home test kit, follow the directions and submit the resulting sample to a lab. The costs for this can vary quite a bit, anywhere from $40 to more than $200, and the results might not be reliable. Consumer Reports conducted an evaluation of home mold testing kits in 2006, and none of the four kits they looked at received a recommendation. The problems ranged from the kits having no expiration dates, potentially compromising the results, to being difficult to use .

There is a third choice. After a cleanup, you can make periodic, careful evaluations of the infected area yourself and monitor your familys health to see if the problem recurs. The time and effort you take with the clean-up and the extent of the mold damage may have an impact on how comfortable you feel with this option. If a foul smell alerted you to a mold problem in the first place, using your nose to check the area periodically might be a good way to gauge the success of your cleanup efforts.

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How Do You Get The Molds Out Of Buildings Including Homes Schools And Places Of Employment

Mold growing in homes and buildings indicates that there is a problem with water or moisture. This is the first problem to address.

Remove moldy items from living areas. Once mold starts to grow in carpet, insulation, ceiling tiles, drywall, or wallboard, the only way to deal with the problem is by removal and replacement.

It is important to properly clean and dry the area as you can still have an allergic reaction to parts of the dead mold and mold contamination may recur if there is still a source of moisture.

Remove or replace carpets and upholstery that have been soaked and cannot be dried promptly.

Clean up and dry out your home thoroughly and quickly after any flooding. Dig out mud and dirt. Use a wet vacuum to remove remaining dirt. Scrub cleanable surfaces with soapy water and a bristle brush. Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces with water and dish detergent. Dry surfaces quickly and thoroughly after cleaning. If you have a fan, air conditioner or dehumidifier that wasnt affected by flooding use it to help the surfaces dry after you finish cleaning

Mold growth can be removed from hard surfaces with commercial products, soap and water, or a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water to kill mold on surfaces. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other household cleaners.

If you choose to use bleach to clean up mold:

What Are The Symptoms Of Mold Sickness

If your Total Body Burden is high, or you are genetically predisposed to recycling toxins, regular exposure to mold can cause allergy symptoms, such as:

Wheezing/shortness of breath
Long standing or frequent sinusitis

And, serious pain and neurological symptoms, such as:

Headaches and migraines
Muscle cramping, aches and pains
Persistent nerve pain

Fatigue and weakness
Poor memory, brain fog, difficulty with focus

In some cases, the spores from mold take root and grow in specific parts of the body, such as the lungs and sinuses. This can cause serious respiratory illnesses and infections.

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How Do You Know If Mold Is Making You Sick

Are you sick and suspect it might be from mold?

Determining whether exposure to mold is making you sick isnt always easy.

Each persons body is affected by mold toxicity in different ways. Some experience constant migraines and headaches, shortness of breath, brain fog, fatigue or even depression.

Since symptoms differ from person to person, they may not be quickly associated with mold exposure. Many people suffering from mold illness struggle to get a proper diagnosis and investigation.

Its common to think my house is clean it cant be mold! However, mold comes in many forms. In this article, well share what toxic mold is, the signs and symptoms, and how it can be treated.

Will A Dehumidifier Kill Mold

10 Signs You Have Been Exposed to Toxic Mold! (With images)

Mold will stay dormant in the air or even on surfaces it really needs excess moisture to help it grow. So, to answer your question, dehumidifiers do NOT kill mold, but they do slow it growing it by reducing humidity. If you have a mold problem in your home, dont wait. Mold spreads as long as it has a water source.

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How To Tackle Mold

Now that weve covered how to identify mold, lets talk about what you can do to get a handle on the situation.

The first thing that you need to do is get specific when it comes to where exactly the mold is coming from. In some cases, it could be sourced all the way back to a leak in your homes foundation.

In other cases, the source of the leak could be something as unexpected as condensation thats created by a small appliance.

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Signs Of Mold Illness

by Dr. Michele Neil-Sherwood | Health Tips, Top Posts

Mold is a big problem in most homes, but many people are unaware of the problem. Of course, everyone looks at the shower curtain, under the sink, or in the basement when he or she think about mold issues, but mold can grow just about anywhere.

Mold can be found in drywall, in the roof , and even in ones Christmas tree. One study found that Christmas trees can breed mold, quietly releasing millions of spores into the room causing winter allergies and asthma attacks. Studies have found that indoor air quality dropped six-fold over the 14 days a Christmas tree typically decorates a room.

There are 1,000 types of mold that can be found growing in the modern American home. Scientists classify these molds based on the effect they have on humans and other living things.

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Q: Can Eating Mold Make You Sick

A: Yes, it is possible that eating mold can cause health issues such as vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. According to the Cleveland Clinic, if you can visibly see mold on food, dont risk it. Throw it out.

Mold spores are everywhere, and they can be found in food, water, air, soil, and plants. The best way to avoid getting sick from mold is to wash your hands frequently, and to keep your home clean. If you have a concern, wait the day and see if any symptoms show up. If not, you are probably ok.

Proper Testing For Mold Illness

Black Toxic Mold Hidden In Your Walls? You Need To Do This

Physicians that specialize in mold illness have narrowed in on tests that are most effective in determining if mold is an underlying cause of someones symptoms. Before considering laboratory tests, there is often a clinical suspicion someone may be suffering from symptoms of mold exposure.

When someone is experiencing any of the above symptoms and no other diagnosis has been made that explains these symptoms mold illness should be considered. There is also the circumstance when someone has another diagnosis such as Lyme disease, but treatments have not been effective in resolving symptoms.

There is no one perfect test to diagnose mold toxicity. I use the two testing methods below to determine if mold and mycotoxins are undermining someones health.

Urine Mycotoxin Test

A urine mycotoxin test indicates whether or not a person is excreting mycotoxins from mold exposure. However, our bodies should excrete mycotoxins after exposure to mold and this does not necessarily mean someone has mold illness. The degree of elevation of mycotoxins in the urine suggests the severity of mold toxicity.

Great Plains Laboratory and Real Time Laboratory are the labs most commonly used by physicians treating mold toxicity. The two labs use different testing methodologies and test for different mycotoxins, so it is hard to compare results between the labs.

Preparation for urine mycotoxin testing

Mycotoxin Antibody Test

I Found Mold Growing In My Home How Do I Test The Mold

If you can see or smell mold, a health risk may be present. You do not need to know the type of mold growing in your home, and CDC does not recommend or perform routine sampling for molds. No matter what type of mold is present, you should remove it. Since the effect of mold on people can vary greatly, either because of the amount or type of mold, you cannot rely on sampling and culturing to know your health risk.

Getting A Diagnosis For Mold Sickness

While symptoms to mold exposure are not uncommon , many health care professionals struggle to pinpoint the cause behind these symptoms.

Often only a few people or one person and not everyone, in a home or workplace experience symptoms. This is frustrating and confusing for the sick person. When their doctors cant find any reason for the illness, they can start to feel like the sickness is all in their mind.

People suffering from mold exposure can often be misdiagnosed with disorders such as:

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How To Get Rid Of Black Mold With Grapefruit Seed Extract

Combine and mix 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract oil to each cup of water used. Or 1 drop of oil per tablespoon of water for a guide ratio .

Pour contents into a spray bottle and evenly saturate all of the mold areas to be treated.

Allow the black mold solution to work for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Leave to soak for up to an hour for persistent staining.

Clean and wipe away any remaining mold residue.

The good this is the acids in the grapefruit seed extract will persist and penetrate mold growth as well as prevent any future mold spores from coming back. So that is why you do not wash it off.

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