Bad Allergies Won’t Go Away
Have a runny nose that won’t stop? A coughing fit or bouts of wheezing? Surprise, toxic mold causes significant health problems.
As we discussed, those with asthma are adversely affected by mold spores in the air. However, toxic mold can make even run-of-the-mill seasonal allergies worse. After all, the study by the IOM found that otherwise healthy people still suffered the effects of mold exposure.
It doesn’t help that typical mold exposure symptoms align with common allergy symptoms. That’s another reason why toxic mold is so dangerous.
Whether it’s watering eyes, itchy skin, or trouble breathing, monitoring your allergies and if they subside is an excellent place to start.
Again, if you suspect your allergies are worse than usual, especially with asthma, get in touch with your doctor.
Your Planter Of Begonias Is Leaking
Exterior landscaping that is close to the home, as well as planters placed against exterior walls, can also lead to mold issues, especially for stucco homes, says Gregg Cantor, President and CEO of Murray Lampert Design, Build, Remodel. Moisture finds its way inside the walls and can cause mold growth in the drywall and insulation. This type of mold growth can be particularly dangerous because its rarely caught until the mold shows up on the interior of the wall, at which point the growth can be extensive and a danger to your health, says Cantor.
Essential Oils Extracts And Tinctures
So many herbs have antifungal properties. The active compounds are extracted from herbs, and the essential oils deliver concentrated amounts of beneficial compounds that will kill spores inside the body.
Oils are most commonly preserved as tinctures and taking 10 30 drops, 3 x a day for three months will guarantee results. If taking a powder form usually ½ to 1 teaspoon, mixed in a little warm water, can be considered daily, also for about 3 months.
Yes, you can also take the natural fresh herbs instead of the more potent oils, especially if you want to prevent rather than cure.
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How Can I Find Out If Mold Is Harming My Health
You dont have to sit back and accept the harmful effects of mold exposure. Getting a mycotoxin test may help you determine whether you have mold toxicity in your body. This is a great way to test whether the harmful antigens in the mold are negatively impacting your health. This test may help you decide how to treat your mold exposure and allergies.
Treating these conditions may improve your symptoms and allow you to regain your health. These treatments may also prevent you from developing more serious mold-related health conditions.
Seek Social Support Restorative Resources And Adjunct Therapies
Recovering from illness caused by mold exposure can be exhausting, isolating and incredibly stressful. Social support is essential for your overall wellbeing and for a return to optimal health. Additionally, specific tools may also be beneficial in bringing your body back into balance after an overactive stress response.
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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.
How To Tell If Mold Is Toxic: Wrapping Things Up
We hope that this post has helped you to better understand how to tell if mold is toxic.
Above all, remember that black mold is something you need to take extremely seriously. It can cause serious health problems, and can quickly multiply. In other words, its not just about how it looks alone.
Whenever possible, call in a professional to test for mold and to do the safest and most thorough cleaning possible.
Looking for more advice about how to keep your health and home in great shape?
Keep checking back with us for more tips you dont want to miss out on.
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Checklist: Preventing Mold Growth & Toxicity
Keep the humidity in buildings less than 50 percent. Dont set your AC up over 78 degrees when you are on vacation.
If you have a water spill or leak it needs to be dried in less than 24-48 hours. If drywall gets wet, remove it.
Inspect all barriers to water and/or re-caulk bathrooms, kitchens, windows, roof annually.
Minimize your exposure to other environmental toxins .
Take supplements that support your detox pathways to keep ahead of exposures.
Bigger picture: We need to update our building guidelines to reduce the risk for mold growth. The issue is that buildings are being built so tight for energy conservation that now they dont breathe. This decreases the likelihood that moisture will dry out and increases the risk for condensation. If you have an opportunity to build a house or remodel find experts to work with who are familiar with these tradeoffs.
How do we test for mold in our environment/home/office, and get rid of it?
We still need to develop more comprehensive testing technology for the presence of mold toxins in buildings . There are limitations with all environmental mold testing options. The mold plates available at hardware stores dont usually catch the most toxic mold spores. These molds dont send out very many spores, or they are heavy and dont make it very far, so they dont land on the plates.
Should we all be testing for mold regularly, or only if it seems to be an issue?
How is mold toxicity diagnosed?
What To Do If You Have Mold
If there is mold in your apartment, you need to notify your landlord immediately. You might also consider asking your landlord to bring in a professional mold inspector. Mold usually grows in difficult to see places, like behind walls or appliances, and the professionals will have equipment to detect it. Whatever they do to find the mold, though, it is important that you and your landlord work together to get it addressed immediately.
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Your Asthma Is Acting Up
Mold spores can find their way into the lungs and trigger asthma symptoms. One study found that dampness or mold in houses could account for one in five cases of asthma in the United States. If your asthma seems to be getting worse, you may have undetected mold in your house, according to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America. The group warns that mold can also cause a rare but more serious condition called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: This is a dramatic allergic and inflammatory reaction that leads to severe sneezing, coughing, and shortness of breath.
You Start Experiencing Health Effects Or Symptoms
- Sometimes it is best to take matters into your hand, especially when you start to notice symptoms.
- For example, if you observe rashes, feelings of fatigue, difficulty in breathing, or coughing, it might be smart to immediately call for someone to deal with the mold problem as soon as possible.
- If you are to put the problem on hold, it will most likely worsen the longer you wait.
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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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Is It Dangerous To Have Black Mold In Your House
Even so, toxic or not, mold prevention is the key to a safer home. A black colored mold has a black pigment by nature. It is usually associated with being the toxic kind, but thats not always the case. Black mold may not be toxic, but it can be an allergenic. Nigrospora is an example of a black colored mold.
Whats the difference between black mold and toxic mold?
A black colored mold has a black pigment by nature. It is usually associated with being the toxic kind, but thats not always the case. Black mold may not be toxic, but it can be an allergenic.
What kind of mold is toxic to humans?
Nigrospora is an example of a black colored mold. There is no evidence it is toxic to humans or other living organisms. The most common black mold is Cladosporium, which has no known toxic side effects.
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How To Get Rid Of Mold
There are plenty of DIY mold removal options for you on the web some more effective than others. These may suffice if the problem is minor. After DIY treatment, it may be good to have an air quality test taken to measure the effectiveness of your work.
If the problem is more than minor, DIY methods will likely only remove the appearance of mold for a short time. For more serious problems, the best approach is to hire a certified and reputable local mold remediation company.
Most mold remediation companies will recommend demolition of the infected part of your home to literally remove the mold, so keep in mind that you might have additional expenses to restore a portion of your house. On top of that, the process might take several days.
If you are looking into demolition-free mold removal, then consider companies that use a dry fog technique. When properly done, this method not only kills mold without demolition, but it also takes less than a day to complete.
The Importance Of Removing Molds Moisture Source
One of the most common mistakes when dealing with mold is cleaning up the visible mold and calling it a day. This is not unlike treating the symptoms of an illness instead of the cause. Until you fix the source of moisture that is feeding the mold, it will continue to come back no matter what. Every time you clean up small spots of mold without correcting the issue, you expose yourself to more spores and possible toxins.
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Condensation On Windows Window Frames And Sills
- Promptly repair any leaks.
- Lower the indoor moisture levels.
- Use exhaust bathroom fans and a kitchen range hood.
- Keep window coverings open to move the warm air over the windows .
- Keep baseboards or heating vents clear of furniture to make sure the heat flows.
- Dry your window frames and sills daily to keep water from dripping and causing mould to grow.
- Leave interior doors open for good air and heat flow.
- Unplug and remove humidifiers.
What Happens When You Breathe In Mold
Tiny mold spores are always floating through the air at any given time, looking for any warm, moist area to land and colonize. When you breathe these spores in, they dont typically last long inside your body. They may stick to the sensitive linings of your nose, mouth, throat or eyes and cause discomfort, but your immune system can typically flush them out. This is why you may begin to cough, sneeze, develop a rash or experience watery eyes or a runny nose after prolonged mold exposure these are all methods your body uses to expel foreign irritants.
In some rare cases, however, mold spores may be able to reach your lungs through the trachea and colonize. Typically, people with compromised lungs or who have had recent lung surgeries are the highest risk group for this to happen, as there is extra room inside their lungs for the mold to grow. That being said, mold growth in the lungs can typically be treated through oral medications. In some severe cases, surgical removal may be required, but this isnt always necessary.
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Only People With Weakened Immune Systems Can Get Sick From Water Damaged Buildings
Incorrect. While exposure to toxic mold may cause acute illness in those with preexisting conditions that weaken the immune system, almost anyone can get sick from long-term exposure to biotoxins. If no genetic susceptibility exists and the person is removed from exposure, symptoms should eventually resolve.
Case studies looking at teachers who saw the reversal of symptoms after leaving water damaged school buildings each year for summer vacation show how the body is able to eliminate toxins after its no longer repeatedly exposed. Avoiding the affected environment allowed their bodies to catch up and eliminate the toxic load from their systems.
This is not true for people who are genetically susceptible, as their immune systems are unable to recognize and remove biotoxins from the body. The biotoxins are unchecked, free to recirculate practically forever, causing system-wide inflammation. Many times, the inflammation caused by CIRS is misdiagnosed as:
How To Get Rid Of Black Mold
Depending on the severity of your black mold infestation, you can either clean it yourself or hire a professional. Hiring a professional is more expensive, but it prevents you from being exposed to the mold while trying to remove it. Youll probably want to hire a professional cleaner if you have wide-spread growth in multiple rooms.
If you choose to remove the black mold yourself, be sure to take the proper safety precautions. You want to avoid letting mold spores touch your skin or breathing them in by wearing:
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Black Mold Removal And Cleaning
Mold remediation in stores, offices, or schools is best left to the pros. This also applies to household mold exceeding 10 square feet.
The contractors you choose should have insurance and licenses from organizations like the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification .
Homeowners can handle cleaning about 10 square feet of black mold on their own.3 If the patch is small enough, a combination of bleach, water, scrubbing, and ventilation should do the trick.
Before treating mold on your own, prioritize ventilation and protective gear.
Removing black mold is a tough and dirty job. If you or anyone in your family is sensitive to mold allergies, has respiratory or immune issues, trust the professionals.
Find a contractor in your area to get started.
How To Tell If Your House Is Toxic: Call Five Star Restoration
Murrieta mold removal experts at Five Star Restoration know mold and all its signs. If you suspect mold in your home, don’t hesitate to call Five Star Restoration to receive a diagnostic to detect any potential mold growth.
The Five Star Restoration team serving the Inland Empire can even repair and reconstruct heavily damaged parts of your home after water damage.
Avoid health problems, bad smells, and excessive cleaning costs of replacing damaged areas in your home.
Starting in 2016, Five Star Restoration prides itself on its ties to the Inland Empire and Northern San Diego communities. Five Star Restoration in Murrieta offers unparalleled customer service, knowledge of mold removal, and essential information on how to keep your family safe.
For more information about how Five Star Restoration can help remove mold in your home, call 951-368-2227.
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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.
