Who Is Most At Risk Of Mold Exposure
We come into contact with mold in three primary ways: inhalation, physical contact or ingestion. But every reaction to mold is different, as no two immune systems are the same.
Some people are more sensitive to mold than others. Both your genetic makeup and your current state of health are factors that will influence your reaction.
The following groups of people are especially susceptible to the adverse health effects of mold exposure, because their bodies may be weak to begin with:
- Infants and small children
If youve been experiencing some of these symptoms and are concerned, .
What Is Mold Where Does It Live
From the arctic to equator and all the places in between, mold lives literally everywhere. Molds are fungi, and grow from microscopic spores that are everywhere in the air. Molds are important for recycling organic matter . The recycling process they perform returns nutrients to the soil, and is important for plants to grow. In order to grow, molds need four things to grow: oxygen, moisture, a food source, and the right temperature range .
What Is Toxic Mold Syndrome
According to the CDC,certain molds are toxigenic, meaning they can produce toxins .
Mycotoxins, as defined by the World Health Organization, are naturally occurring toxins produced by certain fungi they are commonly found growing on certain types of food, including cereal, nuts, spices, dried fruit, apples, and coffee beans.
Though mycotoxins are commonly found in food, they can be found in other parts of the home where mold is present, which is why remediation is so important. But according to the CDC, There are very few reports that toxigenic molds found inside homes can cause unique or rare health conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. These case reports are rare, and a causal link between the presence of toxigenic mold and these conditions has not been proven.
The bottom line: If you have any mold, no matter its color or prevalence, removal is strongly recommended. And if you have any medical issues that you think may be related to mold, its best to contact your doctor.
You May Like: How To Remove Penicillium Mold
What Are The Symptoms Of A Mold Allergy
Mold spores get into your nose and cause rhinitis symptoms. They also can reach the lungs and trigger asthma.
Symptoms can include:
- Mucus in the throat
- Asthma symptoms if you have allergic asthma cough, wheeze, shortness of breath and/or chest tightness
Mold allergy can cause an allergic reaction right away. But in some cases, it may cause delayed symptoms. This can cause a stuffy nose or asthma symptoms that get worse over time. If your symptoms often get worse in a damp, humid, or moldy room like a basement, this may mean you have a mold allergy.
Outdoor molds often cause allergy symptoms in summer and fall. But they may be year-round in warmer, humid climates. Indoor molds may cause allergy symptoms year-round.
Rarely, some people can have a more serious illness called allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. In this condition, there is both an allergic and an inflammatory response in the lungs to the mold or fungus. Symptoms may include severe wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, much like asthma.
Food fungi, like mushrooms, dried fruit, or foods containing yeast, vinegar, or soy sauce usually dont cause allergy symptoms in the nose, eyes, and lungs. Reactions to food fungi are often caused by the foods direct effect on blood vessels.
Prevent Mold Growth With Routine Maintenance
To prevent mold growth, we suggest using a dehumidifier during the warm months and providing your home or business with the proper ventilation. Use exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens. Clean surfaces with mold-killing products.
Keep your humidity levels below 50 percent. Humidity levels shift throughout the day. Inspecting your structure for mold growth is an important part of routine building maintenance.
Seek treatment from a doctor soon as you notice any eye irritation, skin irritation or other common symptoms after exposure to mold, especially when symptoms persist. Its better to be safe than sorry. ECOS Environmental is happy to step in and test your home or business for mold and assist with the cleanup and renovation.
Recommended Reading: Is Mold And Mildew The Same
Mold Exposure: Symptoms And Reactions
Prolonged exposure to mold may result in allergy-like symptoms, such as a runny nose and congestion, eye irritation, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, wheezing, and lung irritation, according to Healthline. Other symptoms may include skin rashes and headaches.
A mold rash, or black mold rash, can be difficult to differentiate from other types of rashes, according to Healthline. Symptoms include itchiness, dry and scaly skin, raw and sensitive skin, brown or pink skin, or small raised bumps that may leak fluid. Since this type of rash is similar to others, its best to consult a doctor or dermatologist.
Mold also has the potential to trigger an attack for those with asthma. But the symptoms and reactions to exposure will vary from person to person. As the CDC explains: Exposure to mold may cause a variety of health problems, or no problems at all. Some people are more sensitive than others.
The CDC also addresses severe reactions, which tend to occur in work-related environments: Severe reactions may occur among workers exposed to large amounts of mold in occupational settings, such as farmers working around moldy hay. Severe reactions include fever and shortness of breath.
How Common Is Mold In Buildings
Molds are very common in buildings and homes. Mold will grow in places with a lot of moisture, such as around leaks in roofs, windows, or pipes, or where there has been flooding. Mold grows well on paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, and wood products. Mold can also grow in dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery.
The most common indoor molds are Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus. We do not have precise information about how often different molds are found in buildings and homes.
Recommended Reading: How Do You Know If Mold Is In Your House
Foods You Should Discard
If you find mold on these items, discard them :
- Soft fruits and vegetables: Such as strawberries, cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Soft cheese: Like cottage and cream cheese, as well as shredded, crumbled and sliced cheese. This also includes cheese that is made with mold but has been invaded by another mold that was not part of the manufacturing process.
- Bread and baked goods: Mold can easily grow below the surface.
- Cooked food: Includes casseroles, meat, pasta and grains.
- Jam and jellies: If these products are moldy, they may contain mycotoxins.
- Peanut butter, legumes and nuts: Products processed without preservatives are at a higher risk of mold growth.
- Deli meats, bacon, hot dogs
- Yogurt and sour cream
Summary:Soft food with a high moisture content is generally more likely to have mold. You can cut mold off of hard or firm food.
Also Check: What Can Mold In Your House Do To You
A Spreading Concern: Inhalational Health Effects Of Mold
The issue of mold contamination has drawn the national and international spotlight on the heels of publicity about prominent situations, such as a hotly contended link between mold and severe illnessand one deathin 10 Ohio infants in 1993 and 1994 a major 2001 insurance battle over the moldy Dripping Springs, Texas, house of Melinda Ballard and her family the mushrooming mold infestations indoors and out along the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed ashore in 2005 and the mold infestation that helped spur the February 2007 outcry over the treatment given to recuperating soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. As recently as 25 years ago, inhaled mold was considered primarily a nuisance, not a serious health threat. But the growing scientific and medical evidence suggests the threat is widespread and, for some people, quite serious.
But many of the puzzle piecesexactly who is vulnerable, to what extent, and under what conditionsare still missing. The vast information gaps that remain continue to feed significant controversy in the legal, insurance, political, scientific, medical, public health, and building design, construction, management, and maintenance arenas.
Recommended Reading: How To Cover Black Mold
How Do Molds Get In The Indoor Environment And How Do They Grow
Mold is found both indoors and outdoors. Mold can enter your home through open doorways, windows, vents, and heating and air conditioning systems. Mold in the air outside can also attach itself to clothing, shoes, and pets can and be carried indoors. When mold spores drop on places where there is excessive moisture, such as where leakage may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, plant pots, or where there has been flooding, they will grow. Many building materials provide suitable nutrients that encourage mold to grow. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of some molds. Other materials such as dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, commonly support mold growth.
What Causes Aspergillosis
In most cases, aspergillosis is caused by a type of mold called Aspergillus fumigatus. Aspergillus mold can often be found on dead leaves, compost piles and other decaying vegetable matter, stored grain, and even foods and spices. The mold spores may be carried indoors on shoes and clothing and can grow on carpeting. Window unit air conditioners are susceptible to mold growth if filters are not kept clean, and water does not drain properly from the unit. Sites where buildings are being torn down or renovated may be contaminated with mold spores.
Read Also: What Gets Rid Of Mold On Clothes
Mold Risks In Your Home
The reality is that everyone is at risk for mold in their home. Thats because mold is a type of fungus that thrives on moisture, and everyone has sources of moisture in their home. You will typically find mold in places where water can enter the home or where condensation can occur, such as:
Mold can present practically anywhere in and around your home including the kitchen, living room, bedroom, roof, and ductwork. You should especially check areas that have been flooded or have high humidity.
Green Works Professional Mold Detecting Process:
GreenWorks is a professional mold detection and removal company in New Jersey that uses the following process to accurately test for mold:
1) Mold Testing
For families who have no apparent health effects or illnesses from mold, testing may not be required. However, for those who have children or individuals with allergies or immuno-compromised systems, mold testing should be conducted by professionals.
2) Client Interview
The mold test starts with an interview of the homeowners or current occupants. This gives our experts a better understanding of the structure of the home and any mold-related issues that the family has come across such as health issues, water damage, or past repairs. The interview helps our team decide whether or not mold testing is necessary.
3) Olfactory Investigation:
Trained mold investigators are sometimes able to identify actively growing mold through smell. This is helpful, especially when the mold is not visible. However, olfactory investigations may be affected by the weather, air transfer, or other factors that dilute or overpower the aroma of indoor mold.
4) Mold Inspection
Our experts will conduct a comprehensive visual inspection of your home. This helps to determine if there is mold growth in moist areas of your home such as bathrooms, under sinks, basements, crawlspaces, and more. Molds often hide in dark, hard-to-reach reach places, which our team is trained in inspecting.
5) Mold Inspection
6) Hydrology Inspection
7) Mold Inspection Report
Read Also: Can You Kill Mold With Uv Light
Worsened By Mold Exposure
Comparatively, these symptoms are only worsened by mold exposure, meaning even healthy children or adults who have no history of asthma can begin to experience and display many of these adverse symptoms.
Mold is especially dangerous when considering the risks and side effects of the fungus because everyone reacts differently to mold exposure. Those with allergies may have life threatening respiratory afflictions, while those with no allergic disposition to the substance may experience side effects likened to the common cold.
It all depends on the severity of mold exposure in your home and exactly what type of fungal mold is present within your walls.
However, while some mold exposures are more serious than others, the CDC states that inhaling any type of mold is cannot be good for you, and even microscopic inhalation of mold over a long period of time can lead to the more serious side effects of the fungus.
These serious side effects include but are not limited to sleep apnea, severe fatigue, insomnia, upper respiratory tract issues, including infections, severe coughing, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which leads to a weakened immune system, therefore opening up those exposed to mold to a plethora of long-term and costly health adversities.
How To Prevent Mold Exposure
Denying them a place to grow is an important step in preventing mold. And for that, you need to control the moisture inside your home. You should make sure that your home and the workplace is free of visible mold growth or strong moldy odor. Here are a few tips for that.18
- Use an air conditioner or dehumidifier to keep the humidity level low.
- Make sure that your floor and wall are dry after flooding.
- Fix water problems such as roof leaks and plumbing leaks.
- Provide enough ventilation for your house.
- Use mold-killing products while cleaning bathrooms.
- If absorbent materials like carpet become moldy, they should be removed.
- Cleaning frequently keeps mold to a minimum.
- Do not paint moldy surfaces without cleaning up the mold and drying the surface.19
Cleaning up the mold in your home is the first thing you should do. These are a few ways to do it:
- Remove mold growth from hard surfaces using soap and water.
- You can also use a bleach solution.
- Take less than 1 cup of household laundry bleach in 1 gallon of water to remove the mold. Remember, never mix bleach with ammonia or other household cleaners as it produces toxic fumes.20
- Make sure that the windows and doors are open while you use bleach.
- Also, wear protective gloves and eye mask.
If you are worried about mold exposure from your workplace and the symptoms associated with it, you should consult an occupational health clinic.
References
Also Check: How Do You Know If Your House Have Mold
Recommended Reading: How Much Does It Cost To Get Mold Tested
Mold Toxicity: The Effects Of Living With Mold
Rapid growth and an overtaking of your environment are a few characteristics that can be used to describe the dreaded but common household issue that we know as mold. Mold is a fungus that can grow on almost anything, with the ability to thrive in many conditions but most specifically in warm temperatures and high moisture environments.
The versatility of mold allows for this fungus to grow in both indoor and outdoor environments, making it an invasive presence in both your outdoor area and most importantly in your indoor areas such as your home. When you are exposed to mold chronically, you can develop mold toxicity symptoms.
Mold has the ability to spread far and wide, as tiny microscopic spores called mycotoxins, are released from the source in an effort to allow additional mold to grow. As mold begins to reproduce, its effect on humans who have been exposed could be significant.
Sensitivities can plague some individuals when contact occurs between mold, with symptoms spurring into overdrive in some cases. The type of mold present can lead to variations of symptoms, with a rough estimate of 1,000 species of mold currently in the United States . The level of hazard existing to human health can significantly reflect based upon on the specific type of mold in the environment and can thus lead to a scary health effect called mold toxicity.
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.
Read Also: Can Having Mold In Your House Make You Sick
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.
Can Mold Cause Health Problems
Molds are usually not a problem indoors, unless mold spores land on a wet or damp spot and begin growing. Molds have the potential to cause health problems. Molds produce allergens , irritants, and in some cases, potentially toxic substances . Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash . Allergic reactions to mold are common. They can be immediate or delayed. Molds can also cause asthma attacks in people with asthma who are allergic to mold. In addition, mold exposure can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs of both mold-allergic and non-allergic people. Symptoms other than the allergic and irritant types are not commonly reported as a result of inhaling mold. Research on mold and health effects is ongoing. This brochure provides a brief overview it does not describe all potential health effects related to mold exposure. For more detailed information consult a health professional. You may also wish to consult your state or local health department.
Keep in mind that:
For more information on controlling mold and moisture, visit the Mold Website.
Don’t Miss: How To Get Rid Of Mold In Mattress
