Mold Allergy Symptoms and Treatment
The top mold health symptoms are the following, in alphabetical
order.
A mold victim may experience one or more symptoms---
-
allergies
-
asthma
-
bleeding lungs
-
breathing difficulties
-
cancer
-
central nervous system
effects
-
colds, recurring and
with decreased resistance to infection
-
coughing up blood
-
dandruff problems
(chronic) that do not go away despite use of anti-dandruff shampoos
-
dermatitis and skin
rashes
-
diarrhea
-
eye and vision
problems
-
fatigue (chronic,
excessive or continued) and or general malaise
-
feeling lost or
disconnected from what's happening around you
-
flu symptoms
-
hair loss
-
headaches
-
hemorrhagic
pneumonitis
-
hives
-
hypersensitivity
pneumonitis (extrinsic allergic alveolitis, farmers lung disease)
-
irritability
-
itching of the nose,
mouth, eyes, throat, skin or any area
-
kidney failure
-
learning difficulties
or mental functioning problems or personality changes
-
memory loss or memory
difficulties (Alzheimer's symptoms)
-
open skin sores and
lacerations
-
organic dust toxic
syndrome
-
peripheral dust toxic
syndrome
-
peripheral nervous
system effects
-
redness of the sclera
(white of your eyes)
-
runny nose (rhinitis),
clear, thin, watery mucus from your nose may appear suddenly, or thick,
green slime coming out of your nose (from sinus cavities)
-
seizures
-
sinus congestions,
sinus problems, and chronic sinusitis
-
skin redness
-
sleep disorders
-
sneezing
-
sneezing fits (more
than three sneezes in a row, happening often)
-
sore throat
-
tremors (shaking)
-
verbal dysfunction
(trouble in speaking)
-
vertigo (feelings of
dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness and unsteadiness)
-
vomiting
Adult-Onset Asthma from Workplace Mold Exposure.
“The present [health study] results provide new evidence of the relation
between workplace exposure to indoor molds and development of asthma in
adulthood. Our findings suggest that indoor mold problems constitute an
important occupational health hazard,” reported the Finnish Institute of
Occupational Health, in Environmental Health Perspectives, May, 2002. The
Finnish workplace mold study estimated that the percentage of adult-onset
asthma attributable to workplace mold exposure to be 35.1%
Read
Asthma Home Remedies.
Mayo Clinic Study Implicates Fungus
As Cause Of Chronic Sinusitis
Sept. 10, 1999
"We
can now begin to treat the cause of the problem instead of the symptoms"
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Mayo Clinic researchers say they have found the
cause of most chronic sinus infections -- an immune system response to
fungus. They say this discovery opens the door to the first effective
treatment for this problem, the most common chronic disease in the
United States.
An
estimated 37 million people in the United States suffer from chronic
sinusitis, an inflammation of the membranes of the nose and sinus
cavity. Its incidence has been increasing steadily over the last decade.
Common symptoms are runny nose, nasal congestion, loss of smell and
headaches. Frequently the chronic inflammation leads to polyps, small
growths in the nasal passages which hinder breathing.
"Up
to now, the cause of chronic sinusitis has not been known," say the Mayo
researchers: Drs. David Sherris, Eugene Kern and Jens Ponikau , Mayo
Clinic ear, nose and throat specialists. Their report appears in the
September issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
"Fungus allergy was thought to be involved in less than ten percent of
cases," says Dr. Sherris. "Our studies indicate that, in fact, fungus is
likely the cause of nearly all of these problems. And it is not an
allergic reaction, but an immune reaction."
The
researchers studied 210 patients with chronic sinusitis. Using new
methods of collecting and testing mucus from the nose, they discovered
fungus in 96 percent of the patients' mucus. They identified a total of
40 different kinds of fungi in these patients, with an average of 2.7
kinds per patient.
In a
subset of 101 patients who had surgery to remove nasal polyps, the
researchers found eosinophils (a type of white blood cell activated by
the body's immune system) in the nasal tissue and mucus of 96 percent of
the patients.
The
results, the researchers say, clearly portray a disease process in
which, in sensitive individuals, the body's immune system sends
eosinophils to attack fungi and the eosinophils irritate the membranes
in the nose. As long as fungi remain, so will the irritation.
"This a potential breakthrough that offers great hope for the millions
of people who suffer from this problem," says Dr. Kern. "We can now
begin to treat the cause of the problem instead of the symptoms."
More
research is underway at Mayo Clinic to confirm that the immune response
to the fungus is the cause of the sinus inflammation. The researchers
are also working with pharmaceutical companies to set up trials to test
medications to control the fungus. They estimate that it will be at
least two years before a treatment will be widely available.
The
researchers distinguish chronic sinusitis -- sinusitis that lasts three
months or longer -- from acute sinusitis, which lasts a month or less.
They say that the cause of the acute condition is usually a bacterial
infection.
Antibiotics and over-the-counter decongestants are widely used to treat
chronic sinusitis. In most cases, antibiotics are not effective for
chronic sinusitis because they target bacteria, not fungi. The
over-the-counter drugs may offer some relief of symptoms, but they have
no effect on the inflammation.
"Medications haven't worked for chronic sinusitis because we didn't know
what the cause of the problem was," says Dr. Ponikau. "Finally we are on
the trail of a treatment that may actually work."
Thousands of kinds of single-cell fungi (molds and yeasts) are found
everywhere in the world. Fungal spores (the reproductive part of the
organism) become airborne like pollen. Some people develop allergies to
fungi. The new evidence from the Mayo study suggests that many people
also develop a different kind of immune system response.
This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Mayo
Clinic.
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Mold, Fungus, &
Health Guide
The
Mold Health Guide
will help you, your doctor, and your lawyer cope with the health problems
and illnesses caused by indoor exposure to mold infestation and
contamination in your home, school, or workplace. Discover the mold medical
studies that document the links between mold exposure and mold illnesses.
Learn the health problems caused by the most dangerous mold species. For
more information, please visit:
Mold, Fungus, and Health Guide.
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