In some people, a mold allergy is linked to asthma and exposure causes restricted breathing and other airway symptoms. If you have a mold allergy, the best defense is to reduce your exposure to the types of mold that cause your reaction. Medications can help keep mold allergy reactions under control.
A mold allergy causes the same signs and symptoms that occur in other types of upper respiratory allergies. Signs and symptoms of allergic rhinitis caused by a mold allergy can include:. Mold allergy symptoms vary from person to person and range from mild to severe. You might have year-round symptoms or symptoms that flare up only during certain times of the year.
You might notice symptoms when the weather is damp or when you're in indoor or outdoor spaces that have high concentrations of mold. If you have a mold allergy and asthma, your asthma symptoms can be triggered by exposure to mold spores. In some people, exposure to certain molds can cause a severe asthma attack. Signs and symptoms of asthma include:. If you have a stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, shortness of breath, wheezing or other bothersome symptoms that persist, see your doctor.
Like any allergy, mold allergy symptoms are triggered by an overly sensitive immune system response. When you inhale tiny, airborne mold spores, your body recognizes them as foreign invaders and develops allergy-causing antibodies to fight them. Various molds are common indoors and outdoors. Only certain kinds of mold cause allergies. Being allergic to one type of mold doesn't mean you'll be allergic to another.
Exposure to damp and moldy environments may cause a variety of health effects, or none at all. Some people are sensitive to molds. For these people, exposure to molds can lead to symptoms such as stuffy nose, wheezing, and red or itchy eyes, or skin.
Some people, such as those with allergies to molds or with asthma , may have more intense reactions. Severe reactions may occur among workers exposed to large amounts of molds in occupational settings, such as farmers working around moldy hay.
Severe reactions may include fever and shortness of breath. In the Institute of Medicine IOM found there was sufficient evidence to link indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy people; with asthma symptoms in people with asthma; and with hypersensitivity pneumonitis in individuals susceptible to that immune-mediated condition.
Other recent studies have suggested a potential link of early mold exposure to development of asthma in some children, particularly among children who may be genetically susceptible to asthma development, and that selected interventions that improve housing conditions can reduce morbidity from asthma and respiratory allergies. A link between other adverse health effects, such as acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage among infants , memory loss, or lethargy, and molds, including the mold Stachybotrys chartarum has not been proven.
Further studies are needed to find out what causes acute idiopathic hemorrhage and other adverse health effects. There is no blood test for mold. Some physicians can do allergy testing for possible allergies to mold, but no clinically proven tests can pinpoint when or where a particular mold exposure took place.
People with allergies may be more sensitive to molds. People with immune suppression or underlying lung disease are more susceptible to fungal infections. Individuals with chronic respiratory disease e. Individuals with immune suppression are at increased risk for infection from molds. If you or your family members have these conditions, a qualified medical clinician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment.
Inspect buildings for evidence of water damage and visible mold as part of routine building maintenance, Correct conditions causing mold growth e. 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. Clean up and dry out your home thoroughly and quickly within hours after any flooding. Dig out mud and dirt. Use a wet vacuum to remove remaining dirt. Scrub cleanable surfaces such as wood, tile, stone with soapy water and a bristle brush. Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces such as flooring, molding, wood and metal furniture, countertops, and sinks with water and dish detergent.
Dry surfaces quickly and thoroughly after 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 8 ounces of bleach in 1 gallon of water to kill mold on surfaces. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other household cleaners. If you have an extensive amount of mold and you do not think you can manage the cleanup on your own, you may want to contact a professional who has experience in cleaning mold in buildings and homes.
These decisions have to be made individually. If you believe you are ill because of exposure to mold in a building, you should consult your physician to determine the appropriate action to take. Note that identification of specific mold spores is not necessary when cleaning up indoor mold colonies. It may or may not be useful when treating health effects of mold exposure, depending on the circumstances.
In any case, the role of testing for indoor mold is undefined, because as yet there are no standards for interpreting these tests.
Health effects associated with exposure to indoor damp spaces and mold. Molds and other fungi grow easily in damp indoor environments. People who spend time in such environments sometimes complain of respiratory effects, headaches, and other physical symptoms. In addition to visible or hidden mold, damp spaces likely harbor mold break-down products, dust mites, bacteria, and chemicals, gasses, and particulate matter released from the materials on which molds are growing.
Given the difficulties in testing for all of these elements, hard evidence of precise cause-and-effect can be elusive. In an extensive report, the Institute of Medicine IOM did not find enough evidence to identify health effects which were definitely caused by spending time in damp indoor spaces.
However, the experts found that being in damp indoor spaces seemed related to respiratory illnesses: nose and throat [upper respiratory] symptoms, cough, wheeze, and asthma symptoms. They also found limited evidence that these environments can be associated with shortness of breath, the development of asthma in people who did not previously suffer from it, and lower respiratory symptoms coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath in healthy children.
Based on available research, IOM was not able to substantiate claims of numerous other symptoms such as skin irritations, fatigue, cancer, lung disease, or respiratory infections. There was enough evidence of health effects overall, though, that IOM identified damp indoor spaces as a public health problem that needs to be addressed. Publications in , , and did not substantially change those findings.
Therefore, whether the precise cause is mold or an accompanying indoor contaminant, spending time in places damp enough to support the growth of mold is a potential cause of ill health. Whether or not mold is actually seen, finding and fixing the sources of excess moisture are important for health and to keep the structure from being further damaged. Researchers note that, if dampness and mold could be confirmed as a cause of ill health, controlling these conditions would make a substantial contribution to public health.
However, some authors state definitively that mold exposure is capable of causing illness in humans. For example:. Fisk and colleagues reviewed thirty-three studies to assess the risk of health effects in individuals who spent time in damp, moldy environments. Subjects were adults and children. They found that upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, wheeze, and asthma were more frequent in people who spent time in damp spaces.
In a review of studies of children from ten countries, aged six to twelve, Antova and colleagues found that mold in the household correlated with a variety of respiratory disorders, including wheezing, coughing at night, and allergic symptoms and hay fever.
Park and colleagues reported an increase in new-onset asthma among employees working in a water-damaged office building. There was a correlation between the onset of asthma and mold levels in the building's dust. Karvonen and colleagues studied a group of children for the first eighteen months of life and found that wheezing was more common in children whose homes had moisture damage in the kitchen and visible mold in the primary living areas.
They studied a group of children for the first two years of life and found no correlation between respiratory illness and mold. Many of the above authors stated the need for standardized assessments of environmental mold coupled with clinical evaluation of the patients in question, including diagnosis of illness particularly allergy and asthma based on objective findings.
In , Reponen and colleagues published a study of children followed from birth through age seven. A research tool developed and being evaluated by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA 16 was used to assess the children's homes.
The children themselves were evaluated for the presence of asthma at age one and again at age seven.
It was found that children who lived in homes with higher levels of mold at age one were more likely than other children to have asthma by the age of seven. Other risk factors for asthma included living without air conditioning and having a parent with asthma.
This still does not prove that molds cause asthma, but it does provide evidence that reducing the amount of mold in infants' homes is a useful strategy to pursue.
Footnote 1; Reference As suggested above, there are hundreds of studies reaching a variety of conclusions. It can be difficult or impossible to assess all types of molds, spores, fungal fragments, chemicals from destruction of mold-colonized materials and second-hand smoke, and other airborne matter indoors at any given time. Though numerous studies associate the presence of dampness and mold with respiratory allergies and asthma, it can be equally difficult or impossible to establish the presence of these substances as the definitive cause of illness in particular patients.
Even so, it is possible to assess and treat individuals who have symptoms of respiratory allergies and asthma. Khalili and colleagues emphasize that determining whether respiratory symptoms are related to mold exposure involves a process of elimination. Before mold is considered the likely cause of respiratory symptoms and infections, patients must be evaluated for the possible presence of pre-existing illness or the recent onset of an illness that happens to coincide with mold exposure.
Once other possible causes of respiratory symptoms have been ruled out, patients can be assessed for the possibility of mold-induced illness. In a lengthy document, Storey and colleagues identify three groups of patients to be assessed for mold exposure: those who present with symptoms often associated with wet spaces and mold; those whose symptoms occurred at the time of a presumed exposure to mold or damp spaces; and patients concerned about exposures to mold even though they have no symptoms.
In any case, a medical diagnosis is needed. For example, does the person have an allergy, asthma, or an infection? There are established methods for diagnosing these and many other conditions.
Diagnosis is related to the disease process, not a specific trigger. For example, it is possible to test people for allergies to molds, but positive results do not necessarily correlate with symptoms. A sizeable percentage of the U. One issue is whether to undertake environmental assessments for the presence of mold or other airborne substances found in damp homes, schools, and workplaces.
If someone does develop respiratory conditions in a given location only, an environmental assessment may be indicated if there are no other known triggers. These conditions include asthma either newly diagnosed or worsening of existing asthma , the lung conditions called interstitial lung disease and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis, and recurring cold-like symptoms, sinus infections, and hoarseness.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a lung disease sometimes called "farmer's lung" as it is associated with overwhelming exposure to fungi found in feed and grain. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis also has been associated with bird droppings in pigeon breeders and exposure to molds in homes and hot tubs.
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