If you're sensitive or allergic to mold, exposure can cause problems like respiratory distress. Also, exposure can trigger infections in the skin, lungs, eyes, and other organs. Those susceptible to complications include: babies.
In reality, all molds — including black mold — can produce toxins, but exposure to mold is rarely deadly.
These symptoms usually first appear 2 to 9 hours after exposure and last for 1 to 3 days. Other affected persons have progressive shortness of breath and cough, as well as weight loss. Work-relatedness may only become apparent over long holidays if symptoms resolve and then recur on return to work.
While there's no sure way to cure allergic rhinitis caused by a mold allergy, a number of medications can ease your symptoms. These include: Nasal corticosteroids. These nasal sprays help prevent and treat the inflammation caused by an upper respiratory mold allergy.
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.
Exposure to a large number of mold spores may cause allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache, and fatigue. Repeated exposure to mold can increase a person's sensitivity, causing more severe allergic reactions.
The mold spores can colonize (grow) inside lung cavities that developed as a result of chronic diseases, such tuberculosis, emphysema, or advanced sarcoidosis. The fibers of fungus might form a lump by combining with white blood cells and blood clots. This lump or ball of fungus is called an aspergilloma or mycetoma.
There are no proven tests that show when or where you may have been exposed to mold. But your doctor may check for mold allergies by reviewing your symptoms and performing one of the following tests: Blood test.
Long-term effects of mold exposure
This may include: increased risk of upper and lower respiratory symptoms. chronic sinusitis. fatigue.
Do air purifiers help with mold? Air purifiers help capture mold spores from the air, preventing them from reproducing and spreading throughout your home. While air purifiers won't help treat active mold that's already present on surfaces, they are a great way to control the spread of airborne mold particles.
Activated charcoal can be taken as a supplement for assisting in the removal of mold from the body. Because of the adsorbent properties of activated charcoal, it quite literally traps toxins (like mycotoxins) in the body, allowing them to be flushed out so that the body doesn't reabsorb them.
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.
Inflammation: Mold spores act as irritants, which can trigger the body to mount an immune response. This can lead to inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation in the brain can impair cognitive function, and in the case of chronic inflammation, this can lead to long-lasting cognitive impairment.
Aspergillus fumigatus is responsible for ailments from allergy-type illnesses to life-threatening generalized infections (aspergillosis). This mold grows in both the lungs and sinuses, threatening permanent lung damage (fibrosis) or even death.
As for toxicity increases, people exposed to mould for the long term may start to experience symptoms such as persistent headaches and migraines, increased exhaustion and random muscle cramps. The person exposed in more severe cases may also suffer from sensitivity to light, unexplained weight gain and hair loss.
Those who need to see a doctor right away when exposed to toxic mold include people who are allergic to mold, have asthma or another pre-existing lung condition, or have a compromised immune system. However, otherwise healthy individuals can also suffer the effects of mold toxicity.
Another way to know if you have mold poisoning is by taking blood tests. Your doctor may take a sample of your blood to examine the presence of mold antibodies. One of the common types of the blood test used for mold symptoms is known as Memory Lymphocyte Immunostimulation Assay, which is abbreviated as MELISA.
Virulent molds
Some pathogenic molds are considered to be virulent. These molds can colonize inside a normal human's body and cause an infection.
A lung infection can occur when you are exposed to mold for a long time. It causes a debilitating disease that disrupts the normal function of lungs. The body's reaction to the toxins produced by mold spores can cause permanent scarring of the lung tissue.
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.
Different types of mold can have different effects on humans. When breathed in, some types of mold can make you sick. For those who are immunosuppressed and have weaker immune systems, the effects of breathing in mold can be much worse and can potentially lead to death.
Detoxing out mold (after confirming the individual has a clean environment) takes around a year in most cases. For these reasons, working with a professional is necessary. Please contact our office if you suspect you or a loved one has mold illness.
The negative effects of exposure to Aspergillus are extensive – these molds can cause not only allergies and asthma, but also liver damage and even liver and kidney cancer.