Can A Black Mold Health Problem Be Serious?

If you have black mold growing in your home, there is a good chance you will experience some black mold health problem. These can vary from a slight allergy, to very serious nerve and cell damage, depending on whether the mold is toxic or not.

The Effects Of Non-Toxic Mold

People react to black mold in various ways. Some are more sensitive than others. If there are large quantities of mold growing in your home, you will suffer worse symptoms.

Most commonly, people exposed to black mold will experience symptoms like a cold or sinus infection. These include nasal congestion, sore throat, eye and skin irritation, headache, sneezing, dry cough and shortness of breath.

Even common, non-toxic mold can cause serious health problems for kids, the elderly and those with asthma. In this case, a black mold health problem can be easily avoided by cleaning the mold and preventing it from growing again.

What About Toxic Black Mold?

Toxic black mold is a whole other story. Toxic black mold health problem can be very serious and even fatal. Toxic mold must be taken care of immediately.

These species of mold have toxic spores which can become airborne and infiltrate your body. They can cause damage to practically any part of your body, including lungs, skin, digestive organs and your brain. Toxic mold spores can cause irreparable harm your nervous system and immune system.

Symptoms of exposure to toxic spores include fatigue, memory loss, trouble breathing, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, hair loss, kidney failure and more. Toxic spores destroy your body’s cells and can interfere with any type of bodily function.

A toxic black mold health problem could be quite serious. People who work in old buildings often suffer black mold health problems. Buildings that were built before mold testing standards were as rigorous today run the biggest risk.

How Common Is Toxic Black Mold?

There are no accurate statistics regarding the rate of toxic versus non-toxic mold. However, due to increased technology and awareness of the problem, there have been more reported cases recently. In any case, toxic mold is definitely not too rare to be considered a real threat.

Toxic black mold is most common in old buildings that have not been well maintained, but it can grow anywhere.

How Do I Know If My Mold Is Toxic?

Mold testing and inspection is expensive and not always reliable. Your best bet for the safety of yourself and your family, is to keep your home as mold free as possible.

If you see or smell mold, clean it as soon as possible. If there are leaky pipes or any other sources of water in your house, take care of them. These are perfect places for mold to grow.

Keep in mind that mold thrives in humid places. If any part of a house or building has been waterlogged, there will most definitely be mold. Dry things properly and make sure your home gets enough ventilation and sunlight.

How You Can Tell You Have A Health Problem From Mold

Is your health problem from mold or from something else? It can be hard to tell if persistent health problems are mold related or not. Mold can grow just about anywhere, and the symptoms often resemble those of the common cold or other allergies.

My Mold Story

A few years ago, my wife suffered from what seemed to be persistent sinusitis. She had never had sinus trouble before, but suddenly, she constantly had a stuffy nose, sneezing and bad headaches.

I didn’t know much about mold at that time, or I would have recognized the warning signs. Her sinus trouble seemed to clear up when she left the house. It only bothered her at home and sometimes in certain other buildings.

We went to the doctor, who misdiagnosed it as sinusitis and prescribed a bunch of medicine that didn’t work. The symptoms got worse, until she started sometimes having trouble breathing.

We started to notice that her cold symptoms intensified in the bathroom. This tipped me off that it was something environmental. It turns out, we had mold growing on some of the ceiling tiles in the bathroom of our old house.

If you suffer a health problem from mold, a doctor may not be able to recognize the symptoms as mold allergy. About 1 in 5 people suffer from some form of allergy to common household mold.

If the mold growing in your home is toxic, it could cause permanent damage to your body. Toxic mold spores kill cells, and can damage not only your respiratory system, but your digestive system, skin and brain.

Do You Have A Health Problem From Mold?

Here are a few ways to tell you if you suffer a health problem from mold:

-In the same way as my wife and I, if certain parts of your house seem to trigger allergic reactions, that’s a sign that there’s an environmental cause.

-You live in a warm, humid environment and there are parts of your house which are humid or have water damage.

-Your allergic reactions seem to intensify instead of get better with the doctor’s antibiotics. Not all doctors have experience with mold, so it may be hard for them to recognize the symptoms.

What To Do About It

Many people have health problems from mold, so it is important to take care of it. Try to keep your home mold free by getting plenty of air circulation. Be careful of things that have not been properly dried.

Mold likes to grow in hard to reach places, like under carpets and behind things. Regularly check these places for mold.

If you have a mold problem, take care of it right away. Scrub those areas hard with borax or a store bought mold cleaner. If the problem is very severe, or if you can not handle the job by yourself, you might want to consider hiring a professional.

Get rid of the mold before it becomes a problem for you and your family.