Mold Poisoning And The Symptoms To Look Out For

Mold – it can look off-putting, it can smell disgusting, and it can cause serious health issues.

This article looks briefly about what mold is, where you might find it and how you can detect it, some of the health problems that are associated with exposure to mold, how to get rid of it from your home, and what you can do to minimize mold growth in your house.

What Is Mold?

Mold (sometimes written mould) is a type of fungus, with the most common being Stachybotrys chartarum.

It thrives in warm, moist environments, and it can be found both indoors and outdoors – and molds can grow on almost any type of surface (e.g. carpets, dirt, food, paper, wood).

Mold (which is not actually a scientific term) comes in many colours, including black, brown, green, pink, and yellow, although it is the so-called black mold that most people will have heard about.

And of course, not all mold is bad. For example:

• Blue cheese (e.g. Danish Blue, Roquefort, Blue Stilton) is made using a form of mold.
• Penicillin was derived from molds.
• Yeast, used for brewing and making bread, while not technically a mold, is a type of fungus too.

For a more detailed description of what mold is, check out this Wikipedia article.

How To Recognize Mold In Your Home

Typically, you may see mold as any of the following:

• Black lines in the grout between tiles (e.g. in your bathroom or kitchen).
• Black spots on the siding outside your house or on your inside walls or ceiling.
• Dark spots on your deck.
• Mildew, which is how mold often starts. This can look just like dirt at first, but if you put a drop of bleach on it, you’ll soon be able to tell the difference, because if it’s mildew, the colour will lighten, whereas if it’s dirt, it will remain dark.
• Odour. Sometimes mold has a distinctive, musty smell that is unmistakable.

Health Problems Caused By Mold

The list of health problems that can be caused by the mycotoxins that mold releases is quite long, and includes any of the following, although it’s common to experience several of these simultaneously:

• Allergic reactions
• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Blocked nose
• Chest colds
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
• Cognitive problems (e.g. brain fog, inability to concentrate, trouble remembering things)
• Compromised immune system
• Coughing (especially during the night)
• Cramping muscles (especially muscle pains you cannot easily explain, such as after strenuous exercise or falling)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Diarrhoea
• Dry, itchy, or red eyes
• Fatigue / constant tiredness
• Fever
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• Itchy skin
• Loss of appetite
• Numbness or pins and needles (e.g. in your fingers and toes)
• Photosensitivity
• Sinusitis
• Sneezing
• Stomach pains
• Trouble breathing
• Wheezing

The problem is that mold poisoning, or mycotoxicosis, can cause symptoms that mirror other health issues, so tracing the cause of your illness can be challenging.

I read a story not long ago about a woman who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and had spent years trying to find a solution that would relieve her many different symptoms.

After consulting all manner of specialists, she eventually discovered that all of her problems were being caused by black mold in her home – and once that was dealt with, her symptoms disappeared and she was healthy again.

The two most common ways to determine if you’re suffering from mold poisoning are blood tests and skin prick tests, both of which must, of course, be administered by a doctor.

How To Kill Mold

Although on some of the DIY and property shows on television you can come away with the impression that mold can only be removed by skilled specialists, this is not always the case.

Any of the following substances can be used to kill mold:

• Ammonia
• Baking soda
• Bleach
• Borax
• Detergent
• Grapefruit seed extract
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Tea tree oil
• Vinegar

However, before trying any of the above to kill mold in your home, you MUST make sure you are taking all necessary safety precautions, such as:

• Covering any ventilation or heating ducts so that mold spores do not get carried to other parts of your house.
• Disposing of any mouldy materials (e.g. bits of carpets) safely. By this, I mean they should be double-wrapped and sealed inside sturdy plastic bags, to prevent re-contamination.
• Making sure the area you’re cleaning is well-ventilated. This might mean using a fan, which you may also have to get rid of after cleaning because it will probably be contaminated with mold spores too.
• Using a respirator mask that has been designed for this purpose to prevent you from inhaling mold spores that are disturbed during the cleaning process.
• Wearing old clothes you don’t care about because you may need to dispose of them afterwards.
• Wearing protective clothing (e.g. gloves, safety goggles).

And if you are in any doubt at all, especially if you see a large area of mold that looks like it’s been there a while, call in the experts, because as you’ve seen above, mold can cause serious illnesses and even be fatal if your health is already compromised.

Mold Management

It should also be noted that it is not possible to remove 100% of the mold from inside a home, so the key is to maintain an environment where mold growth is minimized.

The key, then, is to control and manage moisture levels, so here are a few of the things you can do to reduce the indoor humidity, ideally to somewhere between 30% and 60%:

• Ensure rooms (e.g. bathrooms) and appliances (e.g. clothes dryers, dishwashers) that are often damp or generate moisture / steam have an eternal vent.
• Do not lay carpets in areas that are frequently moist.
• Generally, increase ventilation throughout your home.
• Install an exhaust fan above (or behind) your cooker / stove.
• Keep an eye on absorbent materials (e.g. carpets, ceiling tiles, curtains) and make sure they are clean and dry, and replace them as soon as any mold appears that cannot be removed,
• Make use of air conditioners and dehumidifiers.
• Prevent and reduce condensation (e.g. on cold surfaces such as exterior walls, pipes, windows) by adding insulation or, in the case of windows, using double-glazing.

Conclusion

Here are the key take-aways:

1. Mold is a fact of life, unfortunately, and it can cause serious health issues, which is why it’s important to check your home frequently for signs of mold and to do what you can to ensure its growth is curtailed as much as possible.
2. If you are suffering from one or more of the above symptoms, and you cannot easily explain them, then consult a doctor and if they too are unable to determine the cause of those symptoms, ask them to conduct a mold test.
3. If you do see mold in your home, then you can either try to remove it yourself, remembering to take every possible safety precaution or you can call in a specialist mold remediator. The key thing here is not to take unnecessary risks – there is no point trying to get rid of mold from your home if, in the process, you end up inhaling those mycotoxins and making yourself (or your family) sick.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above, and all of the turmeric products are ones I use:

1. Find A Mold Remediator (USA only)
2. Mold Removal