Can Black Mold Cause Health Problems?

When you breathe in black mold spores and you have a mold allergy, your immune system overreacts. Mold allergies can cause coughing, itchy eyes, and other unpleasant symptoms. Mold allergies are connected to asthma in some people, and exposure causes restricted breathing and other airway problems. 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. Inhaling spores from black mold can cause a variety of health problems, the most common being allergies. In addition to coughing and itchy eyes, exposure can also exacerbate asthma symptoms. Anyone with a mold allergy should try to avoid exposure by removing water-damaged materials and reducing indoor humidity levels in their home. So, if you suspect you have black mold in your home, the best course of action is to contact a professional mold remediation company such as National Restoration Experts to remove the mold and prevent future mold growth.

Symptoms

Mold allergies produce the same signs and symptoms as other forms of upper respiratory allergies. Mold allergies can induce allergic rhinitis, which can manifest as the following signs and symptoms:

• Sneezing
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Cough and postnasal drip
• Itchy eyes, nose and throat
• Watery eyes
• Dry, scaly skin

Mold allergy symptoms can range from minor to severe and vary from person to person. You may have year-round symptoms or symptoms that only appear at specific periods of the year. When the weather is moist or you are in an indoor or outdoor location with high concentrations of black mold, you may have symptoms.

 

Black Mold Allergy And Asthma

If you have a mold allergy and asthma, your asthma symptoms can be triggered by exposure to black mold spores. In some people, exposure to certain molds can cause a severe asthma attack. Consult your doctor if you experience a stuffy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, shortness of breath, wheezing, or other unpleasant symptoms that persist.

 

Causes

Mold allergy symptoms, like any other allergy, are caused by an excessively sensitive immune system reaction. When you breathe microscopic black mold spores in the air, your body identifies them as foreign invaders and produces allergy-causing antibodies to combat them.

Black Mold spore exposure might result in an immediate reaction or a delayed reaction.

Molds are widespread both indoors and outdoors. Allergies are caused by only a few types of mold. Being sensitive to one form of mold does not guarantee that you will be allergic to another. Alternaria, aspergillus, cladosporium, and penicillium are some of the most prevalent molds that cause allergies.

Risk Factors

A variety of variables can increase your chances of developing a mold allergy or exacerbating your existing mold allergy symptoms, including:

• Having a history of allergies in one’s family. If you have a family history of allergies and asthma, you are more likely to develop a mold allergy.
• Working in a field that exposes you to black mold. Farming, dairy labor, logging, baking, millwork, carpentry, greenhouse work, winemaking, and furniture repair are among jobs that might expose you to a lot of black mold.
• Living in a humid environment. Indoor humidity levels of more than 50% might promote black mold growth in your house.

Black Mold may grow almost everywhere if the conditions are perfect, including  walls in framing, on soap-coated grout and other wet surfaces, carpet pads, and in the carpet itself. Mold allergy symptoms can be triggered by excessive amounts of home mold.

• Working or residing in a structure that has been subjected to excessive moisture. Leaky pipes, water seepage during rainstorms, and flood damage are all examples. Almost every structure has some level of excessive moisture at some time, which can promote mold growth.
• Living in a house with inadequate ventilation. Tight window and door seals can trap moisture within and impede appropriate circulation, allowing mold to thrive. Bathrooms and kitchens are particularly vulnerable.

Complications

Most allergic reactions to mold entail hay fever-like symptoms that can be annoying but aren’t severe. Certain allergy diseases induced by mold, on the other hand, are more severe. These are some examples:

• Asthma caused by mold. Breathing in mold spores can cause an asthma flare-up in those who are sensitive to mold. If you have a mold allergy as well as asthma, make sure you have an emergency plan in place in case of a severe asthma attack.
• Sinusitis caused by an allergic fungus. This is caused by an inflammatory response to fungus in the sinuses.
• Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. This type of fungal response in the lungs can develop in patients who have asthma or cystic fibrosis.
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis. This uncommon disease arises when lung inflammation is caused by airborne particles such as mold spores. It can be induced by occupational exposure to allergen-causing dust.

Other Problems Caused By Mold

Black Mold, in addition to allergies, can offer significant health concerns to those who are sensitive to it. Mold, for example, can cause skin and mucous membrane diseases. Mold, in general, does not cause systemic infections, except in persons with compromised immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS or on immunosuppressive drugs.

 

Prevention

Consider the following tips to minimize black mold growth in your home:

• • Use a dehumidifier in any part of your home that smells musty or wet. Maintain a humidity level of less than 50%. Keep the collecting bucket and condensation coils clean on a regular basis.
  • Install central air conditioning with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter attachment and use an air conditioner. Mold spores from outside air might be trapped by the HEPA filter before they are circulated inside your home.
  • Replace the filters in your furnace and air conditioner on a regular basis. Inspect and, if required, clean the forced air heating ducts.
  • Make sure all bathrooms are adequately aired, and operate the ventilation fan during and shortly after a shower or bath to dry the air. Open a window or door when showering or bathing if you don’t have a ventilation fan.

• • Bathrooms should not be carpeted.

• • Remove leaves and plants from around the foundation and clean out rain gutters on a regular basis to encourage groundwater drainage away from your home. Ascertain that the earth slopes away from the foundation.

• • Keep organic plant containers, such as those made of straw, wicker, or hemp, clean and dry.

• • Old books and newspapers should be discarded or recycled. They may rapidly grow mold if kept in moist areas.

 

A Mold Remediation Company Serving South Florida

Contact National Restoration Experts at 754-216-4660 now for 24 hour water damage restoration, fire damage restoration, or black mold removal, or receive a quick quotation from our website. In 30 to 60 minutes, our mold remediation team will arrive at your south Florida house or office.

Do you suspect mold in your home? Read about the most common household mold here.