Originally published August 17 2011
Be bold with mold
by Paul Fassa
(NaturalNews) Mold has too often been compared with pollen as an allergic reaction. But breathing indoor air in a dwelling with mold offers more dire consequences than sneezing often with runny eyes. Chronic disease, immune system dysfunction, neurological problems, and even death can result if mold is taken too lightly.
How Molds Form
Molds you see on hard surfaces, such as shower tiling, are not very toxic. The main toxic fungus creation is moisture collected on or especially inside wet porous surfaces containing enough cellulose or organic material to feed the fungus. Examples are soft wood, drywall and other porous materials such as carpeting and ceiling tiles. Molds can be sneaky, hiding out of view beneath outer layers of once wet porous materials.
Toxic Black Mold or Stachybotrys (stack-ee-BOT-ris) is very hazardous to health, especially when it dries and releases spores into the air. It is more common in areas with over 55% relative humidity. Another really dangerous mold is Chaetomium (kay-toe MEE-yum).
It doesn't take major external or internal flooding for a toxic mold to take hold. Minor basement seepage and under sink leakage accumulation are culprits as well.
Many state health agencies are aware of toxic mold's danger. They often have regulations requiring landlords and selling homeowners to remove everything that contains mold. The tenants or buyers are usually legally in the right to break any contractual living arrangement if action is not taken. What's commonly required is a licensed mold remover certifying the mold's existence.
Removing mold is costly because sections of housing need to be removed and replaced. Intense cleaning with lots of ventilation is done between removing and re-installing dwelling sections. Rooms that require heavy cleaning with bleach and noisy ventilators have to be vacated for a few days.
Health Risks and Hazards
A health risk creates minor consequences, such as minor allergic reactions. A health hazard creates long term debilitating disease or death. Chaetomium and most of the fifteen strains of Stachybotrys Black Mold represent health hazards.
Spores can infest nasal passages or be ingested with infected treats lying around. Once they enter the body, it's possible for them to colonize and create a widespread fungal infection. These fungal infections are difficult to remove.
Besides spores becoming airborne and breathed in daily, mycotoxins are also released into the indoor air. Mycotoxins are secondary toxic metabolites produced by fungal mold organisms. They are similar to bacteria metabolic (feeding) byproducts, which are more toxic than the bacteria itself.
Some molds may produce several different mycotoxins. So one mold can create a myriad of unhealthy symptoms. Lung and gastrointestinal tract irritations are very common. Low energy, chronic fatigue, and neurological damage may also occur with residents of mold infested dwellings.
Mycotoxins can cause extreme dizziness, inability to focus, and slurred speech. Because the immune system is affected by spores creating fungal infections or mycotoxins, autoimmune diseases can manifest while coping with a mold infested dwelling or "sick building".
Coping includes filtering the indoor air. One should be more concerned with eliminating molds and potential mold sources than coping. Symptoms can be misdiagnosed as not mold related, putting one on a medical wild goose chase that can lead to death.
Herbalist and holistic medical writer/lecturer Ingrid Naiman says if you find mold in your house you should leave until it's removed. She gives an account of her exposure while naively coping with household mold health issues in her new home. (Source 3 below)
Sources for more information include:
(1) http://www.mold-help.org/
(2) http://www.startremodeling.com/black_mold_he...
(3) http://www.moldmisery.com/ingrid_naiman/ingr...
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycotoxin
About the author
Paul Fassa is dedicated to warning others about the current corruption of food and medicine and guiding others toward a direction for better health with no restrictions on health freedom. You can visit his blog at http://healthmaven.blogspot.com
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