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10 Health Risks of Toxic Mold
Are you Living in an Area with Risks of Toxic Mold?
If you are living in an area where the relative humidity is above 55%, you are very much liable to health risks caused by toxic molds.
Black Mold, also known as Stachybotrys Chartarum.
Stachybotrys Chartarum is a greenish-black fungi found worldwide that colonizes particularly well in high-cellulose material such as straw, hay, wet leaves, dry wall, carpet, wall paper, fiber-board, ceiling tiles, thermal insulation, etc. The fungus, before drying, is wet and slightly slimy to touch.
Stachybotrys is considered a toxic mold and is one of the major health risk providers.
Species of Black Mold
There are about fifteen species of Stachybotrys worldwide. Contrary to popular belief, this type of fungus does not grow on plastic, vinyl, concrete products, or ceramic tiles. Neither is it found in the green mold on bread or in the black mold on shower tiles.
The toxic mold environmental risk may be one of the next major real estate “due diligence†concerns, especially in property development areas where major flooding has occurred.
The problem is that the existence of toxic molds not only includes residential and commercial area flood incidents, but also numerous minor water releases due to plumbing failures, conductive condensation, house water leaks and accidents.
The toxic mold concern could also be a problem where fires have occurred on residential properties.
For some people, exposure to the toxic mold spores may stay just a “risk”. To others, it may be a real health hazard, with life-threatening results.
Health Risk or Health Hazard?
Whether a potential liability concern is just health risk or a major hazard, there will be paramount in defining the critical level of due diligence and disclosure response by responsible parties.
There are already several major lawsuits concerning toxic mold exposure in residential and commercial buildings throughout the United States.
The 10 most common health risks associated with toxic mold are:
1. pulmonary hemorrhage or pulmonary hemosiderosis (primarily in infants)
2. nose bleeds
3. immune system suppression (resulting in increasing numbers of infections)
4. hair loss
5. dermatitis
6. chronic fatigue
7. psychological depression
8. diarrhea
9. sore throats
10. headaches and other flu-like symptoms
Can All Toxic Mold Be Eliminated?
One of the major concerns that many experts have is that one might not be able to permanently eliminate ALL of the toxic mold from a structure.
There also remains a great propensity for future reoccurrence. It is therefore recommended that great care be exercised to remove and dispose of all products that have been contaminated by the toxic mold.
Another concern is that state’s Health Departments will consider ambiguous and genetic disposition as a response to the inquiries about toxic mold that is made by the public.
There will be some people, especially children, which will exhibit more adverse reactions than other persons exposed to the toxic mold. Some of these reactions will include death, lung tissue damage and memory loss.
This may also depend on the chemical sensitivity, genetic disposition, and predisposing health history.
Currently, most health organizations consider exposure to toxic mold a health risk and hazard. Keep in mind that most responses leading to testing, investigations, and abatement of the toxic mold are due directly to occupant complaints or documented detrimental health effects.
Liability Concerns
Toxic molds may even evolve to a point where it is regarded with the same cautions, response and liability concerns as those attributed to lead-base paint and asbestos.
Health hazards and risks associated with concern to exposure to these types of mold are currently considered as short-term effects as opposed to exposure to radon gas in houses, which is considered a long-term health risk.
The Stachybotrys fungi cannot be identified by a routine visual inspection. All black molds are not necessarily Stachybotrys. It could be non-toxic black mold.
The only method to determine the type of mold present is by sample analysis by an accredited laboratory. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the mold is only a toxic risk or hazard if a person breathes or comes into contact with the spores.
Wet mold is not an indoor air quality health risk, but there is a significant potential for the mold to dry and released into the air.
Be wary of continuous health problems you might be having. If you cannot find the cause of these problems, chances are they are not really that visible to the eyes. Toxic molds can be as risky to your health as any other environmental factors.
Further Recommended Reading :
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger Team
I am a victim of toxic mold. My symptoms include an inability to recall short-term memories, walking problems, shaking, and major changes in peronality, like outbursts of anger. We lived in two houses that we had to move from because life became impossible due to mold. It is so much more than watering eyes and a runny nose – it is every system in the body. My vision became foggy and my eyes literally sunk in my head. My skin became wrinkled and I developed black circles under my eyes. I looked like a crack addict. So, anyone whose life begins to change, relationships begin to fall apart, and anger becomes a way of life, consider moving! There is no amount of bleach that will make it okay for the person who has developed the allergy. Plus, the bleach is really bad for people like us. We couldn’t even take one piece of paper with us, as it is now contaminated and it makes me sick. Now we live in a tiny, 2-bedroom, very clean apartment on a slab (leaving my 3,000 sq. ft. house). It is worth it! Next house we buy will include an very thorough testing before signing the contract!
Holly on January 6th, 2008I lived in an apartment that started to flood and never stopped. Mold had grown everywhere. The manager was aware of this and was cited to have a mold level test and fix other serious deficiencies that they never did. I have a compromised immune system and liver disease. My ammonia level went sky high. It was not like that until I moved into this apartment and stopped when I moved out. It was a revolving door. I was hospitalized and had many ER visits buy rescue.
I was in Respiratory ICU for three weeks after two months at new place. The last time I became ill was right before I moved out. My family had not heard from me for four days. My son crawled through my bedroom window and found me sitting in bed, half dress, knotted hair, and dry bloody lips, semi-comatose and half-dead. I had not left my bed for four days, so you can imagine what my son saw. He called 911 and called my mom sobbing. I was rushed to the Trauma Center, last rights, admitted into ICU. I didn‘t know anyone and I did not talk, I babbled. I have three sisters that are nurses; they said they believed they were going to leave the hospital without me.
I barely made it, and then I went to a psychiatric hospital. I could not talk right, I forgot common words, did not recognize my sons, grandchildren and family. I could not write legibly, make change from $1 and I was talking as if it was 1976-1979 when I was in high school. I was talking about the blizzard of 1978, high school friends & boyfriend, my teachers, a fatal car accident I saw, my Spanish teacher. When my sons and grandchildren came up to see me, I was confused. I knew them, but I could not figure out who they really were. I did not want to tell anyone about all of this; because I was afraid, they would not let me go home.
Finally, my dad told me that was many years ago. I was puzzled. I did not know how he could have been so old. I did not want to hurt anyone feelings, so, I shut up, and lived in my world. I became very angry and demanded to go home. They discharged me. I did not know why they did that until I went home. I had Hospice Care. My family told me that they take care of people who are very sick and not necessarily dying. They tried to talk me into going to a nursing home. When I got home, I could not figure out why I had my own apartment. I was so mentally messed up. The Hospice nurses did not believe I had much more time to live. I did.
I could not dress myself, bath myself, fix my meals, drive my car and did not want to answer my phone. I did strange things, and I still do not know what I was thinking. I took pictures of my family and started tearing them up. I saved some people’s pictures, but I through out the other half. Hospice helped me find another apartment, pack and move. I do not know how I did it, but I did. I moved into my new apartment, Hospice discharged me within two weeks, and I have not been sick since then. I still feel beat up by all that happened physically and mentally. I am well, but still not as I was before this happened. I never told my family this story; it was too hard to explain everything. Now, I will let my family read this email, so I do not have to relive this nightmare ever again.
lorraine decristoforo on March 15th, 2008Lorraine, thank you so much for your story. That’s amazing and truly shows the damage that mold can make in one individual’s life.
I wish you the best of health,
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on March 17th, 2008Hello Joslyn and the team,
Thank you for your reply and your determination to get this out there to the public. I would like to express my sorrow to those who have lost loved one, and thank them for their courage of carrying this important message despite their pain. Sadly, the owners of the apartment complex could not wait for me to move. They had full knowledge of the mold infestation and my many hospitalizations nearly dying. I did call Housing Authority, and they were cited. I was moving anyway, however, not as quick as they would have liked. They would not receive rent, until the deficiencies were fixed. Therefore, they eliminated the least costly problem, me. Now, they are renting to others. I do not want to be arrested for trespassing; however, I will find a way to reach other tenants. Any suggestions…..
Lorraine DeCristoforo
lorraine decristoforo on March 20th, 2008Lorraine,
I think you’ve done a wonderful job in letting others know.
With such a heavy mold infestation, it won’t be long before the new renters realize the problem. Then, with more supporters against the landlords, there will be a higher chance of getting action for mold remediation procedures.
I would, without trespassing or imposing on their rights, talk with the new tenants to see if they are experiencing the same or similar problems, and if they would be willing to join the fight against mold with you.
Have a Wonderful Day!
Joslyn from the MoldBlogger team
Joslyn on March 26th, 2008Hi Joslyn and team,
It has been quite sometime since I visited this website and read my blog and other’s.
Lorraine on April 14th, 2008Often, I have this terrifying feeling inside, and I have to stop to think about what it is that is so tragic. When I realize that my sons are OK, I then realize it was the, “mold.” What a frightening word. Something I never thought about before. I still break down and cry, which is quite odd for me.
I’ve been through some tragedies, but this one “gets me.”
An attorney said something like, you’ve faced terminal illnesses before, like I have had practice at this, a pro… I thought it through and realized, I have been given a death sentence with my liver disease, but I never look death in the eye. For me, that is a huge difference.
Lorraine
I’m a little bit concerned. I’ve been living in a basement apartment for four months and I just pulled the bed out from the wall today and there’s all kinds of mold growing on the baseboards. It’s scary because I’ve been sleeping in the room for this long! I’ve been sick off and on since I moved here and have had a lot of really terrible migraines. I have also had allergic reactions to things that I never seemed to be allergic to before and my chest hurts. I’ve already given my notice to tell the people I’m moving out but I’m afraid to live here even one more day…yikes!
Naomi on November 6th, 2008Thanks all of you for sharing. I’ve had serious short term memory loss lately that seemed to come out of the blue. I have been living in a house with mold under the leaky kitchen sink for about nine months and wonder if that could be a cause. I live in Italy, where I don’t speak the language so well and building codes are not exactly up to US standards (no fire alarms or extinguishers!) I am definitely considering moving soon and see if my condition improves!
JD on March 27th, 2009I lived in a house with toxic mold,I moved out 5 months ago,just recently I was going through a box in the garage most of my things were left behind or thrown out while looking in the box my throat started hurting,my mouth became very dry and I felt a familiar burning on my face as I did before,can the toxins be in the air? Can toxins survive here too this is a newer home as the other but this one has no mold in the walls,if Toxins are in the air now how long will they stay? thank you. Teri Lynn Novak
TERILYN on April 6th, 2009I am a care giver, my client lives in a very old trailer house. There is mold everywhere! I have never had allergies in my life, now I find that I have Hay fever, I get to work and my nose and eyes run, for the last two weeks or so I even feel nautious there.
I am reading about the depression being caused by mold exposure. I’m wondering about that, I’ve been pretty crabby lately, well for the last year I think.
MoniqueS on July 29th, 2009Great site. Mold will continue to be an issue with homeowners. I’ve had many troubles. Keep up the great work!
Edgar Leeber on November 1st, 2009Hi, I have recently been exposed to mould. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with my partner and 2 children. Our baby is in the room with us. Its a pretty small master bedroom with an ensuite. The ensuite had a leak behind the wall for months and we only realised this when the timber around it looked damp. Then we noticed mould was growing on the walls on our bedroom. I started to complain about a musty smell. I also noticed i was getting colds and flus and was very tired all the time. The up to 3 weeks ago my breathing start getting worse at night. Then it was getting much worse every night until i couldnt take it anymore. I went to the Dr. She gave me antibiotics for a chest infection. They did nothing for me, i then went back and she gave me an inhalor and sent me for a chest xray with a note saying “check for ‘something?’ fibrosis”. Now im waiting for the results and moved to my parent home. My breathing has much improved at night but im still coughing like mad throughout the day and night. My breathing is still a tiny bit tight now but the improvement is 80%. Im just hoping the dr. doesnt tell me the worst. Is this normal woth other mould sufferers and is it possible to get fibrosis from mould exposure?? And if its not Fibrosis could i have a permenant lung problem now?????
Philip on November 3rd, 2009Hi,
Judith on December 6th, 2009I appreciate all who shared your stories, because they make me feel less alone. I don’t havethe energy to tell my story, but suffice it to say that I was exposed to a tremendous amout of mold, over a period of time, and now have Addison’s Disease.
What has been a sheer Hell for me, has been my crazy ability to detect those certain spores or toxins on family members who come over after having been in thatsame apt. (in the woods) I get strange symptoms, like my eyes blinking or squeezing shut, a clicking or cracking sound inmy head, joints popping, and a ‘stupid’, pressure-like feeling in my head, as wellas inability to think well, and often, anger.
When I hold objects the exposed people have brought over, I get those same symptoms…everything gets contaminated!
I wish to God, I didn’t have this terrible ability to detect it,as it makes me so miserable (forgot to mention anxiety and depression, as well!)and it has cost me not only my health, but the love and support of my family…I feel so very alone in this. Thank you all, for understanding, and I hope you all get relief from this devastating problem.
very interesting and helpful article to increase knowledge about health and mold.In recent time we should be familiar with that type of health issues.
jerry jacson on December 10th, 2009thank you.
I live in a rental house that I believe is infested with mold, both on the surface of the walls and inside the walls. I can’t see it anywhere on the walls, but I’m sure it’s infested. I am sure of this because I once left some bread out and it got moldy. I immediately took the bread outside and buried it deep in a hole in the back yard. However, I’m sure toxic mold spores were released into the air from the bread sitting there on my counter for a few days – and now these microscopic death spores have been sucked into my heating ducts and have been circulating toxic fungus throughout my house and into my lungs. In addition to the bread mold, I discovered mold growing on my shower curtain. It too has probably been releasing poison into the air and onto every single surface in my home. I am very concerned for my life and the precious lives of my family. Just like radiactive fallout, this invisible mold has coated every square inch of my belongings, so instead of wiping them off, I am not going to take any chances and am going to dispose of everything. I am certain I have felt differently since discovering the moldy bread. I can’t seem to remember anything, I have gotten depressed. I sometimes have trouble sleeping. I’ve had headaches, backaches, stomach aches, sore throats, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, itchy eyes and athletes foot. I get angry often. I have trouble staying interested in boring TV shows. I argue with my wife. Yes, I have had symptoms like this before in my life, but I see all this litigation going on about mold and I just know I have been infected and permanently damaged by the ravishing effects of this terrible terrible toxic mold. There is no way it can be attributed to anything else. I don’t know what to do. I wish there was someone I could call who could help me out of this situation. I would be so very grateful and relieved to get some sort of large financial settlement out of this like other victims – it would definitely bring me piece of mind and probably alleviate most of these horrible symptoms of toxic mold that are currently killing me. There has to be someone to blame for this – most likely my landlord. It’s his property afterall. He has several rental properties so I’m sure he is loaded. I love your informative site and am so thankful to see so many companies advertising on this site that make their money specifically from people like me suffering from the effects of toxic mold death. Please tell me who I can call to get some help with my horrific situation before it’s too late. Thank you.
Steve on January 24th, 2010I’m going through so many similar issues with my 20 year old daughter. She is having symptoms of fever, shortness of breath, severe body aches, confusion, short term memory loss and headaches. Also, realizing that my husband is having reoccuring migraines, and my son has a chronic cough, sinus infections, etc. I decided to do some research on my own. My daughter has been to many doctors, ER visits, allergy tests, etc and no one has mentioned mold exposure. All bloodwork comes back normal. IS there a medication she can take to get better? Also, we are in the process of cleaning our home of mold after high levels of mold were found in the basement.
Karen Wrenn on March 3rd, 2010I`m broken out with large welts,tired,headaches,muscle cramping and I have visible mold growing everywhere in my home.I so overwhelmed.Can someone please help me.Also am in great financial dept.
beverly on March 15th, 2010