Black Mold Mold Allergies

4 Black Mold Poisoning Symptoms

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Toxic Black Mold

Usually associated with the nasty back and green patches on the walls, mold is the non- scientific term for a wide variety of fungi. These organisms thrive in damp, warm and humid environment and can evolve both indoors and outdoors. Mold is not only unsightly and smelly, but it is also potentially dangerous for human health.

Toxic black mold in particular can be quite hazardous and can trigger an array of symptoms. Also known as Stachybotrys chartarum, these fungi feed on organic materials such as carpet, insulation and drywall, while releasing spores. These spores are then inhaled or ingested, causing a range of unpleasant and sometimes severe health issues.

Discomfort and Tiredness

Toxic black mold may cause the immune system to release sedative called Chloral Hydrate, used to slow down the effect of the fungi. As a result a person may feel tired, dizzy and weak. Chronic fatigue, headaches, nausea, chest pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea may also be related to toxic black mold exposure. Cleaning the mold patches right away will minimize the chances of any health issues in the future.

Allergies

Like other types of indoors mold, toxic black mold may also cause allergic reactions. Keep in mind that allergies are just the body’s response to the external particles. Thorough cleaning of areas such as the carpets, walls and window molding will prevent mold infestations. A long-term exposure to black mold weakens the immune system, making it more sensitive to different allergens. Runny or nose, sneezing, watery or itchy eyes, skin rash and irritation, sore throat and shortness of breath are some of the allergic reactions black mold may trigger.

Respiratory Problems

One of the most common health effects and symptoms of black mold exposure are associated with a respiratory response. This type of fungi produces trichothecene mycotoxins that are one of the most volatile and resilient types of mycotoxins, that can be found on the airborne spores of the mold. Thus they can easily penetrate the human body through inhalation. The mycotoxins then cause irritation and burning feeling in human’s air passages like the mouth, throat and nasal cavity. Difficulty breathing, chronic coughing, asthma, sore throat, wheezing, runny or stuffy nose are some of the signs that you may be exposed to toxic black mold. The spores can even get into the sinuses and the lungs resulting in serious breathing problems and bleeding in the lungs. Regular house cleaning with proper tools will keep the toxic airborne spores away.

Neurological Symptoms

There is another danger to trichothecene mycotoxins. They can kill the neurons in the brain, impairing a person’s mental ability or causing nervous disorders such as mood swings. Other symptoms include confusion, disorientation, slowed orientation, brain fog, seizure and even anxiety and depression. To keep the mold infestations at bay, perform frequent domestic cleaning and aerate the moist area.

If you are concerned about being exposed to toxic black mold turn to your physician. They can perform an allergy test for you and a physical examination to identify any worrying signs. If you spot any black mold infestation, remove them immediately or call professional cleaning company.

Heather Roberts is a freelance guest blogger from London, UK. She has got many published articles on various topics such as domestic cleaning, stain removal, home organizing etc. She loves to spend her time with family and friends and she also tries to live an eco-friendly life.

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4 comments

Kelley Conley September 15, 2016 - 12:17 am
kac374@gmail.comHi good morning, I am hoping that someone will be able to help us. I am turning to you desperately seeking someone to finally help us resolve this horrible situation we are experiencing at our current residence. Her is my story: We have been living here at 1 Fairway Drive, Derry, NH for approximately 3 years and the first year we didn't have any real issues. But on October 15th 2015 our lives were turned upside down. We first thought we had a flea problem as we found 1 flea on our cat, in which was taken care of right away. However a day after we started experiencing bites, and began inspecting our "below-grade" apartment, only to witness small insects jumping in our carpets. We contacted the office right away and they responded by flea bombing our apartment, hallway and public laundry room. We spoke with other residents of 1 Fairway Drive only to find out that others also had been having similar issues. Their pets too had fleas, one couple had drain flies and fruit flies, another resident admitted to having fleas and instead of contacting the office they bombed their own apartment with store bought product, and it goes on! They even buried a dead rabbit in the back of the building! We thought we were ok but our symptoms continued and got worse. We ended up going to our doctors on several occasions with no avail, diagnosed with possible dermatitis, scabies, and then pinworms. We had no improvement with treatment. I believe we never even had any of these diagnosis. However something was consistently aggravating our skin and at the worst times we were pulling what looked like fleas, or again some type of insect from our skin with tweezers. This has been so traumatizing I can't even begin to express how bad it has been. We have spent countless hours and spent crazy amounts of our money ( which we don't make much) on replacing items that have been ruined, such as Clothing, furniture, and food just to name a few. We had to purchase tons of cleaning products to somehow disinfect this disgusting apartment. We finally collected specimens from our skin lesions and brought them to the UNH entomologist who stated that there were some grain beetles but mostly nothing that would cause our skin infections. At this point we seriously thought we were going crazy! We contacted the office again and they sent out their contracted pest control company to check for bed bugs, again to NO avail. They agreed to rip up our living room carpet which had black stains and sludge seeping up through from God knows where! They replaced the carpet with "faux" hardwood flooring. Which also continues to collect black sludge seeing up through. We can't walk barefoot anywhere otherwise our feet become black and its very hard to clean off. With months passing things had gotten worse if you can even believe that! More doctor appointments, and serious health problems experienced by myself, husband and son. They include but are not limited to skin irritations, respiratory problems, headaches, irritability, sleeping problems, eye irritation ( pink eye ), our son has become aggressive and angry, nausea, vomiting and more. Other tenants have also expressed how they have experienced viral and bacterial infections. With more research, continued symptoms, and a lack of concern from the Apartment Management, we believe there is toxic black mold that engulfs this entire building. Here is a list of other issues that have also been a HUGE problem: - [ ] Pest control confirms thousands of Norway rats live behind building ( not confirmed tone inside however there is indicating signs that they do. - [ ] Electrical issues - [ ] Septic system problems: bathroom sink leaks, toilet clogs constantly and overflows onto floor which even after cleaning is very unhealthy - [ ] A/C has never been cleaned and blows out dirt - [ ] Kitchen sink leaks - [ ] Black carpets even after cleaning - [ ] Our walls have cut-outs as if they have had years of problems but deny they have piping or damage inside walls - [ ] The vents outside building have birds nests in them which can cause several blockage problems causing mites to get in through vents that blow out not suck in - [ ] We noticed dead flies, water damaged walls, leak stains in ceilings and in hallways. - [ ] Carpets are so lose you can pull them up revealing a very disturbing sight. We eventually contacted the town Building inspectors Bill Mackie and Bob Wentworth along with the health inspector Courtney Boegart who finally all came out to investigate the building to see if there is any code violations. A week later we received a call stating that they saw no code violations however Courtney Boegart stated she wished we hadn't re-signed our lease. I believe due to the revenue the Fairways brings in for the town of Derry, they are all in kahoots with each other and therefore won't risk losing the money they bring in so they all deny any issues. The final straw was just recently, when myself and other tenants have witnessed rats behind the building. There are thousands of Norway rats ( confirmed by the Fairways management team's contracted pest control company.)they placed 1 rat bait box under our bedroom window and never reached out to us on the problem any further. We still notice rats. We also have caught a local Carpet company that continues to clean " a ton of leaks in this building " as the cleaner states, and then empties the contaminated water into our sewer drain located in the parking lot. I have contacted the office providing pictures and video, who said they would resolve this problem, however it continues to happen. Also, 2 weeks ago, when our bathroom vent began pouring water out onto our bathroom floor. Only to discover the leak was from the third floor that had been an ongoing issue due to a resident ignoring their own bathroom leaking problem. They opened up the bathroom ceiling revealing soaked wood, black toxic mold, and who knows what else. We are absolutely literally and figuratively sick and tired and are considering contacting a lawyer. Our lease is up in February, and at this point we are in search for a new place. We will move ASAP but this problem is above and beyond anything I ever could imagined. We have an appointment for our son to be tested for black mold poisoning. We are at our wits end and don't know who else to reach out to for help. We have contacted the EPA, and unfortunately there are ok regulations on mold, we have requested the below-grade apartment to be tested for mold as well as test the air quality. However these tests are beyond expensive. I am on disability and do not have the resources to have anyone to come out to test for these issues. Until we can actually find a new healthy, and safe place to live we continue to suffer the effects from living in this nasty, unhealthy, and dirty apartment..we are at a loss and seriously pray that someone can help investigate this issue before it's too late. We have thousands of pictures and videos we can provide as proof of what we are enduring. I have provided a few just to give you an idea of the horrific nightmare we face, if you are able to help us obviously you will have access to any and all of the emails, videos, medical notes and pictures we have for proof of our situation. Even though we may be leaving, we still want answers to why this is happening, who is responsible, do we have the rights to restitution for all of the trauma, time, and money lost during the past year from Hell. We also have concern for the other tenants who live here. Everyone deserves a healthy safe place to live especially those with children. This building is a hazard and I want it to be resolved. If you can and want to help please contact me Kelley Conley at 603-260-4510 or at kac374@hotmail.com
SMH October 28, 2016 - 1:40 pm
Take pictures and more pictures document everything you see feel and any marks on everyone in your families body, write it all down and i mean a picture of it all.....i don't care how embarrassing it is to you or your son it has to be done! Your not losing it or crazy and the women that told you she wished you didn't pay your rent that month, it does not make a difference. Get an Attorney NOW! Get one who doesn't look at you crosseyed or snickers walk out if they do. Get one that gets paid only if you win. Your son is most at risk if under 15 yrs. Please dont wait as long as i have i have 2 very sick dogs that 2 vets said are fine and i have so much scaring and im still fighting it but it is getting better and it natural things I've come up with along with a bunch of learning. Doctors don't believe the problem exists or hands are tied or ive seen people loose jobs or told they have mental problems i have read people put away....thats un- American but happens for decades. Feel free to contact me anytime i will share everything i know and we are 50% better! Dont let it go Kelly cause it gets worse then critters coming out your mouth and that is really as bad as i thought it could get....I THOUGHT! I did call so you have my number. Email is beautifulplus68@gmail.com
There is a GOD December 16, 2016 - 2:58 am
I have been catching it at my job for about 5 months. Costruction started last year with the removal of Asbestos and GOD only knows what else. I have been getting progressively worse with respiratory illnesses, fatigue brain fog, muscle and joint pain, and intestinal issues. I reported these to my job and nothing was really said until I voiced my complaint on a Workers comp ain't site. Then I reported this to OSHA as well. OSHA gave this well known company and extension to clean up and get air quality test done. After a couple of months OSHA says that there going to finish the report and close it out. I was livid and wrote to the powers that be. I have received a called from a colleague of the top guy stating that the construction was done and there was nothing I could do now. The way I see it because of money and power people feel like human life is meager and if a couple of people die from something that they caused then oh well. From what I've been experiencing they can hire the powerful attorneys and win so they don't care. At any rate their day is coming and they will see it triple fold! I am going through some legal action against them to recover loss of income and illness. I made sure pictures were always taken and medical records were kept. I know this all too well. I think this is a horrible things that is going on everywhere and no one wants to take responsibility for poorly controlled buildings, homes, or apartments, It has been proven for year that BLACK MOLD will eventually cause life threatening illness even death. So my situation has caused me to leave a job that I had been working for 5 years and I know am having to continually go to an Allergist for treatment of asthma and I am getting allergy injections. I am working on an issue with hypertension that sprung up with the chest pains, I felt a number of days that I was slowly dying and there was nothing I could do about it. So if you ask me this is a problem that strikes many, how do we fix it?,how do we make others aware? how many human lives have been lost to these horrible conditions that spring up from buildings? There something that can be done but it's going to take a lot for people to see this is an issue.
Michael January 18, 2019 - 12:16 pm
Back on August 10, 2018 , I had a flood in my apartment from the main drain that was in my bedroom hidden under the carpeting inwhich I knew nothing about ! It flooded my entire apartment inwhich , the sheetrock absorbed water and shorted put 2 flatscreen tv's , absorbed in my sofa , my closet with all of my shoes and alot pf clothes were ruined from "air absorption". I have black mold throughout my apartment (carpet, walls and ceiling from a leak in the bathroom in the upstairs apt.) I had to live with a friend for 2 1/2 weeks until they got around to change THEIR carpet. Today in January 18 2019 and absolutely NOTHING has been addressed about this mold situation inwhich is effecting my breathing due to asthma !! I have taken plenty of pictures in October through January. I have notified the office numerous times and also submitted a list of issues due to this mold and other issues !! My windows are leaking inwhich mold has appeard in the window sill !!! I refuse to touch this mold due to it spreading throughout the air that I breath !! I have lost thousands of dollars in items inwhich they refuse to pay for. To make this readable , I am in the process of taking these people to court (small claims ip to $12,000) and let the judge understand that I am paying for a full apartment and can only live in my Living room , Dining room and Kitchen. I cannot sleep in the bedrooms due to this mold and my breathing so , I am paying for a full apartment but am living in an efficiency!! If they dont want to respond to THEIR DRAIN AND MOLD PROBLEM , "I WILL LEAVE IT UP TO THE JUDGE"!!! DONT WAIT , anymore than you feel is long enough !! Make sure that they WILL NOT. Possibly cut your life short !!!! Be pro-active for the next person who has this same issue !! I will be weitting the results of my law suit so that others can see the results and if possitive , I wish that everyone would follow this step !! I pray that all are in good health !!!
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