Mold Issues: Who is Susceptible to Getting Sick

The seemingly small hairy living organisms, ‘molds’ can become a health hazard in any home, alarmingly fast. The effect of molds on humans does not entirely depend on the strength of the immune system. Molds affects humans in a variety of ways, leaving some people more susceptible to getting sick than others.

According to various studies, the following people are the most susceptible to mold influence:

·        Infants

·        Elderly people

·        People with respiratory disorders

·        Asthmatic patients

·        People with different kinds of respiratory or fungal allergies

·        Patients with immuno-compromised problems

Common Effects of Molds on Health

The common effects of molds include allergies and irritants. However, molds also produce toxins (mycotoxins), which are absorbed by humans. The reaction to mold allergens, irritants and toxins varies from person to person. The reaction depends on the following three elements:

·        The length of time of exposure to molds

·        Person’s sensitivity to allergies and irritants

·        Person’s age

When a person inhales or touches mold, the reaction is evident from symptoms like runny nose, skin rashes, itching, coughing, nasal congestion, watery eyes, wheezing, chest tightness, and difficulty in breathing. Molds cause severe infectious diseases only among people with weaker immune system.

Research Evidence about the Effect of Molds

The Institute of Medicine conducted a study in 2004 and came up with direct link of molds with upper respiratory tract of humans. According to the study, molds are linked with asthma symptoms in patients of asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis symptoms in people with immune system disorders, and respiratory tract disturbances in people with respiratory disorders. These disturbances include wheezing, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and difficulty in breathing. The study further reveals that the influence of molds is poorer on healthy children.

Another study,  was conducted and published by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that between the 1993 to 1994, hundreds of infants in Cleveland, Ohio fell victim to pulmonary hemorrhage. The unusual outbreak attracted international attention when one of the victim infants died. The American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a study and revealed that infants living in homes with molds or flood history are easy victims of pulmonary hemorrhage. 

What Medical Tests are Available for Mold Exposure?

Most of the physicians recommend RAST, the radio-allergo-sorbent test. This blood test measures the immunoglobulin antibodies in your blood stream to measure the response and reaction of your immune system to mold exposure. Another common test includes applying diluted allergens to the skin. A small hive-like outgrowth shows allergic reaction to molds. The size of hive shows the measure of reaction to molds.

Are Treatments Available?

Different types of medical treatments are available to treat allergic reactions and infections caused by the molds. However, the treatment is incomplete if the person with allergic reaction is again exposed to molds. Therefore, it is important to completely eradicate mold growth and take measures like installing dehumidifiers to prevent mold growth. 

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References http://www.cdc.gov/mold/dampness_facts.htm

http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/molds/harmful.html

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/mold.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/diagnosis-treatment/diagnosis/dxc-20200862

Mold in your Home

For more than a millennia, humans have lived with mold. However, in  our modern urbanized world, where congested spaces have created problems of their own, mold can pose some serious health hazards to the inhabitants.

From a slimy black/green spots in your bathroom to the fuzzy patches in your basement, kitchen and food items, mold can become a threat to your health, especially if you are already a victim of allergies or asthma. Molds come in various colors. They often have a thin hair like fuzzy look, which makes it an unpleasant sight to watch.

Types of indoor molds:

Mold is one of the various types of fungi that grow in abundance and can easily reproduce by forming spores. Most common types of mold found inhabiting in your households (indoors) are:

·        Penicilium

·        Cladosporium

·        Alternaria

·        Aspergillus

·        Black mold

In small amounts, mold is not dangerous, but when they settle on damp areas of your homes, the mold spores can spread to grow in large amounts. Therefore, when mold is growing on any surface, the enzymes are released in the air, which can easily be inhaled by people living inside the house. You can experience health problems if you inhale mold spores in large quantities. Not only do they cause health issues, but also destroy the object or surface from where it grows.

Bathrooms, basements, and kitchen areas are most prone to mold growth. Other household areas that are damp and moist can also harbor mold. Examples of areas susceptible to mold are: ceiling tiles, drywalls, carpets, furniture’s, roofing, under sinks (kitchen & bathroom), wallpaper, paneling, etc.

Where do Molds come from?

Outdoor molds grow through decomposition of organic matter such as leaves, dead trees, and compost which are widely found in dark and damp areas. The outdoor molds can enter the indoor through open windows, vents, heating, air conditioning systems and open doors. Other ways that it can enter the household is through mold attaching on shoes, clothes and pets.

Additionally, mold is even hidden at the backside of walls, underneath the carpet, behind paneling’s, etc. Such mold is not easy to detect unless a musty odor spreads in the house. This can further create health issues such as sneezing, runny nose, respiratory problems, itchy eyes, and redness of the skin amongst many other problems. A research conducted found evidence that linked damp indoor environments to cough and other health issues in otherwise healthy people. 

Mold problems usually occur in airtight households and frequently in the season of summer, while in the winter mold occur more in drafty homes. For this reason, the US environmental protection association conducts test that highlights the level of mold spores to prove that buildings are in compliance with regulations set for mold exposures. 

By nature, mold is ubiquitous and for household places, mold spores are widely common. Small amount of mold can be fine, but large amounts of mold can potentially cause allergies and reactions.   

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References:

https://www.epa.gov/mold

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/dampness_facts.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_growth,_assessment,_and_remediation

Indoor Air Pollutants – The Silent Killer

Smog, carbon emissions, car emissions, and factory wastage are some common terms that come to mind when you think about air pollution. However, do you know that indoor air pollution is more dangerous and fatal than outdoor pollution?

According to EPA, it has been scientifically proven than indoor air quality is often more polluted than outdoor air quality. Most of the people spend almost 90% of their time indoors. The indoor air is also more concentrated than outdoor air. This is the reason that people who spend more time indoors tend to have greater chances of dizziness, fatigue, headache, runny nose, throat infections, and such.

A Breakdown of Common Pollutants and Their Sources

The outdoor air enters in your house in three ways:

·        Mechanical ventilation

·        Natural ventilation

·        Infiltration

Outdoor polluted air enters the house through cracks n floor, joints and walls, doors, windows, openings, natural ventilation sources, openings, and ceilings. However, indoor air is not polluted only due to outdoor pollution. Its other common sources include these. 

New Carpet and New Paint: Both of them contain Volatile Organic Compounds.

Plastic Products and New Electronics: Products manufactured with polyvinyl chloride release phthalate, which react with environmental gases and make the indoor air toxic. 

Broken Fluorescent Lights: Broken fluorescent lights release neurotoxins and mercury in the air. 

Upholstery or Pressed Wood Furniture: New pressed wood furniture or upholstered furniture may release carcinogens, formaldehyde or volatile organic compounds. The furniture varnish also contains volatile organic compounds. 

Biological Contaminants: Biological contaminants like mold, bacteria, mildew, and dust mites greatly add to lower the indoor air quality. 

Environmental Tobacco Smoke or Fuel Smoke: Smoke produced due to tobacco or burners, barbecue tables, and other cooking equipments release carbon dioxide in the air and lower its quality. 

Pesticide: Pesticides contains volatile organic compounds and phthalates, which are released when you spray the pesticides in air. 

Lead Products: All lead products including manufacturing pipes and cosmetics react with gases and pollute the air.

Phtahlate Containing Products and Cosmetics: Pesticides, insect killers, new paint, air fresheners, laundry surfs, hair dyes and cosmetic products essentially contain phthalates, which make the environment polluted.

Teflon Fumes: Nonstick pans and cooking utensils are used in most of the houses for cooking purposes today. However, when you cook food in them at high flame, the utensil releases Teflon fumes in the air which pollute the air. 

Glues and Adhesives: Rich in volatile organic compounds, glues and adhesives release methyl ethyl ketone in the air and affect the central nervous system.  

Impact on Human Health: According to the World Health Organization, around 4.3 million people die prematurely in a year due to poor indoor air quality. The report breaks down the ratio of these deaths as following:

·        34% due to stroke

·        26% due to ischaemic heart disease

·        22% due to chronic pulmonary disease

·        12% due to pneumonia

·        6% due to lung cancer

There are a number of ways to improve indoor air quality. Immediate steps include using a ventilator, dehumidifier, and eliminating old organic products and products containing formaldehyde and phthalates from the house. This can reduce the chances of aforementioned diseases by up to 60%. 

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References:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/inside-story-guide-indoor-air-quality

http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/indoor-air-pollution/

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/indoorairpollution.html

How to Assess Indoor Air Quality?

In our day-to-day life, we experience a variety of risks associated to our health. From driving cars, flying in airplanes, to engaging in recreational activities or just sitting at home—we are prone to environmental pollutants that may cause harm to our health.

Over the past decade, a growing number of scientific bodies have greatly indicated air within our homes and building can be highly polluted as compared to the outdoor air quality. While it is also estimated that 90% of the time is spent indoors. Therefore, people are exposed to indoor air pollutants for a longer period of time than they actually think.

Around 2.7 percent of the world’s burden of disease is due to indoor air quality, one of them is  poor respiratory disease. Studies by scientist around the world have linked majority of asthma related problems directly to the bad indoor air quality.

How can you assess indoor air quality?

A primary cause of indoor pollutants is through the gases and particles released in the air. This air, without adequate ventilation, remains inside the homes and buildings. To combat this issue, you can perform various indoor air quality assessments yourself, or by employing an external party and eliminate the sources of bad indoor air quality.

Air quality monitoring systems for a healthy environment: Formal analysis

·        If you live in a home, or work in a closed environment, then you can make use of air quality monitoring equipments that measures the temperature, humidity, carbon di oxide, and carbon monoxide and air particles. These are also some of the primary factors that help to evaluate the environmental quality.

·        Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) is declared to be fatal for humans by the World Health Organization. Other analytic methods used to eliminate these compounds are through the use of chromatography. The two popular options include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Both of them can be used to identify any hazardous and toxic pollutants in the air.

·        Flame ionization detector is another most widely used method for air analysis. While the PID (photoionization detector) is used to target at compounds with ionization potentials that are present at certain boundary limits. 

·        NPD (Nitrogen phosphorous detector) is exclusively used to detect nitrogen and phosphorous present in the environment.

·        Analytical methods offers air samplings on site detections. This method is different than other formal techniques as it is sensitive to the limits of quantification. 

Indoor air quality assessment kit/tools

An indoor air quality assessment kit can be used against common threats inside homes and buildings. This tool will detect most of the containment and allergies that you are testing for. However, to conduct the air quality assessment with kits/tools available, ensure that these are verified by the Environment Protection Agency in the US. 

The selection of the best appropriate tool can help you identify if your house or building is present with any indoor pollutants that could be harmful for you and your family.  

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References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22790916

http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/indoor-air-pollution/

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/4/1033

How Can Mold Be Treated?

Indoor mold can be hazardous to health and in order to get rid of it, you first need to get rid of the source of moisture. Many areas in your home are prone to developing mold including toilets & bathrooms, kitchen, basement, and laundry room. In order to fix the mold problem, you will need to conduct a proper home inspection to find problem areas.

Below are a few ways with the help of which you can get rid of mold from your home:

Bleach

One of the main sanitization product found in homes is bleach. Bleach is a great agent for mold cleaning and has the ability to kill indoor mild. However, bleach doesn’t penetrate in porous materials, which means that using bleach on rugs, mats, and other fabric will not be of any help. You can only use bleach to kill mold on non-porous materials like tile flooring, glass and marble countertops, and bathtubs.

In order to kill mold using bleach, you need to ensure that you are in an area with proper ventilation as bleach can produce harsh fumes. You will also need gloves to keep your hands protected during the cleaning process. Make bleach solution by using a ratio on 1 cup of bleach/gallon of water. Apply the bleach solution to non-porous mold damaged areas with a spray bottle. Rub the surface with a piece of cloth or a sponge.

Lemon and Salt

Make a mixture of lemon and salt and apply on any mold-stained item. Place the item in the sun for bleaching and rinse thoroughly before you bring it back indoors.

Borax

Unlike bleach, borax is a cleaning agent that doesn’t emit harmful fumes. This mineral powder is better than baking soda and is perfect for getting rid of mold in the house. This cleaning agent is a great fungicide which gets rid of mold fungus. In order to clean a mold-damaged surface, mix borax with water and using a scrubbing brush rub off mold stains. Leave the solution on the cleaned surface to prevent mold from growing in the future.

Detergent

You can also use detergents to get rid of mold on surfaces inside your home. Make a solution of detergent by adding water to it and using a scrubbing brush, remove mold off non-porous surfaces. Detergent itself isn’t a killing agent for mold or mildew, but it removes mold if any non-porous surface is rubbed properly with the solution.

Mold Poisoning – Why Mold Treatment is a must?

Mold poisoning occurs when a person is living in a home damaged by mold. The actively growing mold inside homes can be found in damp areas like attics, bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry room. This fungus is harmful to human health and may cause an array of illnesses including allergies and infections.

According to a research conducted on illnesses caused by mold, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) was unable to find any evidence on health effects caused by spending time in mold-infested areas. However the same presented information on respiratory illnesses effecting nose and throat to be found in people living in mold damaged spaces. Those who spent time in mold damaged areas were prone to upper d lower respiratory conditions and suffered from asthma, and other symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and wheezing.

Karvonen and colleagues also conducted a similar study in which they studied a group of children in their first 18 months. Their study found that wheezing was common in children living in mold infested homes.

Many researchers have found mold to be harmful for health and it has been proved through many studies mentioned above that mold poisoning can be injurious to health. Therefore, it is important to conduct home inspection and start mold treatment before it causes health issues.

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References

http://extension.missouri.edu/p/GH5928

https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/mold/clean.htm

http://www.poison.org/articles/2011-oct/mold-101-effects-on-human-health

Health effects & Allergens from indoor air pollutants

Indoor air quality (IAQ) refers to the quality of air that is within and around homes and buildings. Understanding the causes of indoor air pollutants can greatly help to reduce associated health risks.

According to World Health Organization, 4.3 million people die each year from exposure to bad indoor air.

Potential Indoor air pollutants and their health effects:

1.      Asbestos: Excessive inhaling of this pollutant can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other cancers.

2.      House dusts, Mold, Bacteria and Animal dander: These biological agents can cause asthmas symptoms, allergic reactions, nose and throat irritation, fever, humidifier, influenza, and many such other diseases.

3.      Carbon Monoxide: This usually spring out of the gas stoves, tobacco smoke or car gas. It can cause inhalers frequent headaches, nausea, and sometimes death at high concentrations.

4.      Lead: It spreads in indoor airs due to house dusts and paints. The damage caused by lead can be deathly such as brain, nerve and kidney damage, anemia and cardiovascular effects to name a few.

5.      Organic chemicals: These are mainly found in dry-cleaned clothes, glues, and welding. It can cause infection in the eye, nose, and throat of the inhaler, leading to serious breathing issues and permanent damage of the lungs.

6.      Formaldehyde: It is one of the most common forms of bad indoor air. This leads to irritation of throats, nose, as well as allergic issues. In some cases, formaldehyde has been linked to cancer.

7.      Phthalates: Found in children toys, used to soften plastic, in air filters and battery covers. It leads to asthmas, allergies, rhinitis, and is also found to be the source of problem in reproduction organs. 

8.      Radon: Mainly found in soil under buildings, in ground waters and construction material/areas. It leads to one deadly health issue of, Cancer.

Depending on the amount of bad indoor air one is exposed to, the severity of the effects would vary.

Some health effects may show up instantly, while other can act like the slow, silent killers. Immediate effects are short term and easy to treat while others can cost endless visits to the doctor. Long term effects can show up after weeks, months or years. The long term effects include respiratory disease, heart diseases, cancer and other such health issues that can be deadly. It is imperative you improve the indoor quality of your homes even when symptoms are not easily visible. 

Understanding the causes and effects mentioned in the article of indoor air pollutants can help you to understand the importance of preventing yourself and your loved ones. Making small changes within your homes, such as getting it inspected, using methods to kill indoor air pollutants, installing adequate ventilating systems, etc. all can make a big difference.

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References:

http://www.who.int/indoorair/en/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215499/