How Much Mold Exposure Is Harmful?
If you’ve recently discovered mold in your home, you’re probably already wondering how it’s affecting your health and your family. What if it’s toxic black mold? How much black mold exposure is harmful? What types of mold exposure symptoms should you look for?
Mold exposure affects everyone differently, but the longer that it goes on, the more likely mold sickness becomes. In general, the more mold that you’re exposed to, the more harmful it can be. How much mold exposure is harmful depends on several factors:
- Type of mold
- Quantity of mold
- Length of exposure
- Frequency of exposure
- Your vulnerability to mold
One of the most dangerous things about mold is that you might not know you have an infestation until you start showing mold exposure symptoms. Most of the time, mold grows in hidden places like inside ductwork or behind drywall. If you can see dark, splotchy patches on your walls or ceilings, there’s definitely enough mold in your home to make you sick.
Mold Exposure Symptoms: What to Watch For
Exposure to toxic or allergenic mold can affect everything from your respiratory system to your mental health. And not everyone has exactly the same reaction to mold—some people have a mild allergic reaction, while others have more severe symptoms that inhibit their daily lives. Here are some of the main types of mold exposure symptoms to watch for.
Allergy Symptoms
At least 1 out of every 4 people is allergic to mold. You might think that you have seasonal allergies, but if allergy season never seems to end, you might actually be allergic to mold. Allergy medications can help relieve your symptoms, but the best course of action is to get rid of the mold that’s irritating your eyes, nose, or skin.
Persistent Cold Symptoms
Do you have a mild cold that never seems to clear up? Coughing, congestion, runny nose, and itchy eyes are all symptoms of mold exposure. Mold spores irritate the mucous membranes in your eyes, nose, and lungs, causing symptoms that are very similar to those of a common cold.
Aches and Fatigue
If you always feel tired, don’t just put it down to your busy lifestyle. Exposure to mold can cause shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, and headaches. Body aches, tingling, numbness, dizziness, and vertigo can all be symptoms of mold illness as well.
Mental Health Symptoms
Do you ever notice that you can think clearly at work, but feel completely muddled at home? Have you been growing more and more forgetful? For some people, mold exposure can cause mental health symptoms like depression, anxiety, brain fog, mood swings, memory loss, and confusion.
How Harmful Is Mold Exposure?
The EPA classifies mold as an indoor air pollutant because of its harmful effects on the respiratory system. Prolonged exposure to mold can cause allergic reactions, asthma attacks, depression, and many other serious health problems.
Exposure to mold can also complicate illnesses like pneumonia, making them worse and sometimes even fatal. Mold is especially dangerous to infants and the elderly, as well as people with compromised immune systems, organ transplants, chronic sinus infections, or respiratory infections.
Indoor mold has also been linked to childhood asthma. More than 6 million children in the United States have asthma, and mold exposure significantly increases the likelihood that kids will get asthma. If you or one of your family members has asthma, mold remediation has been shown to reduce asthma symptoms and improve indoor air quality.
Can Black Mold Kill You?
Some strains of mold are toxic to humans, and stachybotrys chartarum is one of them. Although there’s not enough research yet to prove that black mold can kill, it could be a deadly complication if you have another respiratory illness or an immunodeficiency.
Don’t take the risk! If you have black mold in your home, you need professional mold remediation before it can cause any more harm. Black mold exposure is a real problem, but the team at My Pure Environment has a solution. Our patented dry fog mold removal process is safe, fast, effective, and demolition-free.
Mold Testing and Inspections in Spokane
No matter what type of mold you have, the sooner you get rid of it the sooner your health will improve! If you’re worried about black mold exposure, we can help set your mind at ease. Start breathing easier—schedule a FREE mold inspection from My Pure Environment today.
Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 12/08/2022.
