Mold Related Illness Questions & Answers / FAQs#4:

Mold related illness or mold contamination questions and answers discussing complaints or symptoms, of Illnesses caused, or aggravated by indoor mold exposure.

Q & A about reactions to allergenic, pathogenic, or toxic mold, allergens, and other indoor gases or particles

These mold-related illness Q&As were posted originally

at MOLD RELATED ILLNESS SYMPTOMS - be sure to review the mold related illnesses and symptoms described there.

On 2019-07-11 by (mod) - apparent carpet burns probably not mold

I'm not sure Margie - is there a fireplace or woodstove nearby? That looks like carpeting that has been burned.

On 2019-07-11 by Margie

Is this mold? I have this all over my house.

On 2019-01-13 by (mod) -

Anon:

1. Focusing just on "black mold" is a serious error if that's our only focus when looking for harmful indoor mold contamination. There are tens of thousands of molds around you all the time, some of which are harmful and many of which are not "black".

2. You need to find a doctor whom you trust and follow her advice.

3. If there was or remains mold contamination in your building and it has not been properly removed and the cause of the mold growth (leaks) not found and fixed, I agree that there can be ongoing health risks.

On 2019-01-11 by Anonymous

I have a skin fungus disease on my face. I have severe asthma. my apartment wall leaked. a year ago. they only replaced half of it. black mold was seen when they opened it up. it is leaking again and they patched it from the outside

. I am afraid mold spores are floating thru the wall. I don't kmow what to do. Everyone in my family has developed asthma. even one has lost hair. The owners will not test to see what kind of mold it is/was. They acted like I was just paranoid and nothing was/is wrong. my dining room wall had black mold on it and they wiped it off with bleach. can you please advise me??

On 2019-01-10 by Ray crank Ever doctor I've been to here in KY don't think mold will hurt you

Ever doctor I've been to here in KY don't think mold will hurt you,,after being exposed to five different types,, one of which was stachybotris that was painted over to hide from us by a big corporation, my wife and I also some family members have simptoms,,, it's unbelievable at what gos on from day to day with our health rashs,,, sinus,, breathing,, intestinal,, memory,, falling for no reason,,, this is a chrime or should be,,,the corporation got by with it to,,??

On 2019-01-02 by (mod) -

Fair question, Marie but not one that you should try to answer online. Rather you need to ask your doctor - or your daughter's doctor.

I agree that it's possible that any illness or an exposure to an environmental contaminant can tax someone's immune system. In turn a weakened immune system may invite other infections.

Staph infections are highly contagious, transmitted by skin to skin contact.

"Many people carry staph bacteria and never develop staph infections. However, if you develop a staph infection, there's a good chance that it's from bacteria you've been carrying around for some time.

These bacteria can also be transmitted from person to person. Because staph bacteria are so hardy, they can live on inanimate objects such as pillowcases or towels long enough to transfer to the next person who touches them." - Mayo Clinic, retrieved 01/02/2019, original source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/staph-infections/symptoms-causes/syc-20356221

You will want to read that article.

On 2019-01-02 by Marie

Sorry, I didn’t catch a couple autospell misinterpretations. I meant to convey that we continue to experience unusual medical symptoms and my daughter just had surgery for a deep abscess with pathology indicating staph. My surgery a year ago was exactly the same.

Is there a chance these could be related to the extensive stachybotrys mold exposure?

Thank you in advance for your time and input.

On 2019-01-02 by Marie

A house we bought was found to have stachybotrys mold after each of us began getting severely ill; I.e., debilitating migraines, respiratory infections, nausea and flu symptoms. We moved out but Corinne to experience unusual medical conditions.

My youngest daughter just had surgery for an a cède which was found to be a staph infection. The same condition occurred to me a year ago and required surgery as well. Could this be related to ongoing issues from the stachybktrys exposire?

On 2018-11-30 by (mod) -

Kelly,

You cannot make a solid medical diagnosis of suspected mold-related -illness by email nor online.

You need to see your primary care physician promptly to discuss these concerns.

In turn she may recommend referral to a specialist in environmental medicine, including, if appropriate, a "mold doctor"

If in fact you're in a house with a significant mold contamination Reservoir that needs to be removed in the cause cured. And I would agree that for most people it's an unhealthy environment.

that's not to say that small or trivial areas of mold are likely to be a hazard. I hope you understand that I can't know the extent of mold in your home by mere text, munication.

On 2018-11-29 by Kelley gross

I live in a house with mold!

My symptoms are: hives daily and getting worse, tired all the time, stiffness and pain in my entire body especially my joints headaches everyday, dizziness and chronic yeast infections and uncontrollable type 2 diabetes! What is wrong with me? Please help!

On 2018-11-30 by (mod) - I live in a house with mold! My symptoms are: hives daily and getting worse

you need to see your primary care physician promptly to discuss these concerns. If in fact you're in a house with a significant mold contamination Reservoir that needs to be removed in the cause cured.

And I would agree that for most people it's an unhealthy environment.

that's not to say that small or trivial areas of mold are likely to be a hazard. I hope you understand that I can't know the extent of mold in your home by mere text, munication.

On 2018-11-29 by Kelley gross

I live in a house with mold!

My symptoms are: hives daily and getting worse, tired all the time, stiffness and pain in my entire body especially my joints headaches everyday, dizziness and chronic yeast infections and uncontrollable type 2 diabetes!

What is wrong with me? Please help!

On 2018-05-07 by (mod) - many mold tests are inaccurate and give false negatives

Michelle

You didn't describe the "mold test" but indeed many mold test methods are very inaccurate indeed.

An air test for airborne particle levels (including mold spores) can vary by four orders of magnitude depending on the test conditions and methods. So a "count" of 1 could be 1000 or vice versa.

A culture test for mold is about 90% "wrong" when you open the test kit since only about 10% of molds will grow in culture.

Detailed articles about the accuracy of mold test methods and suggestions for investigating a building for mold contamination are found in the live link given at INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to MOLD CONTAMINATION & REMEDIATION

On 2018-05-06 1 by Michelle Youngken

I work in an environment that has no windows and has viable mold. Numerous people have health issues. After having the building tested, results came back negative. This cannot be accurate.

On 2018-03-09 22:24:57.104393 by (mod) -

Concerned

Be sure to take your question first to your doctor. Certainly there are skin ailments that might give a circular rash but I can 't speculate about what was leaking from a ceiling as I've no information.

On 2018-03-09 18:26:59.877979 by Concerned

I was at an indoor concert. It seems as though it was duct work above us, leaking. Now I have what appears to be ringworms on the same arm I was being dripped on. Could this in fact have come from the leaky ceiling?

On 2018-02-13 22:29:13.011061 by Anonymous

Unk

I'm not sure what dishes made from water refers to so I can only guess how to answer this question.

If there is mold growth on dishes, Wash them. It's pretty easy to remove mold from hard surfaces.

There are some mold genera / species that can be quite harmful particularly to people who are for other health reasons at extra risk. But it's a bit of a stretch to make a generic statement that mold on dishes will kill you.

On 2018-02-13 22:19:32.487483 by unknown

can you die from mold on dishes made from water?

On 2017-11-22 19:57:49.692684 by (mod) -

Tom,

What is incorrect about the advice you were given is the focus on only black mold. There are number of mold genera and species that can be harmful to humans at high xposures, and that are not black in color. That said a very extreme exposure could cause symptoms such as the ones you described. If you have that concern you need to consult with your doctor immediately.

On 2017-11-22 16:31:04.805196 by Tim

I was told that breathing black mold can cause a person to hemorage blood is that true ??

On 2017-11-22 16:28:31.511775 by Tim

Can breathing black mold in your apt cause you to start vomiting blood and cause you to not breath ??

On 2017-11-18 16:30:36.549680 by (mod) -

Verna,

A doctor who is expert in environmental and mold related illness will have a different opinion. For example, there are blood tests for mycotoxins that can indicate exposure to certain harmful molds. However I agree with your doctor that there is probably no test which is absolutely comprehensive.

On 2017-11-11 17:29:17.622612 by Verna

my doctor saided there is no test for mold or yeast in your body.

On 2017-07-26 01:56:01.495223 by (mod) -

Renea,

I would like to help but can't guess from this information - it's a question to ask first of your doctor.

Certainly if your house got soaked and developed a mold reservoir and your immune system is already compromised those factors could be additive or make matters worse.

On 2017-07-25 00:47:38.211249 by ReneaB

I overcame about with valley fever in April of this year. My titers came back normal. Since then the place that I work at (which is in the middle of a hotspot for valley fever) had a massive water leak. For a week we had huge fans blowing trying to dry things out. I just found out that I have had another valley fever relapse.

Do you think that this could have caused my relapse : the water leak brought 4 inches of dirty water from under our building inside of the building, the water was dried but fans blew everything around for a week while we were working there. Do you think this could have caused my relapse?

On 2017-06-06 00:48:22.023396 by (mod) -

Julia,

Mold growth inside of a cement wall is technically possible but not at all likely to occur in any volume that would be of medical significance. Mold needs something organic on which to grow. So we would need to have wood buried in concrete for example in an area that also is leaked into. And even then the total volume is likely to be small. And the ability of mold encased in concrete to release particles that would be detectable in the occupied space is close to zero.

However if there are wet conditions at a building that make you suspect mold growth in or on concrete and would suggest that those conditions could certainly have produced a mold problem Elsewhere on other materials that are mold friendly such as wood, or the paper surface of drywall.

On 2017-06-06 00:40:48.421537 by Julia

Is it possible for mold to get inside cement walls? My son is having severe mold symptoms and we are trying to find the source.. thanks.

On 2017-05-10 14:39:05.057093 by (mod) -

Mari, what does your doctor advise?

On 2017-05-10 02:38:26.855698 by Mari

Why do I have molds in my skin and they just won't leave me and prick me as well . People around me itch and sneeze as well as cough ,I get a lot from my skin with a lint remover and I see them fly around in my car and home and they stick to windows and mirrors . Ordinary dust is easy to wipe but theses are hard Help ! I tried all natural remedies and saw an allergist. Dermatologist , oncologist and my regular doctor .

On 2017-04-21 21:42:12.956128 by (mod) -

Joyce,

Be careful: considering that there could be a great many possible hazards in and around a home, it is unlikely that there is any simple economical test nor barrage of tests that guarantee that there is NOTHING hazardous in the air.

Worse, air tests are, without a thorough expert visual inspection and case history and building history study, very unreliable, especially if the results are "negative" since the levels of airborne contaminants vary hugely - several orders of magnitude - depending on test conditions.

You might want to discuss with your doctor, and then with an industrial hygienist who is familiar with residential buildings, just what should be the priorities of testing.

On 2017-04-21 00:32:53.245546 by Joyce

I need someone to inspect my home for mold, radon, ANYTHING hazardous in the air! Who do I call? I live in Akron Oh. My husband is sick with peripheral neuropathy, I have fibromyalgia, & we both have Epstein Barr levels over the top for the last year & a half. I don't think we've had mono that long. Please help me find someone to test our home. We're sick of being sick!!

On 2017-04-15 17:03:29.551794 by (mod) -

L.

That's a question to ask your doctor, L. M. since the specific molds or MVOCS to which a person was exposed, the duration and level of exposure, and the specific health problem as well as individual personal overall health, genetics, and other environmental exposures are surely factors in whether or not mold-related-illness symptoms disappear completely.

Certainly I've seen some mold related health complaints disappear, while I've had other clients who had lingering symptoms.

In addition, acute exposure to some molds or MVOCs can cause a person to have increased sensitivity to those same materials in the environment in the future - at least for a time.

Daniel

On 2017-04-15 14:37:09.024753 by L. Miles

Are health problems resolved when mold is permanently removed?

On 2017-04-15 by (mod) re: do mold related health problems go away when the mold has been removed?

L.

That's a question to ask your doctor, L. M. since the specific molds or MVOCS to which a person was exposed, the duration and level of exposure, and the specific health problem as well as individual personal overall health, genetics, and other environmental exposures are surely factors in whether or not mold-related-illness symptoms disappear completely.

Certainly I've seen some mold related health complaints disappear, while I've had other clients who had lingering symptoms.

In addition, acute exposure to some molds or MVOCs can cause a person to have increased sensitivity to those same materials in the environment in the future - at least for a time.

Daniel

On 2017-04-15 14:37:09.024753 by L. Miles

Are health problems resolved when mold is permanently removed?

On 2017-03-10 21:57:51.002780 by (mod) -

Shane, in the bottom of this article at the INDEX TO ARTICLES found at CONTINUE READING , see this live link

MOLD DOCTORS - ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE - or use the search box at the top or bottom of any inspectApedia page to find that article quickly.

On 2017-03-10 19:35:01.302298 by Shane

Are there any doctors in Alabama for mold exposure treatments

On 2017-01-30 12:03:07.466915 by Connie

In the article below ....."love" just doesn't seem to have the same emphasis....but I understand!

I have systemic candida infection which damn near killed me when I contracted septic pneumonia a few months ago.
The worst part of my illness is I could not get ANYONE to believe me....not even my primary care dr. I don't go there anymore!

Candida overgrowth leads to albicans. Of course I had the pleasure of Levaquin right into my veins to save my life and the yeast took over my entire body from head to my toes.

My hair fell out everywhere this nasty fungus traveled...all over my face, arms, legs, feet.....not one part of my body is spared from this MONSTER SH*#!!!!

I am so angry with my family that would rather believe I am a meth head seeing bugs and my daughter is an RN sent me an article on "parasitosis".. I'll tell you what!!...

I wish it were just me seeing things!! I have to date knocked on death's door 4 times. I really think this is the most disgusting, icky, make me feel unclean, love I have ever been through!.

My own family had me questioning my sanity to the point I started documenting every day in pictures on my phone to the point of obsession BECAUSE if I damn die from this love, they better do an autopsy and maybe someone will finally believe me! If this sounds like you, get a holistic Dr. Antifungals damage your liver and it is only a bandaid anyway.

I am treating it with every essential oil the candida hates. It thrives on sugar and so guess what....YOU CRAVE BUT WHAT ELSE? SUUUUGGGGGAAAAARRRR!

Shame on me....my husband is so much sicker than I and lost his eyesight from this f---ing mold. We are very angry people that don't know what to do because it is too late for my husbands eyes....it is incurable Non-Arteritic-Ischemic-Optic-Neuropathy...low blood pressure moment in his sleep and he went to bed with his vision and woke up legally blind. It has changed our lives forever....thanks for letting me vent

On 2017-01-22 10:43:26.560175 by Keith

Can the mold - Stachybotrus charturum - cause severe itchy scalp?

On 2016-12-19 07:50:54.435249 by Marie

What type of fungus appears algae like or similar to a thin layer of some sort of membrane?

On 2016-12-13 09:54:26.594816 by Aaron311312@gmail.com

I am very sick what's going on , everything I touch turns white ?

On 2016-08-28 by (mod) - Ringworm is a common fungal infection

Molly,

Ringworm is a common fungal infection that takes various forms ranging from circular skin leisons to athlete's foot. (It does not actually involve "worms" of any sort.)

Ringworm is most-often contracted from contact with diseased animals or with the soil where such animals have been present. It is highly contaigous. I don't know how long the organism might survive in human skin scales shed by someone with a ringworm infection and who then handled photographs later stored in an attic.

But research does show that " Dermatophytes can survive up to seven years in clinical specimens when stored at room temperature"

Note that that's a discussion of clinical specimens, not photographs touched by someone suffering from ringworm.

See

Sinski, James T., Thomas M. Moore, and Lee M. Kelly. "Effect of moderately elevated temperatures on dermatophyte survival in clinical and laboratory-infected specimens." Mycopathologia 71, no. 1 (1980): 31-35.

for a discussion of Survival of Dermatophytes in Human Skin Scales.

On 2016-08-24 by Molly

Can I get ringworm from working on old photo's that were stored in the attic?

On 2015-07-31 by (mod) - Who can treat mold infestations?

George

If you are asking about mold-related illnesses that need diagnosis and treatment, start with a referral from your own personal physician.

She will typically refer you to a doctor specializing in environmental medicine. You can contact such a doctor directly through information we give at Inspectapedia - search for FIND A MOLD DOCTOR or check the page top EXPERTS DIRECTORY.

If you are asking who can remediate, clean up, or remove mold, a water damage or mold remediation company - use the page top EXPERTS DIRECTORY to find some examples.

On 2015-07-30 by george

Who can treat mold infestations?

...

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• MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX
• MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD
• MOLD DOCTORS - ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE
• MOLD EXPOSURE STANDARDS
• MOLD RELATED ILLNESS GUIDE
• MOLD SPORES in the HOME - a Photo ID Library for detection and identification of mold allergens on indoor building surfaces and for an atlas of building molds.
• WHO MOLD BULLETIN

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