People who inhabit water-damaged or damp rooms can acquire a variety of diseases caused by inhaling the fungal spores of black mold. Handling moldy items such as wood, cork or yeast at work or during leisure activities can also cause short- or long-term health symptoms in people who are sensitive to molds. Isolated or occasional mold contact can produce acute allergy symptoms that pass quickly. Individuals with underlying health problems or frequent mold exposure, however, may develop serious diseases that compromise lung function.
Perennial Allergic Rhinitis
Allergies to indoor-growing black mold cause the equivalent of seasonal hay fever---perennial allergic rhinitis. Health symptoms can arise periodically from home mold exposure as undisturbed mold growths reproduce, sending their allergenic spores into the indoor air. Alternately, people may contact molds every now and then, such as when visiting damp indoor environments or by working with moldy materials.
MayoClinic.com notes that people develop allergies to mold for life. Symptoms of itchy and watery eyes, sinuses that are itchy and congested with mucus, coughing and sneezing plague patients with mold allergies as long as allergens exist in the bloodstream. This reaction may trigger attacks of wheezing and shortness of breath in patients who also have asthma. An improvement of local air quality or a change of venue can reduce or end rhinitis symptoms, but asthma breathing problems may require control with an oral rescue inhaler.
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
Mold exposure that is significant enough to produce symptoms on a regular basis can lead to hypersensitivity pneumonitis. A continual presence of mold allergens in the body exacerbates the temporary inflammation of the lungs that normally accompanies rhinitis. As MayoClinic.com relates, this persistent state of lung inflammation eventually degrades the tissue of the alveoli, which are responsible for oxygen transfer to the bloodstream.
The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library reports that it may take days or weeks of daily occupational contact with black mold to develop the health symptoms of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, including coughs and other breathing problems. Patients may need to permanently vacate moldy environments and avoid additional mold exposure in order to prevent a chronic form of this disease. Chronic pneumonitis can cause irreversible lung damage and permanent respiratory health symptoms.
Pulmonary Aspergillosis
In some people, inhalation of black mold spores can induce serious sinus, ear or lung infections. Pulmonary aspergillosis, a degenerative condition that occurs at the local site of internal fungal growth, can be fatal if left to progress unchecked, notes the Merck. It occurs when patients inhale allergenic spores that colonize the sinuses, ear canals or lungs.
The fungal growths cause bleeding. Blood clots form, clogging the site with a ball of blood cells and mold fibers that may require surgical removal. Extreme infections can spread to the brain, heart, liver or kidneys and cause organ failure and death.
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