Damp basement environments allow mold to thrive and send reproductive spores into indoor air. Humans ingest these spores when entering basements or breathing air circulated through ventilation systems. People with mold allergies and respiratory conditions suffer the most severe health effects from mold exposure. Clearing away moldy wall materials and mildewed items stored in basements will reduce the amount of airborne fungal spores in basements and air ducts. In order to permanently alleviate health symptoms, allergy patients must control the basement humidity that encourages mold growth.
Hay Fever--like Symptoms
Itching in the nasal passages and throat occurs in people with mold allergies when their bodies produce antibodies to fungal allergens. Touching mold growths, or hyphae, or breathing contaminated air triggers this allergic reaction, which creates upper respiratory health effects.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, patients may experience runny noses, coughing and sneezing immediately upon firsthand mold exposure, or periodically as allergens circulate through indoor air currents. Respiratory inflammation also produces uncomfortable nasal and sinus congestion, and may trigger asthma symptoms in asthma patients.
Dermatitis and Conjunctivitis
Inflammation of the skin and eyes can also occur from contact with mold, the EPA reports. Allergic contact dermatitis, which creates a skin rash, might arise in patients with mold allergies when handling basement items such as mildewed suitcases. Allergic conjunctivitis, which makes eyes red, itchy and weepy, can arise in response to inhaled mold allergens.
People without allergies might not react to fungal contact at all. If circulated air quality retains a high level of molds, however, eye and respiratory health effects can persist in many individuals, notes the EPA.
Opportunistic Infections
The reproductive habits of mold prompt growth on any habitable surface, including the human body. People can inhale mold spores deep into the sinuses and lungs, where they may settle, enjoy appropriate humidity and begin to feed and grow.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention names respiratory disease, cancer, HIV and recent organ transplants as high risk factors for contracting sinus and lung infections from mold exposure. Individuals with asthma, obstructive lung disease and low immunity should not inhabit basement or other damp environments that attract mold.
Chronic Respiratory Disease
Most people do not spend enough time in basements to suffer permanent health effects, but the possibility exists. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an inflammatory lung condition, develops from continual respiratory irritation.
Patients with asthma, mold allergies or lung diseases may be susceptible to respiratory complications, the CDC reports. Living in a water-damaged basement increases the risk for pneumonitis, and removal of the affected basement building materials may be the only way to prevent this level of mold exposure.
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