When black mold proliferates in a home or workplace, the inhabitants face health risks that range from the minor to the life-threatening. Certain levels of mold can harm healthy people. Mold in the air can cause symptoms in people with allergies. Individuals who have asthma and other underlying health conditions may suffer serious health consequences from mold exposure. When mold continues to infest an environment, patients who become ill may have to make the choice to remove it or to change homes or job sites.
Identification
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that people need not identify the strain of problem indoor molds. Rather, they should consider all mold exposure dangerous and take steps to reduce it. Black mold, Stachybotrys chartarum, creates the same health risks to humans as other indoor molds, such as Aspergillus and Alternaria strains.
Misconceptions
Because black mold produces mycotoxins, many people think they are poisonous. The CDC discounts this suggestion, noting that the Institute of Medicine disproved a link between health risks and fungal toxins in 2004. So-called toxigenic molds generally grow only in very wet conditions, which may bring about greater concentrations of unhealthy, mold-infested air. This may be a more significant factor in health problems than toxic effects.
Features
Mold exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes, causes eye irritation, respiratory tract symptoms, coughing and wheezing in otherwise healthy individuals and in people with allergies. People with asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease have health risks for bronchial and lung symptoms from breathing molds' reproductive spores. Patients can also get contact dermatitis rashes from touching moldy items or surfaces.
Effects
Temporary respiratory symptoms may begin immediately upon mold exposure, including runny nose, stuffy nose and sneezing. Eyes may become red, itchy and watery. Skin itching may arise more slowly, but asthma attacks can come on suddenly. The CDC reports that people with lung diseases or lowered immunity have greater incidences of fungal infections of the lungs, from inhaling airborne mold. People with long-term contact with black mold may also develop hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which can cause irreversible lung tissue damage over time.
Prevention
The EPA stresses the need for quick and persistent mold cleanup in buildings. Preventing mold growth can eliminate health symptoms and threats to respiratory health. Hard surfaces should be cleaned, and porous moldy items such as carpeting and wallboard removed. Homeowners and building managers should keep indoor air humidity controlled to below 60 percent, to discourage the growth of molds.
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