The chances for illness from mold in a house can rise exponentially along with mold growth. People who must inhabit a home cannot escape mold exposure from tainted indoor air, and many will develop symptoms that can affect their breathing.
The skin and eyes can also become irritated from touching household mold growths or from inhaling their spores. People who are sick with cancer or lung disease can suffer fungal infections from breathing moldy air.
Effects
Health symptoms of allergic rhinitis provoked by household mold may include sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, congestion and postnasal drip, as the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, reports. An itchy, red skin rash may also develop.
People with mold allergies who have asthma also may get attacks of uncontrollable coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Lung infections from mold exposure may show no early symptoms, but a prominent symptom is a persistent or bloody cough, which can damage lung tissue if left untreated.
Time Frame
Rhinitis health symptoms usually develop immediately after mold exposure and taper off after contact ends. Contact dermatitis may take a day or two to develop, UMMC says.
Asthma symptoms may occur at any time after inhaling household mold, but will arise suddenly when they do. Likewise, lung infections can take hold without notice and quickly spread throughout the body.
Function
Patients who get allergic reactions to household mold will have the condition for life, the Mayo Clinic reports. People with allergies, asthma and lung diseases should pay special attention to air quality to avoid breathing problems from mold.
Fungal infections may not be detected without testing, such as X-rays. In individuals with immune system problems, infections can grow to involve the kidneys and other organs, threatening overall metabolism.
Identification
Individuals who suspect mold as a source for health problems should locate it and remove it, advises the CDC. A moldy smell may indicate fungi hidden beneath wallpaper or in carpeting. Visible black or other colors of mold growth are more prominent indications of mold proliferation.
Prevention
Ending health problems from mold may require periodic cleaning and taking medication as needed. Using nasal steroids year-round may prevent allergic rhinitis health symptoms from mold, the UMMC says.
Antihistamines and decongestants can keep occasional allergy symptoms from becoming too severe. Individuals who get asthma attacks from mold exposure should keep rescue inhalers in the house to avoid potentially fatal respiratory failure.
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