Has anyone been mold sick? (houses, physician, good)

[Metlakatla]

How is the air cleaner working?

My niece is going to be spending the summer on POW. She lives in Oregon now also, though she was raised in SE. When she was 13 she was hospitalized for a couple of weeks due to pneumonia brought on by black mold allergies. I know that there is a slight black mold problem in the place she'll be staying this summer and I'd like to look into the air cleaner thing for her.

I guess some people are more susceptible. Both my niece and my son also have extreme allergies to shellfish--Matt to the point where if he eats even the slightest bit of shrimp he will have to be hospitalized immediately.

If you can recommend a good air cleaner for me to get my niece it will be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[Alice2]

All I know about them, for sure, is what I have seen, and that's only the one they bought for my office. Actually it's for everyone but resides in my office for now since I am the canary in the coalmine and I'm not sure they want me to croak. (A little tongue-in-cheek there, 'cuz I'm not too sure they DON'T!)

Room Air Purifiers » HealthPro Plus | IQAir
It is very impressive, I think it costs $700 or so, though, and it does not cure my symptoms but keeps my eyes from bothering me while in the office, and it honestly seems to keep my hands and arms from getting cruddy anymore (they've cleared up REMARKABLY just in less than two weeks). After being at work for five days straight this week (oh the horror)~ I had a real bad day with the eyes yesterday, red all around and itchy and drying up skin, but it is better today than yesterday already.

The only other two things I can say is I read ozone-machines that create enough ozone to KILL toxic mold, which need to be run with people vacating the building, sound real good but this is new information which I have no first-hand experience about.

The other thing was Rance gave me some info about a company he used to be familiar with, called Alpine Air Purifiiers, and you can get the ozone-versions from there.

I am afraid this toxic-building thing is way more serious than people realize, and we are accepting a health threat that we shouldn't be, and will continue to do so until we learn more about it and get people to take it more seriously.

Doesn't sound like a great idea for your neice, although I understand not all black mold is toxic mold. I am in a total conundrum over that, as there was a huge black mold patch in my previous apartment bathroom closet and I believe it contributed to my lowering immune system which means I get sicker than anyone else at work, for now, from breathing the stuff.

I hope it works out okay for your niece, it's not something to mess around with. If someone can afford to get her a real good air filter, and she spends most of her waking hours away from home anyway, it might be fine.

[Metlakatla]

I hope it works out okay for your niece, it's not something to mess around with. If someone can afford to get her a real good air filter, and she spends most of her waking hours away from home anyway, it might be fine.

I'm sure with a little of the right kind of encouragement Grandma can be persuaded to let loose of the funds for an air filter...I know that Rance sent me a link last fall sometime but then I spilled wine on my other laptop and lost everything.

The niece wants to come up and work in the salmon business to help with college expenses--she's done it before and seems to be fine in the summer and the workplace itself is free of mold. I do suspect a growing presence of black mold in the residence itself though. But she won't be there much and during the summer it never seemed to be much of a problem for either of the kids.

[TrishP7]

Hi there,

I took a quick glimpse at your email, I'll be sure to check it out in detail tomorrow. But you must be careful of mold. I developed Sarcoidosis about 3 years ago..and it was caused by mold. There is mold in my old house, when i brought it to my landlord's attention, he simply painted over it. Later on, I contacted the Town Health Board so they can inspect the place..and they said the house was contaminated with mold.

At the time of my diagnosis when I did research, I never found anyting significant that could have caused my lung disease..but My sister actually sent me an email yesterday with all the current research that has been done for my disease..and one of the causes for lung sarcoidosis was "mold".. see this link [FONT='Constantia', 'serif']http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/sarc/sar_whoisatrisk.html[/font]
Now..don't get me wrong..I'm not saying that you may have contaminated this. But Mold is toxic...it may not affect you immediately..but there are risks. Be careful.

[Alice2]

Thanks, Trish -- I had never heard of this. Scary stuff-- a number of the symptoms for this match ones I either presently have or did have.

I am very upset at my employer for (still!) acting like there is no reason to believe the building has anything to do with my symptoms.

Maybe I'll have an update later. How much later I'm not sure, but I do intend to report all that I have documented here because the lies and deception have caused me lots of misery -- both physical and financial -- and as I said to my employer more than once already, it will not be for nothing. (What I mean is, their not coming clean with me long ago that they intend to do nothing caused me to wait and do nothing and get sicker.)


Well, I do not know for sure how that came across to them (maybe I meant to keep 'em wondering!), but I only meant I intend to report it. At this point that's all I mean, anyway.

The rest of the drones in the office apparently do not believe it is a problem, or else trust their employer to do the right thing. Still. Oh well maybe I would be the same way but I could never believe that -- not after educating myself about this horrible stuff called mold.

So, mold is neither in the plant king dom or the animal kingdom, but is in its own little kingdom. Well, maybe not so little. And it has a crusty shell made of the same stuff as crustaceans, chiton. And it's 'job' is to decompose you, regardless of whether you are dead or alive. It can get INTO your lungs, INTO your skin, eyes, and bloodstream.

It is dangerous even if you are a healthy person.

My employer somehow is acting like I am a poor specimen of humanity affected by things that do not bother other people, and I only ALLEGE that the building is making me sick; they have no reason to believe that. Now they are saying I am alleging my ongoing health problems are somehow bothered by the air in the building -- acting like nobody ever heard of the word 'mold' and they are not even using that word, and also acting like I ALREADY HAD HEALTH PROBLEMS before this started. Which I did not.

Each communication from them is more and more exasperating. But more stuff to document, for now, hey I got nothing better to do . . . . . .

[Alice2]

The update is I have been temporarily moved from my office to the other building, 'for a few months.' This began April 16. The problem is there is no whisper of anything to be done about the situation, nor what's to be done with me after that. In other words it has not been decided that mold remediation of any sort is needed, but there are rumors the roof is to be 'replaced' this summer.

And, the clincher is that I am being required to return to the contaminated (I really mean, 'allegedly contaminated') office soon -- for a month, working there four hours a day due to a very real staffing emergency.

The so-called lack of laws regarding mold are being seriously stretched here. But you see, if I can not work in the environment, handling the files, breathing the air, right along with the rest of my coworkers, how can I be anything but completely useless to my employer?

The latest news (oh, around April 29) is I am being told by my employer that I am just allergic to my cat (that I've had longer than this job) and that I am just 'getting older' (I can not dispute that I have indeed gotten older!) and that the air in the building has nothing to do with my symptoms.

Meanwhile I am getting better, but I still have outbreaks on the handss and forearms, I have a new rash on my chest (well, I got it before they moved me over but it has not gone away but remained to torment me whenever I shower!), my ears still peel, and I still get the tightness in the chest and still have dark circles and weird wrinkles around the eyes (which have been greatly decreased from my new prescription cream) and watery eyes. I also still have missing eyelashes and eyebrow hairs, which I would be grateful if that's the worst of the damage if they do not grow back, and of course I do not know if my health can be reversed completely after six and a half years of full-time exposure, but since other people do not seem to be much bothered, I keep my hopes up.

I just spoke to some people yesterday who told me they are very aware that building's roof has been leaking for many a year -- and they don't even work there.

Here is an interesting article about a public presentation on mold given by a sickened school teacher. Extreme? Yes, but not so much more than where I am. We have had ceiling tiles come crashing to the ground from being water logged, we have had buckets placed under leaking areas and pans put up above the ceiling tiles to try to prevent further tile damage /replacement, we have had ceiling tiles left brown in all areas of the top floor, as well as just left missing for long periods of time, and I personallly worked under a complete ceiling tarp with holes cut into it and water buckets placed below it for a period of time back in the winter of 2003, two years after I came to work there. Too bad I didn't know what the many brown stained ceiling tiles in my office meant when I first set foot in the building. Too bad I had no clue of the health dangers of my work environment until December of 2006, and my clues came to me much too slowly to figure out I had to get out of there BEFORE I got sicker. (I was waiting for my employer to do their research and then tell all of us that all was well, or that we were to be relocated, or to tell us SOMETHING. I waited a very long time, very patiently.)

schoolmoldhelp.org - Mold-Sick Teacher presents at New York State Toxic Mold Task Force Meeting

Where's my story going from here? I don't know, but I had an urge to update this post tonite. It is hard for me to take that next step in putting out what I have learned while I am still in the middle of it. I think it affects my energy level too but I might just be a great procrastinator.

It sure would be nice if some other people who have been through this type of thing would like to comment. We have a long way to go in bringing Alaska up to the cutting edge in both educating people as to the seriousness of this issue and protecting them from being left to be exposed simply because no laws exist to prevent employers (as well as landlords) from choosing to do nothing at all. With iimpunity. With great impunity.

[Majik_Imaje]

WowoW !! INteresting topic .. and a major problem here in Point Hope 35 brand new homes shut down, kick the people out.

Mold is a major problem in brand new houses here in the village. tisk tisk. No vapor barrier was ever installled in any of these new homes. Simple basic construction techniques are not being used. Simple as that, in a rush construction with out proper skilled people overseeing the operation.

Lots of people complain, they quit jobs here in the village because of some of the work type buildings they have had to work in.

I have not experienced, in any of the homes I have lived in, but it is become a major problem for the past 5 years here. (that's my two cents on the subject).

[Alice2]

I found this website called School Mold Help Dot Org which right now has some very interesting audio interviews available for those who would like to sign up. I just signed up tonight; I think they want people to donate or something but you do not have to pay a thing to register and get in there.

schoolmoldhelp.org - Listen to Mold Forum: NY radio show about school mold

Majik_Imaje wrote:

"No vapor barrier was ever installled in any of these new homes. Simple basic construction techniques are not being used. Simple as that, in a rush construction with out proper skilled people overseeing the operation."

That's what the first interviewer talks about, in part of the show. The buildings built since around 1970 were so insulated and made of mold- conducive materials and that the problem is so widespread she said around 30% of ALL CONSTRUCTION in this country is prone to mold. Now that sounds way too scary to me but I am still learning, and still fairly new to the topic.

I wish I learned about it in a different way than I did, though.

The important thing, first and foremost, is to bring it it to people's attention so they are aware of the dangers and not unwittingly slowly killing themselves over a long-term exposure.

Schools especially need to be proactive in this issue, and "take the High Road" when they become aware of the problem.

[Sarkar]

A2........you need to ask the posted above for all the details about how the problems with these new homes was detected and if there was a particular Alaska/Federal agency that came in and handled that

[janeinthemtns]

I lived in SE for years. Sick all the time. Finally had an anaphylactic shock response to mold in Costa Rica. Face swelled until my nose and eyes disappeared. Effectively blinded. It is serious and debilitating. No job is worth the risk. If I knew then what I know now, I would have risked immediate unemployment to get out of there