Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I discovered that the place I am staying is completely infested with this thick black disgusting smelly mold in practically every hidden spot. Behind the walls, under wallpaper, inside cabinets, all around the shower, etc....and it is making me sick. I've got all the symptoms - serious sinus infection, wheezing, coughing, sneezing, nose bleeds, headaches, etc.....
I find conflicting information online about whether it is something to be really concerned about with long term health damages, or if it is not that big of a deal and just a miserable annoyance that can be dealt with with some OTC allergy pills.
Most of the time it is simply allergic reactions with symptoms of histamine release. That can get very uncomfortable. I am allergic to cats and can only stand a few hours of being in a house with them and must leave or feel miserable.
There are conditions like asthma where such fungi can colonize your airways and make your asthma worse. One can get fungal balls in the lung. Not a nice thing to have.
If you are immunosuppressed due to illness or medication then that can cause serious if not life-threatening conditions that can spread an infection from your sinus into the brain. People can have a black film growth in their nostrils. I recall one case where the doctor walked in with a nasal swab and wanted me to look at it for fungi under the microscope. Luckily I didn't see any mold. She was diabetic.
The other serious concern with regard to environmental mold is food contamination. Certain foods like nuts can harbor mold and when it does it can produce toxins that can be very nasty and cancer-causing in long run.
Normally there is a water leak that supplies humidity and a food source. Fix the water leak or move out.
If, as you say, the mold is even behind the wallpaper and so on, move out. If it were your house you would pay someone to come in and remove the mold while you stayed somewhere else. But if it's not your house, all you can do is to get out before permanent damage is caused.
You probably already have a mold allergy due to this exposure. In our world, mold is everywhere--it has to be; how else would things decompose? We need mold. But it's not comfortable to be allergic to mold because it is so prevalent. It's on the leaves that decompose in the fall, it's in basements, it's on spoiled food, it's in the soil, it can start to grow in any dark, damp condition. If you are allergic you will not only be uncomfortable in moldy environments, but you will probably get sick if you eat mushrooms too.
I've heard of apartment complexes that had to move everyone out while experts ridded the building of mold. So it's not something to take lightly. Just a bit of mold, such as on a shower curtain, can be controlled with bleach and water but the extent you have is going to call for much stronger measures like removing the wallpaper and somehow permanently removing mold from the cabinets. It's only going to get worse so you probably need to move.
Yeah, the plumber who came and fixed what he claims was the only leak (I don't think he found the main leak, personally) said that the entire section of the house, walls, shower, bathroom sinks, dining room walls, etc....will all need to be torn out.
Unfortunately, due to circumstances that you would not believe and that are out of my control, moving out is totally out of the question. In fact, it is also probably not possible to even have any major work done for weeks or months. So I must figure out some temporary way of making the house inhabitable and not causing myself or the other person here - who is extremely elderly and very frail and terminally ill - any more sick than we already have become. So I guess what I need to do is to find the best product that would buy some time before any major renovations or remediation can get done.
Try and clean off any visible mold. The green or black colors that you see are actually small circular spores that are very light and get dispersed into the air. The molds are like little flowers with spores hanging and with any air displacement, the spores are released into the air.
Most of the time the fungal spores will fall on your skin or be inhaled and not have much of an impact except for allergic reactions that can be mild to more moderate symptoms depending on how allergic you are.
There are many different types of molds and fungi that is present in normal air. As a part of medical mycology class we were told to culture our home for air spores and the whole class had many different types. Most allergy panels include different mold species. The molds are identified based on their flowering structures. Very few are true pathogens and most are white fluffy molds. The rest are opportunistic pathogens.
The type of molds that are commonly green are normally not invasive unless as mentioned you have an accident and cut yourself somewhere and rub spores in there. Don't have any open wounds exposed as they are opportunistic pathogens. Fungi are aerobic organisms which means they love air so for that reason, they are less invasive in a normally healthy individual but can reside and cause superficial infections in areas of high oxygen levels. For blood cultures looking for fungus we would put a needle in the bottle and leave it there in order to let more air inside. If I were immune-compromised of any sort I would get out immediately. Although rare it can go wild in arteries and cause strokes and death dissecting arteries. Don't panic about that as it is rare.
I would use dilute bleach on visible areas in order to reduce the spore load. I would also have a HEPA filter if you can afford it. Keep your house dry if you can. Low humidity is good to keep mold down and it's good for keeping dust mites down also.
Definitely the HEPA filter, the best one you can buy. A good one will be expensive but it will be worth it until you can have the repairs made. Ventilation and maybe in the meantime you can get things out of the cupboards and spray the inside of the cupboards with a bleach solution. But you still need to get it professionally taken care of.
Don't have any open wounds exposed as they are opportunistic pathogens.
This is pretty much the worst thing I could have heard. The person who I am here for - providing 24/7 care precisely because he refused to leave this house and his only real wish is to die here - is one giant open raw, bleeding, wound at all times over much of his body. It is very graphic and like something out of a horror movie and he spends 100% of his time within feet or inches of the contaminated area and bathroom.
So yeah, that is not what I wanted to hear. I am upset enough about my own health because I have become so siick from the mold reaction that it is making it almost impossible to take care of him.
This is pretty much the worst thing I could have heard. The person who I am here for - providing 24/7 care precisely because he refused to leave this house and his only real wish is to die here - is one giant open raw, bleeding, wound at all times over much of his body. It is very graphic and like something out of a horror movie and he spends 100% of his time within feet or inches of the contaminated area and bathroom.
So yeah, that is not what I wanted to hear. I am upset enough about my own health because I have become so siick from the mold reaction that it is making it almost impossible to take care of him.
What a nightmare.
Sorry, didn't mean to alarm you just a part of informed possibilities and not necessarily probabilities. The green molds that we mostly see environmentally are predominantly of three genus, Cladisporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium. Some species of Aspergillus, not all, can produce aflatoxins that are carcinogenic. Some Penicillium species, not all, can also produce mycotoxins that can be carinogenic. The toxins are produced in the food if left long enough. Don't eat rotten fruit. Yes some cheese is notorious for fungal growth but they are not the ones that produce mycotoxins. It is genus and species specific. Penicillium notatum, where we get penicillin, does not produce mycotoxin but there are 16 other species in the genus group that does. Genus is like the last name of a person and the first name would correspond to the species. Cladisporium does not produce mycotoxins.
All of the above can cause skin infections in broken skin, wounds. Depending on host immunity a skin mycosis can transform into a deep mycosis. The port of entry of most fungi is respiratory and there again it can become more deep depending on host immunity.
After saying all of that there is a lot of people living with green mold in their house but one doesn't want to push their luck for a long time. Most of the time its only allergic reactions.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can Black Mold Kill You?
