Can Mold Make You Sick?

Living in a mold-infested home or office can result in mold related sickness. Mold growth in homes or offices is caused by moisture problems such as dampness on walls and floors or water intrusion. As mold grows and spreads in the interior surfaces of your home, it gives off spores which can make you sick if inhaled in large amounts or if you are highly sensitive to mold.

Symptoms of Mold Sickness

The early symptoms of mold sicknesses, can appear like a basic cold or allergy attack. This is because mold spores may act as an irritant when inhaled in small amounts. If you repeatedly receive any of these symptoms when inside your home or office, that building may have a mold problem. Early symptoms of mold sickness may include sneezing, itchy skin, headache, watery and itching eyes and skin irritation. For individuals with immune system deficiency, mold sickness will come on faster and harder than it would otherwise.

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet on the health effects of mold. Most of the symptoms claimed to be mold-related have never been proved scientifically. Examples of scaring but scientifically unproven symptoms of mold sickness include constant headaches, weight and hair loss, diarrhea, vomiting, constant fatigue, coughing up blood, sexual dysfunction, short-term memory loss, skin rashes and sores.

How To Tell If Your Symptoms Are Mold-related

The only scientifically proven symptoms of indoor mold sickness are allergies. Therefore, if you constantly experience allergic reactions when inside a building, it’s possible that the building could be infested with mold. However since there are other indoor contaminants that can cause allergy symptoms mold testing is recommended.

If you cannot see visible mold in your house but you detect musty odor especially in the basement or bathroom, then you could test the air in your house for mold. Air testing for mold can be performed by professionals for you
or you can do it yourself using the same mold test kits and laboratories used by the professionals. The advantage of air testing is that it helps to determine whether there is hidden mold growth and also whether your family is
exposed to airborne black mold spores. The only difference between hiring a professional and collecting samples and sending them directly to the laboratory yourself is that you save a lot of money. If you would consider collecting your own air samples click here. To collect samples of visible black mold growth on walls or other surfaces, click here.

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