A few decades ago, it was controversial that mold illness even existed. Now with many evidence-based research studies, we know that mold exposure causes mold illness and creates negative mold health effects.
Understanding the symptoms of mold illness and the potential risks associated with mold exposure is one of the first steps to doing the right thing when your family is facing mold exposure and are in need of treatment. Neglecting this early in the game can unfortunately end up prolonging their illness, and this is never something you want to feel responsible for later in life or even in the short-term.
Mold illness has an official name. It's called CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome).
Mold illness is a real thing - not imagined - and is now included in the medical definition for Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).
CIRS is an inflammatory condition in the body that occurs when mold and mold biotoxins attach to the cells and cause chronic, ongoing symptoms. The condition also occurs from other microbial attacks such as Lyme disease or Pfiesteria dinoflagellate exposure in water. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the mold spores and mycotoxins as the cause.
The full name for CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) alludes to an overall body response to the mold spores and mycotoxins, and that is exactly what happens. The mold mycotoxins don't just affect your immune system; they attack or deposit themselves in many other parts of the body - organs, sinuses, lungs, abdomen, eyes, nerves, brain, muscles, and everything in between. The immune system is orchestrating the inflammation as a way to protect you from the mycotoxins and as a way to alert you to the fact that something is wrong.
Where the mold biotoxins end up causing havoc in the body organs varies per person. It causes variable mold health effects. This is why mold illness does not always appear the same in everyone with the same symptoms.
However, there is a list of symptoms that are associated with CIRS. The list of symptoms may include any of the following but do not have to include all of the ones listed below:
As you can see, these symptoms affect just about every part of the body.
When your house needs mold remediation and you are suffering from mold health effects, getting a diagnosis of mold illness is imperative so the treatment can be covered by your health insurance company.
However, there are steps associated with getting a diagnosis of mold illness. If you or a family member are suffering from asthma and asthma-related conditions, you're in luck because studies have found that dampness or mold inside a home causes a significant proportion of asthma in the U.S., anywhere from 21 to 50% in the United States.
Another study found that mold health effects such as asthma symptoms started in 67% of adults who were working in a building after their office had been affected by water damage. This evidence-based research makes it clear that exposure to mold and a damp building is a major factor in producing asthma symptoms.
Every person who is suffering from a chronic respiratory condition must be properly assessed for exposure to mold/damp building by a medical doctor to get the diagnosis of CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome). That's the only time that the doctor will move forward to advice you to have mold remediation done in your home. And since the doctor won't be going into your home to assess your environment, you'll need a mold remediation expert to do this.
Our well-trained staff at FDP Mold Remediation of Baltimore, MD can help you with this part. Their trained eyes will examine your home and take any samples of the mold from regions that may be affected as well as the air. The test results are sent to the laboratory for confirmation and a complete report comes back detailing the mold types and number of mold spores in the house. Your home will need mold treatment.
Your doctor will run a wide range of tests for mold such as DNA and culturing, finding specific mold antibodies, inflammatory marker tests, and more. These tests can confirm your symptoms of bronchitis, cough, hoarseness, eczema, shortness of breath, wheezing, and other symptoms. Different molds that may be positive on lab tests often are correlated with the symptoms that humans have.
After your home tests and lab tests confirm there's a mold illness issue, the next step is to decrease your exposure to the mold and mycotoxins by mold treatment in your home. Your doctor will inform you that treating you without treating the environment where you are working or living is fruitless.
Studies have shown that repairing homes decreases asthma-related symptoms and lung or respiratory tract infections. Your treatment always has to start with building remediation, and after that, medications, nutritional, allergen control, and herbal medicine treatments may be used.
This is where your relationship with a qualified mold remediation company such as us at FDP Mold Remediation of Baltimore, MD makes a difference. Not only are we thorough in the assessment of your home, but our years of experience in mold remediation allows us to propose the mold treatment for your home that gets the job done.
If you have symptoms of CIRS, see a doctor right away. If the doctor finds that the reason for your symptoms is mold, removing the mold from the home is the next step.
Once your home has been restored and mold mycotoxins have been removed, you'll need practical tips for preventing mold growth and minimizing exposure. Below are some of those tips:
Using professional services for mold remediation such as us at FDP Mold Remediation in Baltimore, MD is always a better choice compared to DIY remediation because of five reasons:
CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) is a diagnosis that applies to mold exposure that ends up causing mold illness. The symptoms are chronic and can affect every part of the body. Once you or your family begin showing symptoms of CIRS, it's important to get to your doctor. Only he can diagnose that you have mold illness, and he will require evidence from a mold remediation company that there is mold exposure in your home. He will be unable to effectively treat you and your family for the negative mold health effects until your home undergoes mold treatment.
This is where calling in the professionals from FDP Mold Remediation of Baltimore, MD comes into the picture. Taking action today is not only a corrective action but it's a preventive action that protects the health of your family numbers from further health decline. Call us now at 410-401-8114.
Create the safe and healthy home environment you had before mold exposure became an issue. Your health is important and we will support you every step of the way.
