Adverse medical report

[Guest guest]

Facts May Calm Mold Madness

Study: People Often Mistake Ordinary Allergy for Toxic Mold Syndrome

By DeNoon<http://my.webmd.com/content/Biography/7/1756_53105.htm>

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario,

MD<http://my.webmd.com/content/Biography/8/102316.htm>

on Thursday, January 27, 2005

Jan. 27, 2005 -- People suffering from toxic mold syndrome -- often blamed on a

kind of black mold that grows on damp indoor surfaces -- likely have more

ordinary illnesses, a new study shows.

The finding comes from a hard look at 135 patients referred to a clinic with

expertise in mold exposure. Industrial hygienist and study researcher S.

Crandall, CIH, referred nearly all of the patients. Eighty percent of the

patients had already hired a lawyer to pursue mold-related claims.

The patients suffered from a variety of possible mold-related health effects,

including respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing cough, and nasal discharge, or

general complaints, such as skin rashes or joint pain. Yet after rigorous

examination -- including gathering detailed histories of exposure, home and

workplace analysis, blood and skin tests for mold sensitivity, and two years of

medical follow-up -- there was no link between mold exposure, symptoms, and mold

sensitivity.

Leading the study was allergist A. Bernstein, MD, an associate

professor at the University of Cincinnati, and director of the allergy clinic at

the Cincinnati Veteran's Administration Medical Center. He's widely recognized

as an expert in the health effects of exposure to indoor pollutants.

" Most people hear 'black mold' and 'toxic mold syndrome' and they are

terrified, " Bernstein tells WebMD. " A lot of them have symptoms that within a

reasonable degree of medical certainty have something to do with their

environment. They have a lot of health problems. The mold is black and scary --

and to them, it seems the most obvious cause. But the majority of these people

were not sensitized to mold. "

The Bernstein team's report, in the January issue of ls of Allergy, Asthma,

& Immunology, looked at 135 patients. The researchers have now analyzed more

than twice that number of people with possible mold-related health effects.

Bernstein says the study findings apply to them, too.

So what caused these people to come down with health effects? All of them had

moldy houses or worked in moldy buildings or schools. Many of them were, indeed,

allergic to the kinds of mold growing in their environments -- although none

tested positive for exposure to Stachybotrys -- the black mold commonly blamed

for " toxic mold syndrome. "

The good news is that once the patients got out of their moldy environments --

or had them fixed -- they got better. Only one patient had long-lasting health

effects.

" They do better when they leave these environments, and get worse when they go

back in, " Bernstein says. " These places have damp conditions. Dampness is

clearly shown to correlate with lung problems. Cockroaches, dust mites -- not

just mold -- but a lot of things can grow in damp environments. "

Toxic Mold -- or Unhealthy Dampness?

Toxic Mold -- or Unhealthy Dampness?

Bernstein notes that his team recently evaluated children in a mold-contaminated

school. They did find a lot of mold. But they found even higher levels of dust

mites and cockroaches. One sick child, Bernstein says, turned out to be

suffering not from mold sensitivity, but to cockroach allergy.

" We have to step back and see this as an indoor issue -- not just a mold issue, "

he says. " Mold is an alarm that goes off because we can see it. But there are a

lot of invisible factors that can be there as well. "

Bernstein says that building problems -- homes not properly built, schools

poorly maintained -- often lie at the heart of these health problems.

" We need to focus on biological agents and toxic gases that accumulate in homes

and cause health effects. A lot of people pooh-pooh it, but it happens and

people are scared and don't know what is going on, " he says. " No one ever

measures other air allergens, or other indoor gasses. So there is too little

information. But until we better understand home air quality, these mold scares

are the kinds of runaway trains that can occur. And this is what this is to some

extent -- a runaway train. "

Toxic Mold Madness

" Mold madness " is what an editorial accompanying the Bernstein study calls it.

Pediatrician C. Zacharisen, MD, associate professor at the Medical

College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, co-wrote the editorial with mold expert Jordan

N. Fink, MD.

" We are at a pinnacle in the public perceiving a big mold problem. But we are

still in the dark ages when it comes to proving if it really is a problem, or

what the true mechanism is, " Zacharisen tells WebMD. " Science is lagging behind

the perception of ill health. Sometimes we try to pin a problem on a particular

organism or a particular exposure without having all the science to back it up. "

So many lawsuits have been filed over toxic mold, he says, that legal issues

have obscured medical science. The Bernstein study, he says, isn't going to

change this. But it does open the door for clear-headed scientific research.

" We should not jump to conclusions about toxins until we have had an opportunity

to evaluate the more common problems people may actually have, " Zacharisen tells

WebMD. " People hang their symptoms on what is popular at the time. Some of the

more sexy items may bring people to the doctor, but what they actually suffer

from may turn out to be something rather routine. Most of the people [with mold

exposure] have good old allergies. Straightforward avoidance measures and

medications can get their life back on track. "

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCES: Bobbitt, R.C. ls of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, January 2005;

vol 94: pp 39-44. Zacharisen, M.C. and Fink, J.N. ls of Allergy, Asthma, &

Immunology, January 2005; vol 94: pp 12-13. A. Bernstein, MD, associate

professor of immunology/allergy, University of Cincinnati; and director, allergy

clinic and laboratory, Cincinnati Veterans Administration Hospital. C.

Zacharisen, MD, associate professor of pediatric medicine, Medical College of

Wisconsin, Milwaukee.