Guest guest Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 Carpets hold dust and pollen, and according to the industry they actually trap it so it's not bothering you. Rather, if you had a bare floor then all that dirt and dust etc. would be loose and flying around the air and cause more problems. I don't know how carpet would hold mold unless it's been washed and not dried properly. In this case, if you really do have mold you could hire a professional company to come in and wash the carpets with hot water and -ick- chemicals which would kill all the germies in there. Then, you must make sure the carpet dries properly, don't wash it on a steamy day. If you have A/C, crank it up and dry that carpet out. If not, let the hot air dry it and use fans. Some companies will use dry chemicals, but I don't know if that works as well. It's less than $100 here to have most of your house professionally cleaned. Call around, you might find a company who uses safer stuff and less water. I'm not an expert though, I hope someone else can chime in on this. Do a web search and you'll find a TON of stuff on mold allergies. Sorry, I don't have a good site that I know of. B. OT: mold questions Hi everyone, I haven't posted much recently, so I'll recap my health issues. I've had CFS for 11 years. I got sick in Kenya. I'd lived there for 2 years and had lots of problems w/parasites. Eventually, I just collapsed w/fatigue. I've been eating strict NT for 2 years, but I can't eat dairy (even raw & fermented). I also don't eat gluten. I recently consulted with Tom Cowan and he believes my liver was poisoned by all the anti-parasitic druge I took in Kenya. I've seen very small improvement in my health even with the diet changes -- really, nothing to write home about. When I came back from Kenya I moved back into my father's house as I'm unable to work (and thus afford anywhere else). The carpeting here is OLD and a lot of it is wall-to-wall shag. I'm pretty sure there is mold in the carpet and within the past few weeks -- all of a sudden -- I started having moderate-severe allergy symptoms while in the house. Itchy throat, eyes, nose, sneezing, etc... My GUESS is that somehow the mold has gotten worse and is at a level I can't tolerate. My questions: 1. Is there anyway to address this without removing the carpets? My dad doesn't want to do this and he is skeptical that mold is a problem and that removing them would help me. I should say that in the past when I've been in a mold-free environment for a week or more, my health has not improved. 2. Does anyone have any reputable info on the dangers of mold, or mold allergies? I need to do SOMETHING as it's clear by the constant throat-itching during the past 2 weeks that something is really bothering me. I'd like to move out, but that's not an option. TIA for your help, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 , you have my sympathy. if you're lucky this is an allergic reaction to mildew, dust, mites, rot & such. if it is mold you're not going to like this... in short: if you suspect it's mold GET OUT NOW and stay out until you know. do not underestimate this stuff. there are several species (aspergillus, Stachybotrys, Penicillium, Mucor, ect) that given suitable conditions (individual suseptibilty, level of exposure(time/quanity)) will wipe you out, even chronically. having been through it i assure you it's hideous. I went from reasonably healthy to never having been so sick in my life in a matter of days...3 years later i'm still not whole. what you risk from continued exposure is adding the symptoms of emphysema, MCS, loss of mental faculty, ect to your CFS...and apparently to some degree it's permanent. again, if you suspect it's mold GET OUT until you know. being away from the environment may be the easiest way to attribute cause...in my case it was nearly a month before the worst symptoms began to abate. I should add, if you're already sensitized you'll need to also be separate from anything that's been exposed. yes, even your clothes. sorry. you can kill the spores with an oxidizer (chlorine, ozone,...), but it's the mycotoxins that do the damage...think toxic dump... anything porous, let it go. hepa is no solution either they're too small. it may be under/in your carpet, tho' i'd think it likely in a wall, under the floor, or in the HVAC system...anywhere there's moisture & dust, cellulose, ect. have someone track it down...it's fairly simple to take samples & not so expensive ($30-40) to have a local lab culture a plate ....then you'll know. 'till then you'd be safer in a tent in the yard. i'm not kidding. i realize this seems alarmist, even having been through it i can hardly believe it myself. let me say again, it's hideous. there's bunches of writing on mold now, there's money in it. it's a mess to sort what's real & what's BS, here's an easy read by a physician who's also learned the hard way/ http://www.stachy.5u.com/posts.html be good to yourself, better over-cautious & even greatly inconvenienced than surprised by how badly you've been hurt. i hope in your case it's just an allergen, but be sure... it's not that hard to do. if you have any questions feel free to mail me off-list. good luck, tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2004 Report Share Posted July 8, 2004 > OT: mold questions > > >I need to do SOMETHING as it's clear by the constant throat-itching >during the past 2 weeks that something is really bothering me. I'd >like to move out, but that's not an option. > >TIA for your help, > > Hi , Nice to see you're still on the board :-) I bought an inexpensive mold kit a year or two ago, but never got around to using it. I'm planning on moving soon, so don't have any need for it. I'd be happy to send it to you, if you like. Send me your addy offlist, if so. At least then, you could know for sure whether you have a mold problem or not. Suze Fisher Lapdog Design, Inc. Web Design & Development http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine http://www.westonaprice.org ---------------------------- “The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times.” -- Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher. The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics <http://www.thincs.org> ---------------------------- > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 , Sent this through the other night and groups bounced it then we had a storm. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2001_May/ai_73959336/pg_1 links protozoa to environmental disease. Wormwood suggested with some warnings. Found olive leaf extract and Pau D'Arco to both be anti protozoan. http://www.mold-survivor.com/index1.html has diet elimination along with environment. Wanita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 You can try beating and vacuuming your mattress and pillow, and getting those allergenic mattress and pillow covers, worked for my brother. What about just shampooing the carpet? Get a company that has a truck mounted unit (WAY more powerful) to give it a real intense cleaning? > Hi everyone, > > I haven't posted much recently, so I'll recap my health issues. I've > had CFS for 11 years. I got sick in Kenya. I'd lived there for 2 > years and had lots of problems w/parasites. Eventually, I just > collapsed w/fatigue. I've been eating strict NT for 2 years, but I > can't eat dairy (even raw & fermented). I also don't eat gluten. I > recently consulted with Tom Cowan and he believes my liver was > poisoned by all the anti-parasitic druge I took in Kenya. I've seen > very small improvement in my health even with the diet changes -- > really, nothing to write home about. > > When I came back from Kenya I moved back into my father's house as > I'm unable to work (and thus afford anywhere else). The carpeting > here is OLD and a lot of it is wall-to-wall shag. I'm pretty sure > there is mold in the carpet and within the past few weeks -- all of a > sudden -- I started having moderate-severe allergy symptoms while in > the house. Itchy throat, eyes, nose, sneezing, etc... My GUESS is > that somehow the mold has gotten worse and is at a level I can't > tolerate. > > My questions: > 1. Is there anyway to address this without removing the carpets? My > dad doesn't want to do this and he is skeptical that mold is a > problem and that removing them would help me. I should say that in > the past when I've been in a mold-free environment for a week or > more, my health has not improved. > > 2. Does anyone have any reputable info on the dangers of mold, or > mold allergies? > > I need to do SOMETHING as it's clear by the constant throat-itching > during the past 2 weeks that something is really bothering me. I'd > like to move out, but that's not an option. > > TIA for your help, > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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