Mold exposure can have health impact

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Mold exposure can have health impact

Minot Daily News - Minot,ND

By KATINA TENGESDAL, Staff Writer ktengesdal@...

http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=11873

People who have experienced wet conditions in their homes might have

more serious problems than property damage to consider.

Exposure to mold can cause respiratory-related problems, and

symptoms mimic those of an allergic response.

" Mold typically causes respiratory problems or respiratory-related

problems, similar to problems that people would have with hay fever

or airborne allergies, " said Ken Wangler, manager of the Radiation

and Indoor Air Quality Program for the North Dakota Department of

Health.

Symptoms of a sensitivity to mold can include a sore or raspy

throat, runny nose, watery eyes, watery or itchy nose, or headache,

Wangler said.

" Typically the response to mold is from your immune system, and so,

your body sees mold as a foreign invader, and your immune system

kicks in and you get the kind of symptoms you get from pollen dust, "

Wangler said.

Reactions to mold can vary between individuals, and even the types

of molds causing symptoms varies depending on the individual.

" Some people are more sensitive to one type of mold than another.

Any type of mold can trigger symptoms in the right people, " Wangler

said.

Longer-term exposure to mold may cause worsened symptoms or

increased sensitivities.

" People may develop sensitivities with long-term exposure to mold,

and their symptoms may become more severe if they develop

sensitivities, " Wangler said.

Individuals who have severe symptoms should contact a healthcare

provider. For milder symptoms, the best treatment is to avoid being

exposed.

" You can certainly see your healthcare provider to insure the

symptoms you're getting are from mold and not something more serious

than that, but probably the best treatment for exposure to mold is

to reduce the exposure, " Wangler said.

In preventing mold exposure, it's most important to stop the source

of water and then clean up the water.

" Mold requires three things to grow – the right temperature, a food

source and moisture, and typically the food source and the

temperature are common in everybody's home. The only thing you can

do to control mold is to control moisture, " Wangler said.

" The biggest thing is to fix your water problem, that's where it all

stems from, " said Jim Heckman, director of the Environmental Health

Division for First District Health Unit.

" We have information here that has been put out by the health

department and the CDC, that gives you some idea about the types of

household cleaners you can use, and personal protective equipment

that you should use, " he added.