Guest guest Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Its entirely possible that molds like stachybotrys would simply kill olfactory neurons, both in the nose and in the brain. the EHP paper here goes into length about the mechanism.. Satratoxin G from the Black Mold Stachybotrys chartarum Evokes Olfactory Sensory Neuron Loss and Inflammation in the Murine Nose and Brain http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8854/8854.html Bluntly, I think anythng that can help find us find hidden mold is useful. Would you rather that whole buildings have to be abandoned because of some mold in some hidden space that would be very costly to find by going from cavity to cavity breaking into them? Sometimes spaces are buried deep within a buildings structure and have not seen the light of day since a building was built. To find stachybotrys SPORES, the mold would have to be alive and then drying out which is the only time it sporulates. Sometimes the material that is making people sick comes from water damage years before. Its been dry for a long time. It may not smell, which means a dog might not find it eaither. But it would be worth a try. Obviously, reopening old leaks is insane. Toxin testing is expensive and a positive result might just verify that there was a problem, it would not tell you were unless you kept on doing more tests in a systematic pattern looking at concentrations. The same goes for qpcr. That is what a pro will do, and it can take weeks, testing and retesting and extensive exploration of hidden cavities with borescopes. That is expensive. Not as expensive as replacement, but very expensive. Obviously, if you have a building built before 1950, lead paint, asbestos, etc, might make replacement a better option. But IF a dog could find even some of the mold, rapidly, that could save a LOT of money. The responsible school district I think is going to use all of these options at the same time to reach the goal of a healthy school. Obviously, you dont want to be doing this when students are in a school. It needs to be done during the summer. Gutting entire buildings is sometimes the only solution. I can see why they avoid it but if they want a healthy school, its the consequence of deferred maintainaince. Often, they don't go to the trouble. They don't want to know. Since spore tests will keep coming up with false negatives and toxin testing is so expensive, we really need more options. You know, mold dogs sound like a good option for teachers or frustrated district staff because it does not take long for a dog to run through a building after hours. That might show people where they needed to take samples to prove their case. Its a slippery slope. I personally LOVE dogs. There is nothing like the loving spirit of a dog. But dogs are not people and especially, to put a child in a moldy school is a crime. Mold can make a child or adult so sick that he or she is set back for his/her whole life. Mold can force a teacher or administrator into illness and cause them to lose their job. Dogs as well as people need to live in buildings and together, we need to find mold and get rid of it. We are all in it together. If a dog can find mold and bark, or whatever, so that the humans can get it out of hidden cavities so a building can be made safe to occupy, more power to them and it. At the same time, it is our OBLIGATION to ensure that this is done as safely for everyone as possible..which means using any tools at our disposal to protect their and our health against these poisons. On Feb 3, 2008 11:58 AM, barb1283 <barb1283@...> wrote: > > If they alterated with dogs so dog would have time to recuperate from > each mold exposure, would help. Animal rights group could press for > this if this turns out to be a problem. Something if I was in better > health would like to work on, protection of animals. I think the laws > of abuse to animals should be the same as humans. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Please note the CRITICAL difference between the subject of this thread, " Mold Dogs " and the subject under current discussion, " Pets in Mold Damaged Homes. " They are very different. Pets in mold damaged homes can't leave, thus under constant exposure to the same set of conditions for a long time. Mold dogs are in the contaminated house for a very short time and then leave, thus a very short-term exposure. Yes, mold dogs go into other homes, but the specifics of the exposures in each building are different. This difference is also important to keep in mind when taking care of ourselves. The longer you stay exposed to a given set of conditions (mold or otherwise), the more likely you are to increase in sickness, increase in recovery time and decrease in health. Be more like a mold dog and, if at all possible, get out. Carl Grimes Healthy Habitats LLC ----- On Mon Feb 04 10:44:46 CST 2008, brianc8452 <brianc8452@...> wrote: > According to the American Veterinary Medical Association news > release, a new report that was published in the Journal of the > American Veterinary Medical Association shows that toxic mold can > be a hazard to your pets health. The report came after a > veterinary specialist, Mader in Marathon, Florida, had > been performing a dental procedure on two cats. While performing > the procedure the dentist noticed that there had been frothy > blood in the tubes that were used to supply the anesthesia to the > animals. When the vet noticed this, he immediately stopped the > procedure he was performing. Both animals however died, one the > next day and the other around two weeks later. After the cats had > been deceased, blood was collected and tested. When the tests > came back, the test showed levels of the toxin produced by > Stachybotrys chartarum, which is also known as " toxic black > mold " . When exposed to the mold, it can cause respiratory > problems, pulmonary hemorrhage and death in people. The symptoms > have never been associated with animals until now. The two cats > that died were healthy, indoor cats. Before they received the > dental procedure, both cats were tested and showed no signs of > any illness. It is known that both of the cats had lived in homes > that had received water damage from a hurricane back in 2005. > Once Mader found out that the test came back with the results of > the toxin in them, he urged the owners of the animals to check > their house for mold. According to Mader the two both had severe > mold contamination in their walls. This then lead to the > weakening of the animals capillaries in the lungs which then > burst and then bled. Both of the animals died from complication > which came from a pulmonary hemorrhage. Mader hopes that with > these findings that animal owners who have been affected by flood > waters, hurricanes or anything else that will cause mold to grow > inside the area where the animals are more aware of the dangers > that black mold can cause. Mader is urging anyone with these > circumstances to check their homes for any signs of mold and have > it removed and taken care of immediately. Toxic mold affects > people more so than animals and the symptoms can range from > asthma, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, sore throat, bleeding in > the lungs, and many more. To learn about the affects of toxic > black mold and how you can get rid of it from your home, please > visit " What is Toxic Mold Anyway " . > > The American Veterinary Medical Association has more than 75,000 > veterinarians that are dedicated to advancing the science of > animal, human and public health. To learn more about the AVMA, > please visit their website at http://www.avma.org/ > > > > >> > >> > If they alterated with dogs so dog would have time to >> recuperate > from >> > each mold exposure, would help. Animal rights group could >> press > for >> > this if this turns out to be a problem. Something if I was in > better >> > health would like to work on, protection of animals. I think >> the > laws >> > of abuse to animals should be the same as humans. >> > >> > > > > > FAIR USE NOTICE: > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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