Re: Getting re-exposed to mold?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I believe you have hypersensitivity pneumonitis. At least that is

what my Toxicologist/Immunologist told me I have with the exact same

symptoms that you have. I cannot even tolerate walking by a person

who lives in a mold enviornment as I will react violently and be sick

for 2 weeks or more. My MD said the hypersensitivity will subside

after about 5-6 yrs, but will never completely go away. I suggest

you stay away from that building. I also carry a N95 face mask, and

am reviewing half-face masks with a P100 rating to carry with me in

case of being somehwere that I can't get out of. I just came back

from Disney World and I can tell you that every one of those indoor

rides had mold in it, so I just put on my face mask and went in for

the rides and I was fine. I got alot of funny looks, but hey, I had

fun anyway!

Gail

--- In , " Judy " <riverwords@...>

wrote:

>

> Has anyone here experienced this: Last week, we went to an older

building

> and were there for a couple hours. Within 48 hours, I was

developing sinus

> infection-type symptoms. Also, after only being there for about 30

minutes,

> I was feeling really fatigued (the fatigue seems to be a big mold-

related

> symptom for me) and some anxiety, plus some " brain " symptoms--

difficulty

> concentrating, and that " spaced out/zoned out " feeling. This

building has

> also undergone major renovations recently, and I quickly noticed

the strong

> " new carpet " smell while there. There's probably a bunch of

contruction

> dust, etc. there too. I had noticed earlier this year that whenever

we went

> to this building, one of us would get really sick. I just thought,

until

> last week, that we were picking up germs or something there. Last

week,

> after developing those noticeable symptoms after going to the

building

> again, it dawned on me that maybe this building has mold (like I

said it's

> an older building) or something else that's triggering symptoms?

>

> So we were there on Tues. and then again on Fri. While there on

Fri., and

> after only being there for less than an hour, I noticed myself

feeling sort

> of " spaced out " while trying to focus, talk to people, etc. We were

only

> there for an hour, and even for a while after that, I noticed

myself still

> feeling sort of spaced out or something. That was Fri., like I said.

> Yesterday and today, I still have some residual symptoms--some sinus

> symptoms, " congested " feeling in my left ear and a feeling in the

left side

> of my neck like maybe my lymph gland is bothered (I had this

symptom a lot

> while living in the moldy house). Also some anxiety/depression

(this had

> subsided a LOT in recent weeks).

>

> I'm wondering whether anyone here has experienced this type of

thing? Here's

> one idea: if this older building has mold, is it possible that,

after living

> in the moldy house for 4 yrs and just moving out 6 wks ago, I am

> hypersensitive to any building that has mold or other environmental

> irritants? And does this mean that I have to totally NOT go to this

> building? What about going to ANY building that is older (we seem

to do

> better in newer buildings/houses, though yes, I realize that even

new

> buildings can have mold)? Should we avoid going to any older

building, just

> to be on the safe side? If so, ugh...it's bad how mold continues to

put a

> damper on your life...but I guess you just try to make the most of

things.

> And maybe this hypersensitivity will improve over time. (Not that

this is

> the same thing, but I'm really allergic to cats. After avoiding

cats pretty

> much 100% for at least a few years, I found I could be around a cat

without

> having symptoms. But I doubt I could be around a cat all the time,

or a lot.

> Maybe it's a similar thing with mold--that if we avoid it 100% for

an

> extended time, our bodies have the chance to heal and get built

back up

> again, and then we're not nearly as sensitive to mold?)

>

[Guest guest]

you mentioned sinus symptoms too. you may want to start washing your

sinuses everyday amd/or after exposures like this, it may help with

some symptoms too.

> >

> > Has anyone here experienced this: Last week, we went to an older

> building

> > and were there for a couple hours. Within 48 hours, I was

> developing sinus

> > infection-type symptoms. Also, after only being there for about

30

> minutes,

> > I was feeling really fatigued (the fatigue seems to be a big mold-

> related

> > symptom for me) and some anxiety, plus some " brain " symptoms--

> difficulty

> > concentrating, and that " spaced out/zoned out " feeling. This

> building has

> > also undergone major renovations recently, and I quickly noticed

> the strong

> > " new carpet " smell while there. There's probably a bunch of

> contruction

> > dust, etc. there too. I had noticed earlier this year that

whenever

> we went

> > to this building, one of us would get really sick. I just

thought,

> until

> > last week, that we were picking up germs or something there. Last

> week,

> > after developing those noticeable symptoms after going to the

> building

> > again, it dawned on me that maybe this building has mold (like I

> said it's

> > an older building) or something else that's triggering symptoms?

> >

> > So we were there on Tues. and then again on Fri. While there on

> Fri., and

> > after only being there for less than an hour, I noticed myself

> feeling sort

> > of " spaced out " while trying to focus, talk to people, etc. We

were

> only

> > there for an hour, and even for a while after that, I noticed

> myself still

> > feeling sort of spaced out or something. That was Fri., like I

said.

> > Yesterday and today, I still have some residual symptoms--some

sinus

> > symptoms, " congested " feeling in my left ear and a feeling in the

> left side

> > of my neck like maybe my lymph gland is bothered (I had this

> symptom a lot

> > while living in the moldy house). Also some anxiety/depression

> (this had

> > subsided a LOT in recent weeks).

> >

> > I'm wondering whether anyone here has experienced this type of

> thing? Here's

> > one idea: if this older building has mold, is it possible that,

> after living

> > in the moldy house for 4 yrs and just moving out 6 wks ago, I am

> > hypersensitive to any building that has mold or other

environmental

> > irritants? And does this mean that I have to totally NOT go to

this

> > building? What about going to ANY building that is older (we seem

> to do

> > better in newer buildings/houses, though yes, I realize that even

> new

> > buildings can have mold)? Should we avoid going to any older

> building, just

> > to be on the safe side? If so, ugh...it's bad how mold continues

to

> put a

> > damper on your life...but I guess you just try to make the most

of

> things.

> > And maybe this hypersensitivity will improve over time. (Not that

> this is

> > the same thing, but I'm really allergic to cats. After avoiding

> cats pretty

> > much 100% for at least a few years, I found I could be around a

cat

> without

> > having symptoms. But I doubt I could be around a cat all the

time,

> or a lot.

> > Maybe it's a similar thing with mold--that if we avoid it 100%

for

> an

> > extended time, our bodies have the chance to heal and get built

> back up

> > again, and then we're not nearly as sensitive to mold?)

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Disney World has mold. Good God. Is there anywhere safe anymore. Speaking of

which. Isnt it sad about Galveston and Houston. They are the next New Orleans

and then there is the whole middle America that has been inundated with floods

and damage from the weather this whole summer. Wow this is getting so serious in

so many different places.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Wow, you must be super sensitive...how long since you left the moldy

environment? Are you doing better overall now?

Is the toxicologist/immunologist the main dr you see for mold? How

did you find this dr? I'm not even sure how to go about finding a

good dr like this.

I googled hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and I don't have a lot of

lung-type symptoms, though I did have some of those when I lived in

the moldy place (for example, one symptom that would come and go was

this burning or cool/pressure feeling in my lungs). One symptom of

hypersensitivity pneumonitis that I did have last week, though, was

some chills and feverish-type feeling. This happened along with the

other sinus symptoms, a day or two after being in that older, newly

renovated building.

Where can I get N95 masks? Hardware store? (Speaking of which, I was

at a brand new Lowe's a few weeks ago. Within 5 minutes of entering

the store, this anxiety came over me...have no idea what caused that?

Obviously, a store like that would have strong smells--lumber, etc.

So maybe I was hypersensitive to some type of fumes in there? The

anxiety subsided after I left the store.)

Your Disney story was funny! Good for you for going anyway. Hope you

had fun!! Epcot is great fun as well.

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Judy " <riverwords@...>

wrote:

>I had the same thing happen to me when I went to Costco. The place

has always been kind of unsafe for me but whatever problem they have

has totally exploded. The last time (and I mean the LAST time!) I went

there I became disoriented and angry and sick for over a week. I

thought maybe it's their cleaning products but my reaction was so

extreme that I think maybe something moldy is growing somewhere. I

could barely function for a week and was so angry about it.

I am in general better than I was so it's always disappointing when

this happens.

Surella

[Guest guest]

CVS has it's own brand of sinus drops. It's in a drop bottle form;

but if you have an old nose spray, you can always transfer it to that.

That's what I did.

It unclogs the debris (including mold spores) and you just sneeze it

out each nostril. I could actually see and feel the spores leaving my

sinuses and could breath better. llaci

[Guest guest]

That happened to me when I went into a Sam's a few weeks ago. They

were power washing inside the produce cases blowing out the mold into

the air! I just left my cart in the aisle and ran for the exit when I

saw that!

> >I had the same thing happen to me when I went to Costco. The place

> has always been kind of unsafe for me but whatever problem they have

> has totally exploded. The last time (and I mean the LAST time!) I went

> there I became disoriented and angry and sick for over a week. I

> thought maybe it's their cleaning products but my reaction was so

> extreme that I think maybe something moldy is growing somewhere. I

> could barely function for a week and was so angry about it.

> I am in general better than I was so it's always disappointing when

> this happens.

> Surella

>

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure what it is about pinesol but what ever it is it just makes

me swoon, my brain goes instantly on vacation and my body goes limp. it

would be nice if stores put out some kind of warning sign to let you

know they just did some cleaning or change their cleaning products.

lol's, thats what I told that cop during my little ride, that he might

want to consider what he's breathing all day and go all natural,

instead of takeing it as good advice it seemed to piss him off, amafion

that. if as my voice started slurring I kept talking untill he finally

cracked my window, lol's like I was going to get out if the window was

cracked and run away.

sometimes I wish some people could just be in my shoes for a day.

> >I had the same thing happen to me when I went to Costco. The place

> has always been kind of unsafe for me but whatever problem they have

> has totally exploded. The last time (and I mean the LAST time!) I went

> there I became disoriented and angry and sick for over a week. I

> thought maybe it's their cleaning products but my reaction was so

> extreme that I think maybe something moldy is growing somewhere. I

> could barely function for a week and was so angry about it.

> I am in general better than I was so it's always disappointing when

> this happens.

> Surella

>

[Guest guest]

Judy, yes, symptoms come back with re-exposure . even small amounts

of molds/myco's can cause reactions after you have become sensitized

to them from exposure. you can also become sensitive to other

chemicals both produced by molds and man made chemicals.

molds and their toxins can also be in many things so it's sometimes

hard to tell the difference. if your friend has mold, it's also going

to be on her cloths,hair,car,ect.

you could also be reacting to the same of simular type chemicals that

may be in many things, or the mold and myco's that could be in those

products. many believe that everything they react to has be be mold

or their mycotoxins but molds also have other voc's and in a water

damaged building we can get ecposed to other voc's and off gassing of

man made chemicals released from the materials the molds are growing

on, which can also make us reactive to those chemicals and other

chemical's of the same thpe.

it is hard to day what any one person might be reactive to.

i personally believe theres a range depending on how bad your organ

and systom damage was during exposure. some with severe organ damage

may be more suceptable to all chemicals and toxins, where someone who

may of had minor organ damage may just be sensitive to what they were

mostly exposed to. i'm talking mainly about damage to the nose/brain

route although all routes can be affected.

some suffer brain fog while some suffer full blown seiures and a

whole body and system reaction. hope this helps.

--- In , " Judy " <judyw22@...>

wrote:

>

> I think I asked a similar question a while ago but wanted to get

more info

> on this issue. Do people's symptoms come back, to some degree, when

they're

> re-exposed to mold? We lived in a moldy house for 4 years. We moved

out 6

> months ago. We have steadily improved since then. I find that the

hardest

> symptoms to kick have been the brain ones, especially some brain

fog-type

> stuff. However, just in the past month or so, I'd finally been

feeling more

> normal, health-wise. Good energy level, good ability to

focus/remember/etc,

> little depression or anxiety, no hair loss. Appetite had come back

to

> normal, and I'd finally been able to gain a little weight (had

gotten so

> thin, and I think this was from mold--do some people lose weight

because of

> mold toxicity?).

>

> We have some friends who I think have mold at their house. I can

feel fine

> before going over there, but while over there, or soon after,

various mold

> symptoms start coming back. Once we were over there and within an

hour or

> less, I felt anxiety coming on. I didn't feel this way before going

over

> there. Another time after going over there on a Thurs., on Fri. and

Sat.

> nites I had **horrendous** insomnia. I am historically a person who

does

> *not* tend to get insomnia. (The last time I had insomnia was last

winter,

> when I had months of horrible insomnia at the moldy house.)

>

> So last Sat., I wasn't even at their house. I was in their car for

about 2

> hrs. Could it be possible that either I get exposed to mold via

mold spores

> being on their clothes and hair, and is that enough to make my

symptoms come

> back, without even being in their house? Or maybe there is mold in

their

> car?

>

> The symptoms that have come back since Sat. (and I wasn't feeling

these

> symptoms before Sat.): brain fogginess, spaciness, anxiety, lack

of " oomph "

> and energy (when I woke up on Sun. I almost felt like I had a

hangover),

> milder depression, getting stressed out more easily. Mainly the

> brain-related and nervous system stuff. Does my hypothesis--that

these

> symptoms came back due to being around these people and their house-

-make

> sense? (Again, I didn't feel these symptoms before being around

them, and I

> think every time I go to their house, symptoms that I didn't have

before

> that start coming back.)

>

> If and when you get re-exposed, how do you get rid of the symptoms?

Are

> there are vitamin supplements, foods, teas, nasal washes, baths,

etc. that

> would lessen the severity and duration of symptoms? Or do you just

have to

> tough it out till symptoms are gone? How long do those re-exposure

symptoms

> usually last (how many days or weeks)?

>

> How do you tell a friend that you think they have mold? How do you

tell them

> you can't come over to their house because their house makes you

sick,

> without them thinking you're crazy, or rude, or disinterested in

their

> friendship? Do you just stop being friends with someone because

being at

> their house and being exposed to the mold lingering on their

clothes makes

> you sick? I am concerned too because they have 3 young children.

Apparently

> they eat healthy, yet their kids are sick a lot. And the kids are

not in

> daycare. More clues to me that they might have mold in their house.

(She

> also told me recently that the large rugs in their living/dining

area were

> left out in the rain at some point. Also, I'm pretty sure she told

me that

> their previous home had mold, and she just painted over it or

something like

> that.)

>

[Guest guest]

>This is such a tricky thing because it feels so insulting to tell

someone their house has mold. But you have to do it-I had the same

problem when my son moved into a basement apartment that just reeked

of mold. I visited one time and told him after no more visits! He

looked a little upset and he's my son! He knows what I've been

through! Meanwhile when he visits me he brings the mold with him on

his clothes and I sneeze and my eyes burn until he leaves. It's awful.

Which brings me to answer your other question-can the symptoms come

back? Yes absolutely but there is both good and bad news. I can no

longer tolerate any mold (I visited San Diego and spent a week in a

room that did not smell of mold but ALL my symptoms came back so i

asked and they said oh yeah, they have a mold problem.) The good news

is that a week after I left I started feeling better again. It still

affects me but if I can get away from it the affects don;t last long

anymore.

Just tell your friends you have become too " allegic " to mold-sometimes

they understand.

> I think I asked a similar question a while ago but wanted to get

more info

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info! Yes, it's a touchy issue to tell someone else they

might have mold. For one, it probably feels like criticism to them, and for

another, the prospect of having mold means the prospect of THEM having to

abandon their home, possessions, etc. (as we have had to do). However, I

think most of us who've had to move, trash most of our possessions, etc.

would agree that doing this is SO worth it, if that's what it takes to

regain our health and a normal life.

Good for you for speaking up to your son. You are not only looking out for

your own health but also for his. I also think my parents have

mold--whenever my mom sends me something in the mail, I can tell which items

were in their house, because they have that same disgusting smell that all

my possessions had when living in the moldy house. I immediately wash

whatever she sends me with the same " mold washing protocol. " But I really

wish I didn't have these moldy items entering my home at all. I've been

trying to figure out a way to tell my parents that they have mold--I'm sure

they won't listen to me. But they do have many of the symptoms.

How long did you live in a moldy place, and how long ago was that? I'm just

wondering whether, after not being around any mold for a long time, a person

can someday not live such a restricted life, whether the body can heal

enough that they don't have to be so vigilant about avoiding mold. Avoiding

it drastically affects being able to lead a normal life--you have to think

about every single place you ever go.

It's now been a week since last Sat., when I think I was re-exposed via that

friend's car. (It also dawned on me yesterday that my car could have mold,

and maybe that's partly why my symptoms came back too--I was in my car last

Sat. for the first time in a month. My car had been broken down for a month,

so I hadn't been in it in a while. My car could have gotten cross

contaminated when I lived in the moldy house, plus the car's sunroof has had

a leak, which of course could be a source of mold on the seats that got wet.

What do I do? Get rid of the car?)

Anyway, today I am finally feeling " mostly normal " again. This week I tried

to step up various natural " anti-mold " healing things that I've done (extra

foods and supplements that are good for the brain, detox tea, walks and

fresh air, etc.). I'm hoping that I'll continue feeling better. I'm also

hoping that I won't get re-exposed again anytime soon, because I can't

afford to feel lousy for days at a time after re-exposure. I have too much

responsibility in my life to be sick very frequently at all. Even just the

brain symptoms are really bad and enough to put a monkey wrench in one's

ability to lead a normal life. (I'm still trying to get caught up from the

years that I was sick from living in the moldy house.)

Re: Getting re-exposed to mold?

Posted by: " surellabaer " surellabaer@... surellabaer

Sat Jan 31, 2009 3:31 pm (PST)

>This is such a tricky thing because it feels so insulting to tell

someone their house has mold. But you have to do it