Toxic schools: Could mold be the reason your child is sick?

[Guest guest]

does this say LA TIMES??

Toxic schools: Could mold be the reason your child is

sick?

http://www.latimes.com/health/os-epa-mold-florida-schools-day-2-20101017,0,46566\

19,print.story

By -Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel

7:39 PM PDT, October 17,

2010

Six-year-old Aliseo was miserable. He had headaches, pressure

between his eyes, trouble breathing and, occasionally, suffered the indignity of

vomiting in front of his classmates.

Over two years, the youngster was in

and out of the doctor's office for constant sinus and respiratory infections.

Cara Aliseo watched her son endure 70-plus allergy injections, two CAT scans and

then two surgeries to drain his clogged sinuses.

She could not figure out

what was causing the boy to be so sick — until another mom at his elementary

school mentioned the campus was being treated for mold.

Once she moved

to another school, she said, his health problems vanished.

Aliseo

and several other parents sued the Broward County school district, and she

settled out of court in 2007.

Despite growing legal claims across the

country involving indoor air quality, there is also no generally accepted

standard for how much mold can be in a room before it becomes unsafe. That's

because sensitivity levels can vary widely from person to person.

If mold

is growing on the ceiling or inside the wall of a classroom, some kids will not

be affected at all. Others, however, might experience flu-like symptoms such as

runny noses, coughing and breathing difficulties.

Some types of mold emit

toxins that can elicit more severe responses.

For example, Aspergillus

and Stachybotrys, which have forced the closure of homes and schools across the

country, have been linked to lung and respiratory infections. Children are

especially vulnerable, health experts say, because their organs are still

developing and they take in more air relative to their body size than

adults.

Because it is hard to predict how any one person will react, the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of

Environmental Protection suggest that all molds be treated the same and be

removed immediately when found growing indoors.

But pediatricians and

allergists urge parents not to panic if mold is discovered in schools. Instead,

they said, parents should be asking questions about where the mold is located,

how it got there and what school officials are doing to get rid of it.

" I

don't think they should be freaking out, but I think it's definitely something

they should be concerned about, " said Kimura, a Pensacola allergist who

is immediate past president of the Florida Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Society.

He has seen a substantial increase in the number of children and

teachers coming to him with symptoms they believe are related to mold in schools

since Hurricane Ivan and then Hurricane Dennis ravaged the Florida Panhandle in

2004 and 2005.

Many schools were left with roof damage and water leaks,

Kimura said.

" It's a tough issue to remediate because mold is so

pervasive, " he said. " Unless you strip the walls down to the studs and take out

the insulation and redo that, you're not going to completely get rid of

it. "

Thanai Pongdee, an allergist with Mayo Clinic Florida in

ville, also pointed out that children themselves bring allergens to

school on their clothing. Schools may not realize they are harboring a variety

of allergens in carpet, upholstered furniture, pillows and stuffed animals,

Pongdee said.

" I know mold gets a lot of popular press, " he said, " but if

you look at dust mites and animal dander, those are key players as

well. "

Mold is a naturally occurring part of Florida's warm, humid

climate. Mold spores continually waft through the air indoors and

outside.

What becomes problematic is when those spores come into contact

with moisture – a roof leak, a liquid spill or high humidity, for example –

and

are allowed to multiply and form colonies inside buildings. Mold in classrooms

can be especially concerning because these are small areas with limited air flow

where children and school employees spend hours at a time.

If moms and

dads think their kid's' school is making them sick, experts say they should keep

a detailed log of children's symptoms, including when they occur, and confer

with their doctors.

Broward mom Cara Aliseo suggested parents educate

themselves about mold and push officials to do any necessary repairs quickly and

correctly.

Part of the problem at her son's former school, she said, was

that the mold clean-ups were not done the right way so mold kept coming back. In

the end, most of the campus had to be rebuilt.

" I know if we didn't fight

the way we did — me and teachers and parents screaming and going to meetings

and

causing trouble — it never would have been fixed, " she said.

-Marie

Balona can be reached at dbalona@... or 407-420-5470 or

386-228-5008.

[Guest guest]

I love how they always say they shouldn't freak out!! I have to disagree

and say they should totally freak out and get their children OUT of the

building ASAP before it is too late!!!!!!!

" I don't think they should be freaking out, but I think it's definitely

something

they should be concerned about, " said Kimura, a Pensacola

allergist who

is immediate past president of the Florida Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Society.