Re: Mold Testing for Safety [was: Re: air purifier and clean...

[Guest guest]

a,

Its not a one size fits all question you ask. A little mold in a shower

is rarely, rarely a health threat. A lot of mold behind a wall in a baby's

room is a serious problem.

Infants and elderly are known to be more susceptible to experience symptoms

of ill health from mold exposure and exposure to other contaminants known

to be present where mold grows indoors.

You are correct to be questioning if mold is a potentially serious problem,

particularly when there is a baby in the house. If you are exhibiting

symptoms, there is a good chance that so is your baby. But babies can't

articulate the problem.

The chosen path of what to do, depends on each individual scenario.

Meaning if you are a home owner you have a vested interest in fixing the house

and cannot just pack up and permanently leave if the mold is causing problems

for your family. If you are a tenant, you can pack up and leave (I know

that sometimes that is not as simple as it sounds and sometimes you can't

pack up contaminated items without taking the problem with you).

I am not a professional in this issue, but if it were me this is what I

would do:

If I was having symptoms that seem to be worse when in the house, such as

headaches or rashes or nose bleeds or cough or stuffy nose or numbness of

extremities or short term memory problems, I would get my baby out of there

immediately while I investigated the problem.

If I wasn't having any symptoms, I would keep my baby away from the area of

the house that suspected was a problem while I investigated.

Personally, if I had a baby, I would hire a professional to come and

investigate my house. I would get some recommendations of who is good in my

area.

You have Carl Grimes' email address now because he just replied to you.

Carl is President of the Indoor Air Quality Association. They have chapters

all over the country.

Best of success to you. Mold in your house is not a reason to panic, but

it is also not something to be taken lightly.

Sharon Kramer

>>

In a message dated 1/5/2011 4:57:15 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,

grimes@... writes:

a,

I left out the simplest method: If you or your family react in the

house, feel better when you leave, only to react again upon re-

entry that is all you need to know. There is a problem. It may not

be for anyone else but it is for that specific individual.

Figuring out what it is, what to do, and how to interpret results is

often very simple. But as many on this group will tell you it can

sometimes be difficult, exasperating, and unending. But not

always.

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/9/2011 10:28:28 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,

jeaninem660@... writes:

my uterus,overies,ect also would swell like my lower back did so

inflammation did play a role there but I still fell infection did too.

As usual, I agree with your evaluation, Jeanine. I have always thought it

is splitting hairs to differentiate between toxicity, allergy, irritation,

inflammation and infection.

Seems to me, one's body must be first infected with a substance before

symptoms of illness occur; whether they be:

short term, chronic or intermittent; or

impacting one area of the body or many;

or manifest in symptoms of toxicity, allergic, irritant, or colonization

of an unwanted substance.

It is ALL some sort of inflammation caused by an infecting agent.

Before I experience sinus inflammation of a cold, I first am infected with

a cold causing virus.

Before I experience organ inflammation caused by toxin chemicals from mold,

I first am infected with inflammation causing mold toxins.

Having one's body infected by a substance is not always the same thing as

infectious disease requiring growth of an organism.

Inflammation from exposure to a substance in whatever form it comes is

caused by being infected with the substance, first.

Definition of infect:

to taint or contaminate with something that affects quality, character, or

condition unfavorably

Definition of infection:

an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected

insects, air, water, or clothing

Definition of infectious disease:

Any disease caused by the entrance, growth, and multiplication of

microorganisms in the body; a germ disease. It may not be contagious.

disease:

1.

a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system

of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors,

infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or

unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

2.

any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital

physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites,

unfavorable

environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.

posted this on IEQuality from the NY Guidelines. They are getting

closer to putting logic into all of this by the curtailing of the usage of

misleading and splitting hair terms.

" Now, if we could only get everyone to use and follow this plain, easy to

understand definition of mold:

" The Task Force members agreed that scientific evidence does not exist

supporting clear distinctions between a category of " toxic mold " species

versus other " non-toxic " mold species or between " toxic mold " health effects

and

health effects associated with other molds. Therefore, the remainder of

this report will address all molds as a group, recognizing that there is

tremendous variability among mold species in the way they grow, their

metabolism, the chemicals they produce, how they interact with their

environment and

their potential to cause adverse health effects when people are exposed to

them. "

The reason:

" ...the law does not define toxic mold or the term toxic. A simple

dictionary definition for toxic as " harmful, destructive, deadly, poisonous " is

appropriate when considering health effects of mold exposures. This broadens

the scope of potential health effects considered by the Task Force beyond

effects that might be associated with certain chemicals produced by molds

(known as mycotoxins) to include adverse effects such as allergic,

inflammatory or mucous membrane irritation responses. Chemicals produced by

molds in

buildings that have potential to cause adverse reactions in building

occupants can include protein allergens; complex carbohydrates such as

1,3beta-D-glucan and extracellular polysaccharides; volatile organic compounds

such

as aldehydes, ketones and alcohols; and non-volatile mycotoxins. Some mix of

these different chemicals can be produced by any type of mold growing in

buildings and adverse responses in people exposed to any of these agents can

be considered toxic responses. "

See more at The Final Task Force Report, pg. 21, at

_http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/mold/task_force/docs/final_t\

oxic_mold_task_force

_report.pdf_

(http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/mold/task_force/docs/final_t\

oxic_mold_task_force_report.pdf)

End of 's IEQuality post.

Sharon