For many people, the symptoms of mold exposure are one of the first things that alerts them to a potential mold problem in their home. Without a doubt, mold can be extremely harmful to your health, and that’s why you should have a mold inspection completed promptly if you’ve experienced any of these symptoms.
Not only can mold make you sick, but it can even impact your pets’ health. So, what makes it so dangerous?
Symptoms of Mold Exposure
Before we dig into the symptoms that may alert you to mold exposure, it’s important that we state a big fact: Most people have a mold allergy. This makes the side effects of mold even more noticeable, but it also means you may pass them off as a common allergy since this can trigger symptoms like:
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Skin irritation
- Water eyes
- Runny nose
They’re always annoying, but these symptoms can actually cause severe complications if someone is already suffering from asthma or autoimmune disorders, and they should always be taken seriously.
What Causes Mold Sickness?
For those with a mold allergy, mold exposure can trigger all of the above symptoms with varying levels of exposure or contact. However, mold is dangerous to everyone, and one of the ways in which is can make you sick is by entering your body and forming a fungal infection.
These infections can start with your skin, as your skin is a porous surface that retains moisture. However, more often, it can enter your body through your nasal cavities due to mold spores in the air that you may inhale without realizing it. In fact, the majority of sinus infections are misdiagnosed and they’re actually fungal infections as a result of mold exposure.
This makes many sinus infections seem never-ending, as doctors misdiagnose them as infections as prescribe antibiotics when they should be giving patients anti-fungal medication.
Risk Factors to Consider
A lot of things factor into the ways in which mold can make you sick, and remember that mold exposure is dangerous to everyone. No level of mold exposure is considered “safe.” Still, you may experience worsened symptoms if:
- You have a family history of allergies
- You have a house with high humidity (relative indoor humidity of 50% or more)
- You have an occupation that increases your risk of mold exposure (furniture restoration, carpentry, etc.)
- You live in a location with excessive moisture (heavy rain, flooding, leaky pipes, etc.)
Ultimately, we’re here to help educate consumers like you so that you can understand the seriousness of mold and begin to see it as not just unsightly, but a threat to good health. Mold is a common problem in and around Troy, NY, so if you think you have a mold problem, reach out to us for a consultation.