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MOLD
INFORMATION
- Mold
FAQ
Understanding Mold in Your Indoor Environments
Mold Frequently Asked
Questions
This is general mold information only and is not intended to be legal or medical advice for those
seeking such professional services. Contact an attorney for legal assistance and
a health care provider, physician, or allergist, for health concerns.
There are numerous books and web-sites that provide excellent, expert,
information on a variety of fungi. Many references were used in the
information and mold glossary below. This is limited, general, mold
information only, with references and acknowledgements listed at the end of
the page.
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People are exposed to mold of some type on a
daily basis. Molds can be everywhere. They are microscopic organisms that
exist in both indoor environments and outside. Molds are the decomposers of
organic substances that are vital to plant and animal life. Molds survive
and flourish easily in moist environments under the right conditions. People
everywhere, everyday, co-exist with mold.
Mold Exposure - Black Mold - Toxic Mold
People are exposed to
mold through the air they breathe, contact with skin, and ingestion. Molds
need moisture, a food source, time, and to be left undisturbed. Any source
of moisture within an indoor environment can be a possible contributor to a
mold problem and poor indoor air quality. It has been stated simply that the best mold control, is
moisture control. Many molds given the right conditions have the potential
to cause ill health effects in susceptible individuals.
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Mold Frequently Asked Questions
Black Mold - Toxic Mold
Mold - What is it?
Are some molds more
hazardous than others?
How am I exposed to molds?
How does mold affect
my health?
What health symptoms
are common with mold exposure?
General Mold
Glossary - Pictures of Mold - Photomicrographs
The mold glossary (located at the
end of the "Mold FAQ" section) has pictures of mold, types of mold, mold
exposure, and effects of mold, in a general informational format. References
and acknowledgments are provided so the viewer can also locate additional
and more detailed information about mold from various sources.
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MOLD - What is it?
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Molds are
organisms in the taxonomic kingdom of fungi that reproduce by making
spores. They can be found continuously in outside and indoor air. Mold
spores are a microscopic form of fungi. Fungi include molds as well as
rusts, mildews, mushrooms and yeasts. Similar, but different, from plants
fungi do not have vascular tissue that form true roots, stems or leaves.
They have rigid cell walls but lack chlorophyll and can not
photosynthesize. Funguses/Molds are heterotrophic and exist as
parasitic or saprophytic organisms.
Parasites
feed off of another organism at the host’s expense and saprobes feed on
dead, decaying sources of organic substances. All fungi rely on living or
dead organic material to obtain energy and grow. In the publication
Sampling and Identifying Allergenic Pollens and Molds the author
comments that fungi are most recognizable in two of their life forms.
These two forms are first, the feeding or energy-accumulating phase and
second, the reproductive and dispersal phase (41). Some fungi are
considered pathogenic to humans and some molds release toxic chemicals
called mycotoxins that are associated with severe and hazardous health
risks including poisoning and death.
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Mold
Symptoms
When molds germinate
and grow large amounts of mold spores can be produced. Allergic, cold and flu like symptoms,
or possible health risk, or hazard, may occur in susceptible individuals.
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Are some molds more
hazardous than others?
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Toxins in the
environment can sometimes be poisons/proteins that are created/produced by
a living organism that has the potential to damage a living body. This
broad associated definition is the possible premise for the common term “toxic” mold
used frequently by the general public. Specifically to mold Aspergillus, Fusarium,
Penicillium, Chaetomium and Stachybotrys can release chemicals
called mycotoxins during the metabolic cycle that can be “toxic” to
humans. These chemicals can be released freely into the air, present
within the mold, the mold spores, or in the substance where the mold is
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Effects of Mold
Exposure to mycotoxins
has greater risk/hazard than irritative, or allergenic molds. Mycotoxins
can be present in homes, food, office buildings, and agricultural
environments. The elderly, children, immune compromised individuals,
asthmatics and anyone challenged by poor health may be far more
susceptible, and at greater risk, when exposed to mold.
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How am I exposed to molds?
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Mold spores cause
health problems when they are inhaled in large numbers. You can also be
exposed through eating and dermal contact. Most molds given the right
conditions have the potential to cause some ill health effects in
susceptible individuals.
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How does mold affect
my health?
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It is not healthy for anyone to be exposed to mold inside of buildings.
Some people will suffer no ill effects in a moldy environment while others
may suffer from relatively brief exposure to fungal contamination.
Health Effects of Mold
Investigation into mold related health issues are on-going nationwide. It
is the subject of study by scientists, in the public and private sectors,
universities, physicians, industrial hygienists and local state and
federal regulatory bodies.
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What health symptoms
are common with mold exposure?
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Allergic reactions are
the most common mold health problem from exposure such as allergic
rhinitis, dermatitis, asthma associated aggravation and hypersensitivity
pneumonitis. A toxic affect may cause flu-like symptoms such as fever,
runny nose, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. A lack of concentration and mood swings
have also been reported. Rare fungal infections are usually suffered by
the seriously immune compromised. Some individuals will have no reaction
when exposed to molds while other, susceptible, individuals may suffer from
more severe health risk, or hazard. This is a subject under continuous and
evolving study by experts.
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References, Acknowledgements, Publications and Helpful Links
http://encompass.library.cornell.edu:20028/about/1612 “On-line
Glossary of Technical Terms in Plant Pathology” Cornell University.
http://www.dehs.umn.edu/iaq/fungus/glowwary.html
. “Fungal Glossary” University of Minnesota, Department of Environmental
Health & Safety.
http://sciweb.science.adelaide,edu.au/mycology/myco.nsf?OPenDatabase.
Mycology Unit at the Adelaide Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Department of
Microbiology & Immunology at the University of AdelaideAdelaide Science
Online at the University of Adelaide.
Larone,
Davise H. “Medically Important Fungi: A Guide to Identification.”
Mycology Resource Center, Clinical Microbiology Service,
Columbia
Presbyterian Medical Center.
3rd ed. ASM Press. Washington D.C.
Smith,
Grant, E. “Sampling and Identifying Allergenic Pollens and Molds.” An
Illustrated Identification Manual for Air Samplers. Blewstone Press:
San Antonio. 2000.
ST-Germain,
Guy and Summerbell, Richard. “Identifying Filamentous Fungi.” A
Clinical Laboratory Handbook. Star:Belmon 1996.
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General Mold Glossary: PDF File
This mold glossary has pictures of
mold, types of mold, mold exposure and effects of mold in a general
informational format. It is a PDF file that requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to
view. It is a free software that can be downloaded from www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html
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Digital Diagnostic Systems, LLC