Symptoms of Advanced Mold Exposure

and Mold Sickness

Advanced mold sickness will occur due to one or more factors:

  1. Exposure to a contaminated environment and failing to receive the proper treatment
  2. A person is in the “High Risk” or “Special Needs” category regarding exposure

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), certain people fall into a health risk category where exposure to fungus, mold, mycotoxins and mycobacterium can be devastating to their health and has been documented as the cause deaths in the United States.

 

Those categories may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Expectant mothers
  • Children under the age of fifteen (15) years of age
  • Adults over the age of fifty eight (58) years of age
  • Persons whom have cancer
  • Persons who are undergoing chemotherapy
  • Persons using cancer therapy drugs
  • Diabetics
  • Burn Victims
  • Persons diagnosed as “Immuno – Compromised, or        Immuno – Suppressed
  • Persons with ARC related illnesses
  • HIV Positive persons
  • Alcoholics / recovered or recovering alcoholics
  • Persons suffering from Cirrhosis of the liver
  • Persons suffering from Liver disorders / disease
  • Persons suffering from Kidney disorders / disease
  • Persons with Asthma
  • Persons with COPD
  • Persons on, or having been on Steroid therapy
  • Stroke victims
  • Heart attack victims
  • Organ transplant patients
  • Persons with endometriosis

 

Persons whom are athletic may also be at higher risk. Different levels of physical conditioning and physical activities may allow those persons to breathe microbial fine particulates deeper into their lungs during times of physical exertion.

 

Aspergillosis

While Stachbotrys has been sensationalized by the news media, it is a real and deadly threat to human beings. However, Aspergillus is responsible for more U.S. deaths and invasive fungal infections than any other species of fungi.

 

The signs and symptoms of aspergillosis vary with the type of illness you develop:

Some people with asthma or cystic fibrosis have an allergic reaction to aspergillus mold. Signs and symptoms of this condition, known as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, include:

  • Fever
  • A cough that may bring up blood or plugs of mucus
  • Worsening asthma
A growth of tangled fungus fibers (fungus ball) may develop if there are air spaces (cavities) in the lungs. This type of aspergillosis is called aspergilloma. Lung cavities may develop in people with pre-existing lung conditions, such as emphysema, tuberculosis or advanced sarcoidosis. Aspergilloma is a benign condition that may not initially produce symptoms, but over time it can cause:
  • A cough that often brings up blood (hemoptysis), sometimes large amounts
  • Wheezing
  • Shortness of breath
  • Unintentional weight loss
  • Fatigue
The most severe form of aspergillosis, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, occurs when the infection spreads rapidly from the lungs through your bloodstream to your brain, heart, kidneys or skin. This occurs only in people whose immune system is weakened, commonly from chemotherapy. Signs and symptoms depend on which organs are affected, but in general, invasive aspergillosis can cause:

· Fever and chills

· Cough that brings up blood-streaked sputum (hemoptysis)

· Severe bleeding from your lungs

· Shortness of breath

· Chest or joint pain

· Nosebleed

· Facial swelling on one side

· Skin lesions

Other types of aspergillosis
In addition to your lungs, aspergillus can invade other areas of the body, such as your sinuses. In your sinuses, it can cause a stuffy nose, drainage (possibly bloody), inflammation, fever, facial pain and headache.
 

When to see a doctor

If you have asthma or cystic fibrosis, see your doctor whenever you notice a change in your symptoms. Although aspergillosis may not be the cause, it’s important to have any problems evaluated. If you have a weakened immune system and develop an unexplained fever, shortness of breath or a cough that brings up blood, get immediate medical care. In the case of invasive aspergillosis, prompt treatment is so crucial that treatment is often started before the infection is diagnosed.