Mold Allergy Symptoms

Mold allergies can occur in people of almost any age but Infants, toddlers, children, the elderly those with compromised immune systems, and people with existing respiratory conditions such as allergies or asthma tend to have a higher risk of experiencing an allergic reaction to mold. Mold allergy symptoms can slightly vary per person.

List of Indoor And Outdoor Moldsa

The most common indoor molds are Cladosporium mold, Penicillium, Alternaria mold, Aspergillus mold, and Mucor mold. Other common molds include Helminthosporium, Epicoccum, Rhizopus, and Aureobasidium (Pullularia).

Other molds can be found outside, especially where water has been let for a long time to stgnate. These molds include Fusarium, Trichoderma, and Stachybotrys. These molds can be very toxic. The Stachybotrys mold can grow on water soaked building materials with high cellulose content (wood, paper, and cotton products for example).

Where Do Molds Grow?

Mold is most likely to grow in poorly ventilated and damp places indoors. The most common place that mold grows inside the home include:

Bathrooms (especially inside showers)
Closets
Basements
Refrigerator drip trays
Cat litter boxes

Other places where mold might form and grow are; house plants, places used to store fresh food, air conditioners, humidifiers, garbage cans, foam and rubber pillows, upholstered pieces of furniture and mattresses.

There are a number of other products that are favorable for mold growth. These include paper and products made of paper, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, wood products, dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, dry wall, carpet and fabric.

Symptoms of Mold Allergies

There are a number of different symptoms of mold allergies. These include:

Sneezing, with runny or clogged nose.
Dry, hacking cough.
Eye problems such as itchy eyes, burning, watery, blurred vision, inflammation of the eye lids and dark circles around the eyes.
Itchy nose and throat, sore throat
Respiratory problems such as wheezing and difficulty breathing (in children with asthma)
Asthma

Causes of Mold Allergies

Mold allergies are caused by the microscopic spores from molds. When inhaled, these microscopic fungal spores or, sometimes, fragments of fungi may cause allergic rhinitis. Mold spores are very easily carried in to the air and thus, mold can be found almost anywhere. Because these airbourne mold spores are so tiny, they are able to make their way through pretective mechanisms in the nose and in to a person's respiratory tract and cause an allergic reaction.

There are thousands of types of molds and yeast, the two groups of plants in the fungus family. Yeasts are single cells that divide to form clusters. Molds consist of many cells that grow as branching threads called hyphae. Although both groups can probably cause allergic reactions, only a small number of molds are widely recognized offenders.

Diagnosis of Mold Allergies

There are a couple of ways in which mold allergy can be identified. A medical professional should perform these diagnostic methods.

Physical Examination

The first is a simple physical examination. Combined with identification of symptoms, a doctor or nurse should be able to identify the cause of an allergic reaction as mold related.Another way is via a skin test. Testing for mold allergies is usually performed in a doctor's office where a nurse would administer the test and the doctor would make the diagnosis.

Skin Test

There are a number of different types of allergy testing. Mold allergy testing uses a percutaneous skin test. That means that it is done via a skin puncture, prick or scratch. Tiny drops of purified allergen extracts are scratched or pricked in to the surface of the skin. The mold allergy reaction is noted and a suitable treatment can be prescribed.

Continue to: Treatment for Mold Allergy

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