Mold proves to be health risk in workplace, homes – MassLive.com

SPRINGFIELD In recent weeks, mold has forced the closing of South Hadley High School and the temporary shuttering of the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse here, as well as two Northampton schools, as mitigation efforts got underway to clean and remove it.

Exposure to molds can lead to symptoms such as a stuffy nose, wheezing, and red or itchy eyes, or skin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Severe reactions may occur among workers exposed to large amounts of molds in occupational settings.

Individuals said to be at greatest risk for serious allergic reactions to the tiny, airborne spores that exist in thousands of species of mold include those with history of family allergies and who are exposed over time including, not only in classrooms or workspaces, but at home.

Dr. Jackie Garrett, a board certified allergist and immunologist with Trinity Health Of New England Medical Group, said one of the first steps in evaluating someone for a possible mold allergy is their environmental history.

I ask where they live, how old is the house they are living in, do they have carpeting, is the basement damp, do they have a ventilation system in place, do they have a central air system with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter to get rid of these small particles, Garrett said. I also ask if they are running a dehumidifier, is their bathroom ventilated, meaning after they take their shower, are they turning on that fan to dry out the air and has there been a leak before the onset of their symptoms?

Garrett, who treats patients with allergies, asthma and primary immunodeficiency diseases, said the reason for such questions is that molds like damp, wet environments.

Having proper ventilation is key in keeping moisture down inside of a home or a building just to help lessen the environment that is going to make it nice and friendly for mold to grow, Garrett said. Think damp, dark, humid places.

She said she tells patient that particularly in the cold months when you are running your heaters, you want to ensure the humidity is less than 50% in your home.

Mold and dust mites will grow with high humidity, Garrett said. Humidity is a friend for mold growing. Having good ventilation inside of a home, inside of a building is really good for keeping the mold count down and not making it a favorable environment to grow in.

She said that for indoor mold accumulation it is very important to make sure the space is cleaned appropriately.

When my patients come in and I say I live in an apartment building and I am seeing mold on the ceiling, I say you need to call the landlord immediately to come in and do a cleaning and if it is really involved you have to do a mold remediation to make sure it is all out, Garrett said. This makes sure you are not having the constant exposure to the mold on a daily basis.

Outdoor mold exposure can be seasonal, while indoor types can present ongoing challenges, she said.

We see outdoor mold April through November, and we have had a wet spring and summer and it is looking like that for fall, too, Garrett said. Outdoor mold counts are definitely on the rise because of it. Historically, when the leaves fall you have a higher exposure. People have always had problems with indoor mold. Basements that are damp or if people accumulate old books and newspapers or keep have organic plants. I have seen throughout my career concerns for mold allergy but not specific to these exposures.

People who work in certain occupations, like farming and logging, that can exposed them to mold can be at risk for allergies to them especially if they have a history of family allergies or environmental allergies themselves, she said. Symptoms can be mild to severe.

You can have typical allergic rhinitis (inflammation of the nose), sneezing, congestion, runny, stuffy eye symptoms, itchy, runny nose, Garrett said. Some people with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, they will have rashes if they get into contact with mold.

She said people with asthma can experience significant symptoms from a mold exposure.

An asthmatic child, for example, not wearing gloves or a mask when picking up leaves can get an eczema flare or an asthma flare, Garrett said. More involved can be someone who has had problems with rhinosinusitis, that is, inflammation of the sinus passages. They can get allergic fungal sinusitis that is essentially a sinus infection, but fungal.

She added, You can also have allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in people who have had moderate to severe asthma and that might not be well controlled and they are having a consistent exposure to mold that could be in a classroom or home environment.

There is also a really rare condition that you can find in people with asthma called hypersensitivity pneumonitis, Garrett said. This is an inflammatory response that happens in the lungs.

She said that more severe cases of mold infections can be found as well in people who have susceptibilities.

People who are immunocompromised or on immuno-suppression medication, Garrett said. You have more invasive mold infections with people with HIV-AIDS or someone who has cancer and is on immuno-suppressive medication.

However, she said the majority of individuals if they have problems with mold, they are just on the allergy spectrum.

They are going to have nasal and eye symptoms, just as if they were exposed to other allergens like pollen, Garrett said.

She said skin testing can be done to determine whether an individual has a mold allergy and a course of treatment both immediate and long-term devised in needed.

The severity of symptoms in someone who may be susceptible can be influenced by length of exposure, Garrett said.

Say we have a bad rainfall and you get a leak in your basement, she said. You dont know about it because your basement is not finished and you dont really go down there and so the mold sets in. You are an allergic person in a house with mold for a month. You can start having more significant symptoms versus somebody like an asthmatic who is just cleaning leaves and gets that one-time exposure.

She added, More chronic exposure can set you up for more significant symptom complaints so you may end up with not just the runny eyes and itchy nose but if you do have baseline respiratory issues as with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), you could end up having more persistent symptoms.

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Mold proves to be health risk in workplace, homes - MassLive.com