The Symptoms of Mold Illness

When mold grows in a house, it releases spores into the air that contain mycotoxins. These mycotoxins trigger symptoms such as coughing, congestion and sore throat that are often mistaken for other causes with similar symptoms like allergies. Some people have an immediate allergy to mold while others may experience long-term health effects after repeated exposure to high levels of mold over months or years.

Mold is a living organism that grows in damp, warm places with lots of water and food. A number of factors can lead to it growing inside your home—condensation on windows or shower doors, leaking gutters, a plumbing leak or improper ventilation, for example. Mold spores are virtually everywhere and not dangerous to your health when they’re outside. But when they grow inside your home, they have the chance to develop into patches or colonies that could be harmful to you if you breathe them in over time.

Mold causing respiratory and allergic problems is the most common way for mold to affect health. But mycotoxins can in some cases cause harmful effects to people's immune system and internal organs. Whether or not that happens depends on whether or not the mold is producing mycotoxins and how much of the mycotoxins are being inhaled. Mold exposure is not a simple topic – it involves many factors and variables, including geography and how the mold is treated. With that in mind, it is best to consult a physician if you are suffering from mold illness and are looking for treatment options.

Mold illness is an illness that is caused by exposure to high levels of mold spores, whether directly or even second hand exposure. Mold spores in the air can enter directly into the body through the nose and mouth and cause a mold allergy or make you feel unwell. Indoor mold growth can be spurred on by indoor moisture which means the home is more likely to grow mold than other buildings. But one has to be careful because not all mold illness comes from building molds — it comes from pet-related molds too! There are many different symptoms of mold illness that a patient may experience.

Typically, people tend to think of symptoms as an allergic response to mold, with symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, tearing of the eyes or watery eyes (this one is indicative of a type of mold illness called Fifth Disease), headaches and/or migraines. These are not the only symptoms of mold illness. I think that’s really what confuses people. The disease can affect nearly every organ in the body—the heart, liver, kidneys, brain, and even the bones.

While there are no solid statistics on how common it is for people to have symptoms due to mold illness, my hope is that this article shed some light into what mold illness feels like, and give you the tools you need to talk with your doctor about your concerns and health.