Mold affects the health of home or building occupants in a variety of ways – from allergic reactions, like coughing and sneezing, to neurological disorders, like depression and memory loss. Just about every negative health symptom you can experience has, at some point, been linked to mold exposure.

Common mold exposure symptoms include:

• muscle and/or joint pain,
• fatigue and weakness,
• neurocognative dysfunction such as memory loss or inability to concentrate,
• chronic sinusitis,
• reported headache,
• gastrointestinal problems,
• shortness of breath,
• feeling anxious, depressed, and/or irritable,
• vision problems,
• chest tightness,
• insomnia,
• dizziness,
• feeling of numbness or tingling,
• laryngitis,
• nausea
• skin rashes,
• tremors
• heart palpitations.

While everyone would agree that mold produces allergenic responses, not everyone agrees that there is sufficient evidence to undoubtedly conclude that mold is responsible for neurocognitive dysfunctions like memory loss and depression. However, these mold symptoms have been proven in a court of law in the past, resulting in million dollar settlements. There is still much controversy regarding the health effects of mold and, in the end, the reality depends on which experts are testifying in a courtroom.

How Does Mold Harm Me?
One of the reasons that mold symptoms are so diverse and often misunderstood is because mold in an environment can affect the occupants in three different was, both unintentional and intentional:

Allergenic: About 20 to 30% of people have hypersensitive reactions when exposed to mold and other airborne allergens. These allergic reactions can manifest as coughing, sneezing, red eyes, and what we commonly call hay fever. Others with asthma will have their symptoms exacerbated by the presence of mold.

Pathogenic: Mold grows on and consumes organic substances – and this includes the human body. Normally, our immune systems prevent an ordinary amount of mold from colonizing from within our bodies, but a high amount of mold or a weakened immune system allows mold to start eating us from the inside out, resulting in a number of health complications and, in some cases, death.

Toxic: Some molds, like Stachybotrys chartarum, produce a secondary metabolite called mycotoxins. These mycotoxins are created for the sole purpose of killing other organisms in the environment so the mold can thrive unimpeded by competitors. Mycotoxins are harmful to humans and pets and have been linked to a wide range of devastating and permanent health problems, including short-term memory loss and inability to concentrate.

How Do I Know if I Have a "Dangerous" Amount of Mold?
Determining whether a certain amount of mold in a building is harmful is impossible due to the number of factors involved

• The species of mold
• The length of exposure
• The form of exposure (allergic, pathogenic, or toxic)
• The unique biochemistry of the building occupants
• The current strength of the immune systems of the occupants
• Many other subtle factors

For this reason, no current standards have been set to determine how much mold is a "dangerous" amount of mold. Mold that may not affect one person’s health at all may be devastating for someone else. Regardless if anyone currently is sick, mold is unsightly and unhealthy; it should always be removed.

Who Does Mold Harm?
Mold can potentially harm anyone due to a large number of possible health factors involved. However, there are a few groups of people that are especially susceptible to the effects of toxic mold.

Infants
Infants and children have developing immune systems that are weak against mold exposure. Newborns exposed to mold are much more likely to develop asthma and mold has been linked to tripling the asthma rate in the last 20 years. In fact, if you have asthma today, it is probably because you were exposed to mold as an infant. Mold has also been linked to pulmonary hemorrhaging and bleeding lungs, and may also be a component in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. What's worse is that infants cannot articulate their symptoms if they have not yet learned to speak.

Elderly
The elderly suffer from weakened immune systems making them less able to fight off mold infections. Also, the elderly are likely to be immunocompromised for other health reasons.

Immunocompromised
Immune systems can be compromised or suppressed for a variety of reasons. For example, anyone who accepts an organ transplant must take medication to suppress their immune system so that their body will not reject the organ. As a side effect, this makes their body unable to fight off mold. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy will also have weakened immune systems, as will pregnant women and HIV patients.

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