by Cindy Howle
Tommy Riley of Seminary moved into a new top-of-the-line, double-wide trailer in July 1998. Nestled on 111 acres, it was as nice as some homes, he thought, a perfect fit to learn the lay of the land before building a permanent home.
Within the first six months of living there, the self-employed used-equipment salesman and his family began having upper respiratory problems, coughing and laryngitis. Four years later, his 7- year-old nephew fell in the hall, leaving a sinking hand print on the wall.
After searching their home, they found mold dots sprinkled throughout in the top of closets, and their battle with serious mold was just beginning.
Mold reactions can range from mild to life-threatening, according to David Straus, professor of microbiology and immunology at Texas Tech University.
"How large a problem it is depends on what type of organism it is (there are 100,000 species), the amount of mold growing indoors and the susceptibility of the people living in the house," said Straus, who conducts extensive mold research.
If there's mold growing in grout, it's not a problem. If you have several square feet growing on a wall, it's a serious problem Straus said. "Mycotoxins are poisons produced by mold for reasons we don't understand."
More than 20 installation/manufacturing problems were identified through professional inspections of Riley's mobile home. In 2002, he and his family evacuated because of ongoing mold symptoms. His attorney recommended he see a physician in Maryland specializing in mold toxicity.
They traveled to Maryland in 2007 for a diagnosis and received treatment. Riley believes they need to return for additional treatment to reverse his short-term memory loss, but expense is a major deterrent.
"With the mobile home industry, structure and installation is a problem. Builders are in a hurry; things get in a hurry. Who wants to step up to the plate and fix this? It will be expensive to fix. Medical issues are expensive. Environmental cleanup is expensive," Riley said.
His problems are not across the board with mobile homes.
"We have a very regulated industry," said Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association. "HUD sets the guidelines for how homes are built, set up and sold."
In her 14 years as director, she has never had a mold complaint, Hall says.
Mississippi families live in more than 500,000 manufactured houses.
Hall said all mobile homes in Mississippi should be installed by a licensed installer. Improper site preparation - where land wasn't leveled resulting in moisture accumulation under homes - could lead to problems.
HUD increased installation standards that went into effect Monday for houses built across the nation. Hall said Mississippi already was installing homes at those standards.
Also, the 2008 Legislature passed a law to require inspections by the state fire marshal's office of all new and used manufactured houses after purchase. The inspections were done at random before, Hall said.
Riley has met many with similar problems through a Web site he developed to help others with similar mold issues.
"A lot of people have nowhere to go. It's the only home they will ever own. We are worried about others not being treated. They can't afford to leave and can't afford to be treated. They don't know what to do."
If you have indoor mold, find and repair the moisture source. Remove the mold and replace damaged materials with clean building materials, microbiologist Straus recommended. "If it is 100 square feet of mold, get an expert to come in and handle it."
Moisture control is paramount in controlling mold. The Environmental Protection Agency stresses drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours if possible.
Mold also can be found on the back of drywall, wallpaper, paneling or on the top of ceiling tiles. If you are suspicious of hidden mold, the EPA recommends hiring an experienced professional.
Virginia Hollingsworth, a fourth-grade teacher in Oxford, graduated with honors from Murrah High School in 2002. She was involved in many community service projects and enjoyed her Murrah years. Yet from 1998 to graduation, she was plagued with ongoing allergic reactions from the mold there, she said.
Allergic reactions rank sixth as the leading cause of chronic disease in the United States costing health care $18 billion dollars annually according to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
"Visible mold would collect on the air conditioning units in the ceiling. It blew, and mold was there constantly. We would come back from summer break and walls in one classroom would be covered with green mold. They'd wash it down every year. ... Murrah had leaks," Hollingsworth said.
According to Fred Davis, director of facilities at Jackson Public Schools, there was a complaint about Murrah and an environmental professional tested the air quality within the last two years. No evidence of mold in the air, building or ductwork was found.
Molds are fungi that thrive in moisture, releasing invisible spores that can contain allergens and toxins called mycotoxins. Allergic reactions happen when the immune system overreacts to breathing in allergens, according to Dr. Linda Tanaka, associate professor of allergy, asthma and immunology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Mold also may trigger asthma attacks in an asthmatic person, according to Tanaka.
"Asthma and allergies are interrelated," Tanaka said. Mold allergies are year-round in the South, where deep freezes are uncommon and spores stay alive and thrive in the humidity.
Symptoms include sneezing, watery eyes, itchy nose, post-nasal drip and, for the asthmatic, shortness of breath. Left untreated, more serious conditions such as an allergic fungal sinusitis (fungal ball in the sinuses) and a fungal infection of the lungs can develop, Tanaka said.
Hollingsworth took daily allergy medications and had immunotherapy injections.
"If you see mold, you should not ignore it," researcher Straus said, "and it will not go away on its own. Use your head and fix it."
For More Information on: Mold
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Environmental illnesses are gaining attention, thanks to the 'green' movement
by Angela Townsend/Plain Dealer Reporter
You move to a new city and into an old house that you fall in love with at first sight.
A year later, you develop a nagging cough that even the strongest prescription cough syrup can't seem to tame.
At first your doctor says your symptoms are all in your head but then suggests you might have some kind of incurable respiratory disease.
She refers you to an ear, nose and throat specialist. After a battery of tests, he concludes that you have borderline asthma and puts you on two daily medications.
A couple of years later, you still have the cough, but it's not as bad. Another new doctor decides you have allergies and switches your medication.
A friend of yours suggests you get your house tested for mold.
It sounds weird, but he explains that it's the same advice he just got from his doctor.
He developed a sensitivity to mold that in recent years had grown much worse. A visit to an expert in neurotoxic poisoning confirmed what he suspected for a while: Other doctors may have been diagnosing and treating him for illnesses he didn't have.
If he didn't change his surroundings, his situation could turn deadly.
The scenario, based on experiences of real people, is typical of many who suffer from environmental illnesses or chemical sensitivities.
Dr. Lisa Lavine NagyOften their symptoms mimic other more well-known conditions, whose treatments may address the symptoms but not the core problem.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has been working toward finding the cause of these conditions for the past 40 years.
Going beyond just treating symptoms, environmental medicine is the study of how the reactions we have when we're exposed to certain toxins affect our immune and neuroendocrine (nervous system and hormones) systems.
Still, the field is often misunderstood as "alternative" medicine. But with the growing popularity for "green" lifestyles and all things organic, and with illnesses that Louisiana residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina got after living in Federal Emergency Management Agency-provided trailers, environmental medicine is getting more attention.
"People just make such a quick judgment about those who are really, really sick," said Dr. Lisa Lavine Nagy, who has been championing for heightened awareness since her own series of misdiagnoses several years ago for what turned out to be severe multiple chemical sensitivity.
Often, those quick judgments happen because the people more likely to report their chemical sensitivities are women over age 40, she said. Most "normal" women of that age have mild symptoms that are hard to explain, and thus easier to dismiss, she said.
Experts say that everyone is affected in some way by chemical sensitivity. No one quite knows why, but some think genetics may play a large role.
Some people are on the severe end, with their sensitivities so extreme that they can't function in many public places where they can't control their environment.
Others may have relatively mild symptoms -- or none at all.
The rest are in the middle. Adults suddenly may develop asthma. People may become irritated by certain scents that once went unnoticed.
Nagy, a 1978 Hathaway Brown School grad, practiced medicine in the Los Angeles area until she was too weak to work. Mold in her house, caused by a faulty aquarium, sickened her and her family.
Possible signs of an environmental illness:
• Headaches while talking on your cell or cordless phone.
• Increased sense of smell, especially to items such as perfume, laundry detergents, cats, etc.
• Increased sensitivity to fluorescent light.
• A diagnosis of adrenal fatigue, or thyroid deficiency or overactivity.
Tips from Dr. Michael Roizen, Cleveland Clinic:
• One of the keys -- especially here in Cleveland -- is to air one's house out. Over the course of a winter, the quality of inside air becomes worse than outside air, he said. It doesn't hurt to open the windows periodically on good days during the winter.
• Avoid materials -- household cleaners, rugs, air fresheners, even some furniture -- that emit lots of volatile hydrocarbons. As Roizen put it, "You want to use cleaning fluids that are, in fact, safe enough to drink."
Possible treatments to discuss with your doctor (from Dr. Lisa Nagy):
• Remove yourself from possible causes, i.e. a "sick" house or office. The culprit may be mold, or as unsuspecting as carpeting or fabric softener. A July study from the University of Washington revealed that six top-selling laundry products and air fresheners gave off toxic chemicals -- none of which was listed on product labels.
• Decrease your total chemical load. Switch to organic food, filtered air and water.
• Detoxify with the help of intravenous and oral vitamins and supplements, under a doctor's supervision.
• Investigate whether you have specific food or chemical allergies or hormone imbalances and/or insufficiencies.
• Consider treatment in a low-temperature (140 degrees) sauna, under a doctor's supervision.
For additional Information:
You move to a new city and into an old house that you fall in love with at first sight.
A year later, you develop a nagging cough that even the strongest prescription cough syrup can't seem to tame.
At first your doctor says your symptoms are all in your head but then suggests you might have some kind of incurable respiratory disease.
She refers you to an ear, nose and throat specialist. After a battery of tests, he concludes that you have borderline asthma and puts you on two daily medications.
A couple of years later, you still have the cough, but it's not as bad. Another new doctor decides you have allergies and switches your medication.
A friend of yours suggests you get your house tested for mold.
It sounds weird, but he explains that it's the same advice he just got from his doctor.
He developed a sensitivity to mold that in recent years had grown much worse. A visit to an expert in neurotoxic poisoning confirmed what he suspected for a while: Other doctors may have been diagnosing and treating him for illnesses he didn't have.
If he didn't change his surroundings, his situation could turn deadly.
The scenario, based on experiences of real people, is typical of many who suffer from environmental illnesses or chemical sensitivities.
Dr. Lisa Lavine NagyOften their symptoms mimic other more well-known conditions, whose treatments may address the symptoms but not the core problem.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has been working toward finding the cause of these conditions for the past 40 years.
Going beyond just treating symptoms, environmental medicine is the study of how the reactions we have when we're exposed to certain toxins affect our immune and neuroendocrine (nervous system and hormones) systems.
Still, the field is often misunderstood as "alternative" medicine. But with the growing popularity for "green" lifestyles and all things organic, and with illnesses that Louisiana residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina got after living in Federal Emergency Management Agency-provided trailers, environmental medicine is getting more attention.
"People just make such a quick judgment about those who are really, really sick," said Dr. Lisa Lavine Nagy, who has been championing for heightened awareness since her own series of misdiagnoses several years ago for what turned out to be severe multiple chemical sensitivity.
Often, those quick judgments happen because the people more likely to report their chemical sensitivities are women over age 40, she said. Most "normal" women of that age have mild symptoms that are hard to explain, and thus easier to dismiss, she said.
Experts say that everyone is affected in some way by chemical sensitivity. No one quite knows why, but some think genetics may play a large role.
Some people are on the severe end, with their sensitivities so extreme that they can't function in many public places where they can't control their environment.
Others may have relatively mild symptoms -- or none at all.
The rest are in the middle. Adults suddenly may develop asthma. People may become irritated by certain scents that once went unnoticed.
Nagy, a 1978 Hathaway Brown School grad, practiced medicine in the Los Angeles area until she was too weak to work. Mold in her house, caused by a faulty aquarium, sickened her and her family.
Possible signs of an environmental illness:
• Headaches while talking on your cell or cordless phone.
• Increased sense of smell, especially to items such as perfume, laundry detergents, cats, etc.
• Increased sensitivity to fluorescent light.
• A diagnosis of adrenal fatigue, or thyroid deficiency or overactivity.
Tips from Dr. Michael Roizen, Cleveland Clinic:
• One of the keys -- especially here in Cleveland -- is to air one's house out. Over the course of a winter, the quality of inside air becomes worse than outside air, he said. It doesn't hurt to open the windows periodically on good days during the winter.
• Avoid materials -- household cleaners, rugs, air fresheners, even some furniture -- that emit lots of volatile hydrocarbons. As Roizen put it, "You want to use cleaning fluids that are, in fact, safe enough to drink."
Possible treatments to discuss with your doctor (from Dr. Lisa Nagy):
• Remove yourself from possible causes, i.e. a "sick" house or office. The culprit may be mold, or as unsuspecting as carpeting or fabric softener. A July study from the University of Washington revealed that six top-selling laundry products and air fresheners gave off toxic chemicals -- none of which was listed on product labels.
• Decrease your total chemical load. Switch to organic food, filtered air and water.
• Detoxify with the help of intravenous and oral vitamins and supplements, under a doctor's supervision.
• Investigate whether you have specific food or chemical allergies or hormone imbalances and/or insufficiencies.
• Consider treatment in a low-temperature (140 degrees) sauna, under a doctor's supervision.
For additional Information:
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