Medical Symptoms of Black Mold in the Home

Black mold, also known as Stachybotrys Chartarum or Stachybotrys Atra, commonly grows on cellulose-containing materials used in home construction. For this reason, the potential is high for the mold to develop and grow in your home in damp, dark areas. Exposure to black mold can cause a variety of medical conditions.

• Black Mold can be toxic enough to cause severe health problems for children and adults.

Effects

• Black mold can lead to symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, sneezing, chronic fatigue and cough, rash, dizziness, flu-like symptoms and hair loss.

Warning

• More serious symptoms stemming from black mold exposure specifically affect infants, some who have died as a result of respiratory bleeding or SIDS. Other severe conditions include breathing difficulty, spitting up of blood, inflammation of mucous membranes in the mouth, nose or throat, tightening of chest muscles, bronchitis and infertility.

Significance

• A 1994 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study was used to show that inhalation of toxic black mold spores by infants caused harm to their lungs as a result of living in contaminated, water damaged dwellings.

Considerations

• Black mold has also been linked to Central Nervous System problems like personality changes, sleep disturbance and memory loss but more studies are needed to determine whether these symptoms are caused by the fungi.

Types

• Memnoniella is another strain of Black Mold that, along with the Stachybotrys family, produces mycotoxins or poisonous substances that can cause symptoms ranging from short bouts of irritability or immunosuppression to cancer.