“Ubiquitous” would be the adjective to keep in mind when beginning to contemplate mold. This article will speak from the clinical, healthcare perspective about mold. Understanding the basic clinical picture will help attorneys who are considering an injury-due-to-mold-case.

Fatigue, headaches, nausea, these are subjective symptoms often attributed to mold. The medical research has yet to prove these types of symptoms as mold-related. Mold sensitive people will present with respiratory symptoms, these are the only mold symptom claims which are based in true clinical evidence.

Respiratory Symptoms

Cough, wheeze, asthma exacerbation, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis

First Basic Question

“Do the respiratory symptoms resolve when the client is removed from the moldy environment?”

Second Question (to avoid being called a cynic)

“Do the neuropsychiatric symptoms of headache and fatigue resolve when the client is removed from the moldy environment?”

Third Question

“Do others living in the same environment suffer from the same symptoms?”

If the answer to these questions is “NO” something other than environmental mold may be plaguing your potential client.

The respiratory symptoms from mold exposure are well documented in the medical literature but remember that these allergic episodes due to hypersensitivity to mold will subside when the individual is removed from the environment and symptoms will re-exacerbate upon return exposure.

4 Pathways of disease-

1.      Allergic and Hypersensitivity thus,

2.     Irritants

3.      Toxins

4.      Infection

Allergic Pathway

Both healthy individuals and those with chronic rhinitis (runny nose) have fungi in their noses, so a fungi positive culture is not a sufficient objective finding.

Allergic sensitivity presents with upper respiratory symptoms and with time could lead to lower respiratory problems. This means first runny noses, asthma, cough, and wheeze, later more severe symptoms such as pnuemonitis.

Irritants

“Sick building syndrome” is a term used to explain the irritant reaction to moisture in buildings. The symptoms seen in reaction to this are: headaches, cough, dermatitis, burning eyes, nose, and throat, and even drowsiness.

Pathophysiology (disease explanation) and consensus have not yet been reached on these symptoms.

Toxins

Some molds create toxins as they “breathe”, this has been called Toxic Mold Syndrome. Most commonly the mold called Stahybotrys chartarum comes into the spotlight as “toxic mold.” There is no concrete available evidence correlating toxic mold to the slurry of symptoms claimed.[1]

Infection

A severely immunocompromised person should not be exposed to any visible, indoor mold, although indoor mold occurs in every standing edifice. Individuals diagnosed with AIDS or receiving chemotherapy are examples of the immunocompromised. Heavy fungal exposure can be life-threatening to this population.

In healthy individuals fungal infections due to household mold are rare and limited to skin infections if at all, which are readily treated.

Summary

Symptoms authentically associated with mold will follow the allergic and irritant pathway and present with cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, post-nasal drip, sore throat, hoarseness, and asthma.

Suggested Initial Consultation Questions to the potential client:

1.      Ask about environmental exposure

2.     Is there any water damage in the building?

3.      Do symptoms become better or worse in a particular setting?

4.     Is the dwelling carpeted?

5.      What type of heating?

6.     What type of physical symptoms?

Air Testing?

No, mold is everywhere. There are no universal standards in place for the results of air testing of mold, and the mold sample often does not correlate with the client’s susceptibility.

Industrial Hygienist

Can investigate the mold source and required clean up if you wish to hire such a person.

http://npic.orst.edu/RMPP/rmpp_ch3.pdf

[1] Hardin BD, Kelman BJ, Saxon A. Adverse Human Health Effects Associated With Molds In The Indoor Environment. J. Occup Environ Med. 2003; 45:470-478. Abstract