The Silent Health Risks Lurking in Our Damp Homes

Imagine living in a house silently waging war on your health. This isn't a scene from a horror movie, but rather, the reality faced by a significant number of Americans and people in other contries living in damp and moisture-damaged houses. These seemingly innocuous residential hazards are linked to the onset of a range of ailments, from respiratory diseases such as asthma and allergies, to an array of non-respiratory symptoms including gastrointestinal and neurological issues, fatigue, ear infections, and skin rashes. Approximately 20% of asthma cases in the U.S., costing a staggering $3.5 billion annually, can be attributed to indoor dampness or mould exposure.

Around 47% of U.S. residential buildings reportedly struggle with dampness or mould, with almost a quarter of homes presenting some form of moisture or mould problem. Why is this concerning? Well, the culprit behind these health issues is mycotoxins, minuscule chemicals...

Written by: Adam Jabbar, Advocate High Court | Corporate & Tech Lawyer

Introduction

In the world of civil lawsuits, expert testimonies often serve as the key factor in deciding the outcome of a case. This was the situation in "Miller v Platinum Constructions Vic Pty Ltd (Building and Property) [2023] VCAT 510 (8 May 2023)," a protracted legal dispute involving alleged mould damage to a residence. Dr. Black and Dr. Jones' testimony, two mould specialists, served as the case's main witnesses. However, it was the rigor, precision, and unwavering commitment to industry standards shown by Dr. Jones that eventually led to a favorable ruling. This blog post examines the case's complexity while highlighting the crucial part played by Dr. Jones and his knowledge.

Dr. Jones Role

Dr. Jones was asked to offer his expert testimony for the case as a Ph.D. scientist with experience in mould identification and remediation. Dr. Jone's participation in the proceedings was crucial because of...

Introduction to Brain Fog

According to Google Trends, worldwide interest in the search term "brain fog" has increased significantly in recent years. What's more, the addition of the search term "mould + brain fog" has shown even more significant increases in searches. This suggests that people are increasingly looking for connections between mould exposure and brain fog. The trend has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due in part to concerns regarding indoor air quality as more people are spending time indoors or to the introduction of vaccines or the impact of more frequent illnesses.

For example, look at the worldwide search trend for the term "brain fog" over the past 5 years.

But it's not just the COVID era that has contributed to this trend, look at the precise search term: "mould + brain fog", again, worldwide over the past decade:

So What is Brain Fog?

Have you ever experienced the frustrating phenomenon of brain fog, where your cognitive abilities seem...

Introduction:

Cannabis has become increasingly popular in the healthcare industry due to its potential therapeutic benefits. Patients with compromised health often use it to alleviate symptoms of various medical conditions. However, recent studies have shown that cannabis materials used in healthcare settings may contain dangerous microorganisms that can cause opportunistic infections. This is especially concerning for patients with compromised immune systems who are more vulnerable to these infections. In this blog post, we will explore the potential dangers of microorganisms in cannabis materials and their impact on healthcare settings.

Australian Contemporary News:

A recent News article in the Sydney Morning Herald highlights the increasing use of medicinal cannabis in Australia, with over 1 million patients being prescribed the drug since its legalization in 2016. In 2022 alone, doctors prescribed medicinal cannabis to 316,879 new patients, a significant increase from previous...

Can mould exposure cause mitochondrial problems

Autoimmunity may be triggered and mitochondrial harm caused by exposure to water and mould-damaged indoor environments. Patients who have been exposed to mould have been found to have high anti-mitochondrial antibody levels. By causing oxidative stress or altering DNA and RNA, mould-produced mycotoxins can cause mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally connected to juvenile acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS), mould exposure can exacerbate PANS symptoms already present. So it's conceivable that exposure to mould can result in mitochondrial issues.

Why are mitochondria important

The majority of the chemical energy required to fuel cellular processes and biological activities is produced by mitochondria, which are crucial because they are the powerhouses of the cell. They are in charge of creating the ATP that cells use as an energy source. Other crucial jobs performed by mitochondria include generating molecules that communicate...

Kitchen Dangers

According to a recent study by the Agriculture Department Food Safety and Inspection Service, the kitchen items with the most germs include spice jars, cutting boards, the sink, soap dispenser, and faucet handle. The study found that people were not washing their hands or wiping down surfaces during meal preparation, which contributed to the presence of germs. The USDA recommends washing these items with hot soapy water or a bleach-water mixture to avoid cross contamination and pathogens.

Sponges, dish cloths, and other cleaning items were also discovered to be dirty and should be cleaned on a regular basis, such as by microwaving sponges for 1-2 minutes or washing dish cloths every day. To avoid moisture, it's best to replace sponges every day, or at the very least make sure they're completely dry. 

Bacteria of all kinds died in brushes over time. To reduce Salmonella, sponges and brushes were treated with chlorine, boiled, or washed in the dishwasher.

Brushes...

Mould can grow in your home and it can make you and your family sick. A recent study found that building problems are the main cause of mould growing. When mould is in your home, it's important to find out what is causing it and how to make it stop growing.

A professional mould inspector can help you find out if you have mould in your house and what is causing it. The inspector can give you a list of things that need to be fixed to stop the mould from growing.

We can help so get in contact here or here.

Download the Infographic here and keep it for reference.

10 Point Checklist

1. Indoor mould growth can have significant immediate and long-term health effects on occupants of a home or building.
2. A recent study found that building defects are the leading cause of mould proliferation, with water infiltration through leaks in roofs or walls being the top contributor.
3. Mould growth is a common problem, with 20% of homes in the United States and Europe found to have mould growth.
4. Many...

INTRODUCTION

Every year, fungi cause millions of deaths and tens of millions of infections around the world. In immunocompromised patients, fungi are mostly opportunistic, causing moderate to severe illness. Fungal infections are also linked to higher illness rates and high healthcare costs. The risk of serious fungal infection is decreasing, largely due to a reduction in HIV-associated infections. However, patients with certain underlying conditions are increasingly being affected by infections.

The effects of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status on fungal infections and associated patient outcomes have increased in healthcare settings. Previous research has shown a link between health disparities and fungal infections.

This research looked at the demographic and socio-economic factors connected with fungal infection risk in the United States up to 2019. The researchers used hospital discharge data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's National Inpatient Sample...

Mould and mycotoxin effects have been known for a long time. People started to study the effects on animals a lot. Then they did it with people too, but it is less well-known. Most of the time when we talk about water-damaged buildings, it is in the legal arena, but...

People can get sick from being around and exposed to moulds, mycotoxins, and water-damaged buildings. These things can make people have different kinds of signs and symptoms. Some of these look like neurologic problems that people usually get, like pain, movement problems, feeling really confused or not knowing what is going on, having balance or coordination problems, and even dementia. In this article [1], the author talks about how to tell the difference between these things and other neurologic diseases. This is important so that we can learn more about how mould/mycotoxin/water-damaged buildings affect the human nervous system and cause diseases.

Mould is known to cause complexes of local and focused pain...

Science is all about observation and forming hypotheses to answer questions. For scientists like myself, I’m interested in how the environment affects health, and specifically, how water-damaged buildings and exposure to poor indoor air quality can affect quality of life. For this week on The Mould Show, we're going to be talking about fungal mycotoxins and myalgic encephalomyelitis termed ME for short and chronic fatigue syndrome  (ME/CFS).

The reason I've chosen this topic is that I've met a family whom I've now done three separate mould inspections for.  Why this is unusual is that the symptoms experienced by the female occupant and her daughter are classic ME/CFS symptoms.  Across all 3 of the different properties hidden mould problems were discovered.  That information in itself was useful for this family and helped them to break their lease due to the fact that there was verified mould present. However, that's not the point of this podcast and even...