Most Are Unaware Of The Dreaded Diseases Caused By Mold

If you hear of an illness that ends in “mycosis”, it was probably caused by a mold. Those who are particularly at risk to contract this class of diseases are those with compromised immune systems and this often occurs in people who have a cancer of the blood, chemotherapy patients, those with HIV or AIDs, anyone with serious blood disorders. Even though these diseases are far more likely to affect those with compromised immune systems, they can develop after a person has surgery or any other invasive procedure. It can also be transmitted by contaminated surgical instruments.

Generally the first symptoms of these mycotic diseases are those that are similar to the flu, such as chills, coughing, pain in the muscles and the joints, and fever. Medications that are antifungal can cause some of these symptoms, as well, even though the fungal infection that it is intended to treat cause these exact same symptoms. These drugs can also cause kidney damage and end up affecting the eyes, skin, or liver and a doctor will probably ask for labwork often in order to catch some of these serious side effects before they become out of control.

Some of the diseases that can be caught from a mold are histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, blastomycosis, and aspergillosis. These are serious fungal diseases and should be treated as such.

Aspergillosis is caused by molds in the Aspergillus genus and tends to be found in many places including buildings, plants, food, water, and soil.

Blastomycosis is caused by Blastomyces and is found soils that are rich in nutrients and very moist. It has been known to affect both animals and humans.

Candidiasis is caused from the mold Candida and can cause mouth infections or genital yeast infections, but it is even more serious when it ends up invading the bloodstream. Candida is found in the intestines naturally, however.

Coccidioidomycosis is caused by the mold coccidioides and this is found most often in the dry soil in the southwestern United States, and central and South America. It starts as a flu-like disease, but can infect the lungs and infect the other organs in the body, including the brain.

Cryptococcosis is caused by Cryptococcus and associated the most with Eucalyptus trees and bird droppings. It typically begins in the lungs, but has no symptoms until it spreads to the rest of the body.

Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma and tends to infect the lungs. Like other fungal infections, it includes flu-like symptoms and can spread to the rest of the body.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
New York water damage restoration and other states and cities such as
Connecticut mold remediation companies across the united states.

Mold Fun Facts

Mold is everywhere around us. Be it indoors or outdoors. It is simply there. There is no such thing as a mold-free environment on this planet, or any other. There are three things that mold absolutely must have to survive. And the only time that mold is visible to the naked human eye is when large colonies begin to grow and gather. Previously stated was the fact that there are three things that mold need to survive.

First of all, mold requires nutrients. And if the mold was in an outdoor environment, these nutrients would most likely be acquired from organic matter like dead animals or dead plants. This is natural and necessary so that debris that builds up from the cadaver of the animal or plant. The mold causes decomposition and that helps the fertilization product in plants. The mold can also inhabit discarded trash such as cardboard, paper, pieces of drywall, fabrics, and other kinds of dust.

Another key element that is essential to the survival of mold is moisture. The decaying of organic matter requires moisture. As does the digesting of the organic matter by the mold. In fact, the highest numbers of cases of mold infestation occur during the summer time, when there is high humidity, and therefore higher condensation. This condensation gathers inside of a house. Winter time is also a bad time for homes, because certain areas can become drafty, and that can lead to condensation build up.

Something else that mold requires is something that there is an unlimited supply of. And that would be: time. Mold simply requires the time to grow. It can start a colony, after it has gained a sufficient amount of nutrients and moisture, in up to twenty four hours. And if something like a wet towel or piece of clothing is simply allowed to sit, then the mold is simply being handed enough time to gather in size and in number.

The last thing mold requires in order to survive and continue to spread is heat. Most molds do not even require an exponential amount of heat in order to spread. However, a good number of molds need it. Molds have been known to remain dormant at extreme temperatures while not growing. They stay in a kind of suspended animation. This goes for cold temperatures as well. They can be exposed to temperatures near two degrees Celsius, and they would revert to this state of suspended animation.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Orlando water damage restoration companies and
Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.

Refrigerator Cleanliness and Mold

Keeping a healthy and happy home is hard enough without having to deal with mold in your home and around your food. Most of us have enough problems with our kids and spouses eating healthy and having healthy lifestyles without having to worry about the mold that grows in our refrigerators. We are typically too busy to think about cleaning out our refrigerators most of the time, but this really needs to be done at least once every few months to discourage mold and mildew from residing in one of the most important appliances that we own.

Make sure that you know what things in your refrigerator need to be replaced. This includes items that are outdated or are obviously contaminated with mold. Depending on the item, it may or may not be able to be saved after mold starts to grow on it. In fact, most items in the refrigerator cannot be saved after mold begins to grow. This is usually because most items in our refrigerators are very moist and porous, which allows the mold to infect the entire container of food.

Very moist items are things like mayonnaise, sour cream, jellies, jams, and anything else that you can scoop out with a spoon. Unfortunately, not only moist items are affected heavily by mold. Porous items (items that are not very dense) are also heavily affected, such as meats and dairy products, such as individually sliced cheese or shredded cheese.

Any eggs in the refrigerator that are cracked before we intend to use them should be thrown away, since the shell is what protects the inside of the egg from bacteria.

Fruits and vegetables need to be checked for mold regularly and anything that has mold on it should be thrown away immediately before it has a chance to infect everything else around it. Clean out your fruit and vegetable drawers as often as you need to in order to keep the free of decaying matter like stray lettuce scraps.

Actually cleaning out the refrigerator is a time consuming task and can take a few hours. Begin by taking everything out of the refrigerator and setting it aside. Remove everything in the refrigerator that can be removed, such as shelves, drawers, and racks. Wash these in the sink with warm, soapy water if you can fit them there and allow them to dry. Wash every surface that cannot be removed and rinse it thoroughly. Replace all the items from the sink and go through all the food you took out to clear out the outdated items. Wash the bottoms of jars that have become sticky before putting them back