Man and molds have coexisted for ages. Molds have not suddenly become dangerous. But a large and profitable “mold-industrial complex” preys on patients’ fear and anxiety.
The average person is exposed to more mold during a walk in the woods than any indoor exposure. A review of the patient's prior medical records and current symptoms is necessary to determine if mold exposure is truly responsible for his or her health concerns. For most patients, a diagnosis of toxic mold disease is actually a diagnosis of litigation.
A closer look
Molds are the green, brown and white fuzzy spots, patches, or mushroom-shaped growths on dying trees. They have been on earth for millions of years. Molds decompose the dying trees and turn them into soil. Unless someone is immunocompromised, molds generally pose no health threat.
If mold were so harmful we would all get sick when we stroll through a heavily wooded park or forest. That is because mold is in much higher concentration outdoors compared to indoor environments that are moldy because of a water leak.
Mold is easily recognized inside a home or office as it grows on walls or ceilings and often emits a musty smell. Patients who file lawsuits frequently become extremely anxious because they read online that mold exposure could cause memory and hair loss, brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, and numerous medical problems.
Mold does not cause these problems. These patients are often so scared that even when provided with reassurance by a competent physician they “doctor shop” until they find a quack. These charlatans frequently order unnecessary lab tests and advise them to swallow activated charcoal. These lab tests are frequently costly and treatments can be harmful. Many of these doctors have been censured by their medical boards or had their medical licenses revoked.
All too often, unfortunately, an attorney with no medical knowledge about mold encourages these anxious patients to sue. As an expert witness, I frequently find in medical records that many plaintiffs have a longstanding history of psychiatric problems. Many have been treated for longstanding anxiety and depression and have myriad medical problems prior to water damage in their home or office. In short, the mold found indoors, coupled with misinformation from the internet, exacerbates their anxiety and they mistakenly believe that their health is permanently harmed.
Often these patients' shortness of breath and fatigue are from their underlying anxiety. Their hair loss may be related to aging and their memory problems and brain fog maybe caused by other medications. More often than not, the issue should be addressed with a few simple lab tests, a chest X-ray, and reassurance from a competent physician that, while any mold in their home or building should be remediated, their health is not affected.
Sorting fact from fiction
There are no federal guidelines about high or unsafe levels of mold in the air. The Centers for Disease Control does not even recommend mold testing. "There are no set standards for what is and what is not an acceptable quantity of different kinds of mold in a home,” the CDC says. “The best thing you can do is safely remove the mold and work to prevent future mold growth." Additionally, the CDC does not recommend biologic testing of persons who work or live in water-damaged buildings or routine environmental sampling for mold.
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To clarify, exposure to chronic indoor mold has been linked to the development of allergies and asthma, and indoor mold can trigger asthma flare-ups and hay fever symptoms. Mold exposure can cause significant problems in patients who are immunocompromised such as those suffering from AIDS.
The mold-industrial complex I referred to earlier includes unsavory physicians, nurse practitioners, and PAs who profit from convincing patients that they have suffered harm from mold. They offer pseudo-scientific advice all over the internet. They sell fear not fact.
A reliable source of information is from the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.
Ron Saff, M.D. has been in private practice for more than 30 years. He has evaluated hundreds of patients with mold concerns. He is a clinical assistant professor at Florida State University’s College of Medicine where he teaches medical students how to evaluate patients with mold concerns. He is available at ronsaff@aol.com.