Mould

I wanted to talk about the subject of mould and how it impacts on your life and health. And how we can disregard it or not even be aware in some cases it is there in your home. I consider myself to be pretty healthy, I eat a healthy diet and look after my health.

I did a clutter clearing job a few weeks ago over 2 separate days on two weekends in a row. I want to make one thing clear first, this was not my clients fault and they were not even aware of the situation.

This is simply to bring awareness that mould can impact your health rapidly and needs to be taken seriously.

We all can have mould in our homes at any given time, mouldy bread, mould in bathrooms, rising damp from the ground up, damp areas and homes that are closed up over winter with heating on causing condensation and mould on windows. Even in air conditioners.

First day I worked in this home, the mould wasn’t noticeable. I however the following days I developed sinus and needed to use my asthma medication that week. I wouldn’t say my asthma is particularly bad generally, I have had to use my meds 3 times since the beginning of 2019 and was only diagnosed in 2018.

The second weekend 3/4 into the session the mould was discovered by then it was too late, as I had already been exposed to it and actually thought I would be okay.

I couldn’t have been more wrong, I developed a chest infection coughing up disgusting crap within 24 hrs, and coughing non stop day and night, started antibiotics, I had to take 4 days off with a weekend in between and 6 days of rest I was still struggling. Finally on the following Sat 2 weeks after the incident, I felt like I had turned the corner, but by Sunday night the infection was back. Commenced a second round of antibiotics on the Monday and by Wed I was getting worse, I could barely breathe and unable to concentrate. I went and had a PCR test and got lucky and saw a lung Dr, he took time out to ask about what had been happening and I told him, he took my blood pressure, temp and listened to my chest and said he could hear the infection on my right side, he could barely touch me with the stethoscope and told me if I feel any worse I needed to go to hospital, he asked about the antibiotics I was on. I have a lot of sensitivity and allergies to prescription drugs and pain meds. He told me I needed to have a chest x-ray due to the mould exposure and also be on a anti fungal antibiotic but due to my allergies we needed to be careful and told me to go and see my Dr again. My PCR was negative and they also did a long covid test to rule it out but he said this is definitely from mould exposure.

I had to take another 2 1/2 days off wk and went and saw my Dr once I got the PCR test back, and started a anti fungal antibiotic and steroid, the difference from one dose was incredible, I got lucky as I had acted swiftly when I first became unwell and the mould didn’t have time to get into my lungs. I have been on my new treatment going into my 4th day and I am still coughing up crap but it is getting better and I can see the antibiotic is working.

Mould can cause the following symptoms swiftly or over time depending on your sensitivity, fatigue, sinus, sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, skin conditions, itchy nose, eyes & throat, chest infections, aches and pain in the body, breathing difficulty, asthma, disorientation, inability to concentrate, ongoing tiredness, depression, cough and wheeze in generally healthy people.

Symptoms can appear 2-9 hours after exposure, depending on severity and sensitivity to how long it takes to recover.

Don’t ignore mould in your home and please get the medical help you need immediately and for any ongoing health issues you have, you never know it can be related to mould.

I am thankfully on the road to recovery after 3 weeks of being unwell. I hope this post helps people know the seriousness of having mould in your home and how it can affect you.

Love & good health to you all.

Heids xo