What Happens When Kids Are Exposed to Mold? Rochester, NY

Some might wonder what happens when kids are exposed to mold. There’s a lot of information out there on the effects of mold and mildew on your health. If you’ve ever looked into it, you’ve probably seen a list of people who are most at risk. Normally, at the top of that list is infants and children, right above elderly or sick individuals. Everyone should know how to properly prevent mold, those who have children in the home should be especially cautious. This warning comes at a time when severe weather conditions have made the overall risk much higher. Due to high humidity and some flooding, homes are containing more moisture. While most people should be concerned about being exposed to mold, it is our duty to protect children. Below we examine what mold is, why kids are high risk, and how you can prevent mold in your home.

What is Mold?

Mold is a common term that is thrown around quite often. Anytime we see fuzzy build-up on a surface, we broadly define it as mold. The truth is there are thousands of different species of mold that exist both indoors and outdoors.  It’s important to note that we actually need types of mold to survive. Thanks to mold, we have things like penicillin, bread, beer, and wine. But when this fungus is exposed to moisture and it begins to actively grow, then it becomes a health risk. Mold isn’t only dangerous to your health, it can also affect the structure of a home or building. When mold is found in a home, it’s important to act immediately.

Why Kids Should Not be Exposed to Mold

When infants, toddlers, and children are exposed to mold, they can develop health problems that can last a lifetime. School-age children are in very vulnerable physical developmental stages. Their bodies are more sensitive and they can’t fight off infections like healthy adults. If they’re being exposed to mold for eight hours a day in a classroom, it can be incredibly dangerous. When kids are exposed to mold they can suffer from upper respiratory tract infections, wheezing, coughing at night, and hay fever. They can develop allergies and asthma that can affect their respiratory system for years into the future. This is why it’s so important for parents and school superintendents to be cautious about mold. Homes and schools can become very harmful environments if mold is found.

Dangerous Signs of Mold Allergies in Children and What You Need to Do About It

Mold allergy is a common problem that affects millions of people across the globe, particularly children. However, adults are also susceptible to mold allergy. Mold is simply a fungus that grows rapidly in thousands and requires water and warmth to grow and multiply. Research studies have shown that at least one in every three children is allergic to mold. Some of the signs and symptoms of identifying mold allergy in children include:

Respiratory problems

If your kid is exposed to mold spores, he/she develops respiratory problems that are closely related to those attributed to seasonal allergies. Common respiratory problems of mold allergy include a runny nose, sneezing, and irritated eyes. Your child may also suffer from coughing and throat irritation among other problems.

When respiratory problems from mold allergy are not treated, the problems can escalate to severe illnesses such as asthma and lung infections. These problems pose a real danger and threat to the health of the child and can even result in death, in extreme cases.

Congestion and itchy nose

Mold allergy mostly affects the respiratory tract and therefore, most of the allergies’ symptoms are seen in this tract. For children with mold allergy, nose itchiness and congestion are common signs. When your child inhales mold spores, they cause irritations and itchiness on the internal surface of the nose. With long mold exposure, the itchiness may become too severe and cause great discomfort.

On the other hand, congestion complicates breathing making it hard for your child to breathe normally and without any difficulties whatsoever. Although congestion can go away with time, it is advisable to seek medical attention if your child is experiencing persistent nose itchiness and congestion.

There are a lot other signs and symptoms of mold allergy in children. These allergies may be similar or different from one child to the other. Most of these symptoms only last for as long as your child is exposed to mold. However, in some children, the symptoms may still continue even after mold removal and result in severe respiratory conditions like asthma.

Mold allergy signs, symptoms, and indications are used as a basis for diagnosis and positive identification of the condition. Severe mold allergies are mostly common in children and adults exposed to a large amount of mold in residential and occupational settings.

Common mold locations

The easiest and most efficient way to address mold allergies is by identifying the places where this fungus is growing around the home or place of work. Generally, mold could grow in nearly all areas, they grow all year round and do not have a particular season for growth. Humid and warm conditions encourage mold growth.

In indoor spaces, mold grows in spaces where there is a high amount of humidity such as in bathrooms or basements. In outdoor spaces, this fungus grows in damp areas or in places where vegetation and leaves are decomposing. It is also common to see mold growth in air conditioners, humidifiers, carpets, mattresses, trash cans, and also in the kitchen.

Mold prevention

The most practical way of preventing mold is by controlling moisture. Even though it is nearly impossible to completely prevent mold growth, there are a number of ways through which you can reduce the likelihood of mold growth at home. These include:

Fixing plumbing leaks to eliminate moisture build-up in places such as kitchen, bathrooms, basements and in humidifiers. This helps in ensuring that accumulation and build up of humidity in living quarters is eliminated and thus preventing your child from suffering from mold allergies.

By ensuring good airflow in the house particularly in the basement, bathroom, and kitchen. You can use exhaust fans to aerate indoor spaces thereby enhancing the flow of fresh and dry air.

Mold removal

The ultimate way of preventing mold allergies in your children is through mold removal. The removal of mold at home is hugely dependent on the amount of mold to be removed. For large amounts of mold, it is important to hire a professional mold removal service provider.

When you identify signs of mold growth in your home, you necessarily need not have the mold tested. This is because there is no type of mold that is safe to children or any other class of people thereof. As such, you can contract a mold removal service to clean and get rid of mold from your home. These experts are not only knowledgeable in mold removal but also have the right set of equipment needed for removing mold.

How to exercise caution over mold allergies in children

To reduce your kid being exposed to mold, before renting or buying a home, it is important to have it tested for mold growth. This analysis and testing go a long way in averting a possible mold exposure to your children. It is always important to ensure that even when removing mold from your premises, future mold growth should be completely prevented.

The best thing about mold allergies in children is that they are not permanent conditions. These allergic reactions should stop after removing your child’s exposure to mold.