Humans spend 90% of their lives indoors (Sorenson, 1999), thus, they are in contact with mold everyday of their lives. Because people are indoors so often, harmful mold normally grows inside. There are three types of molds, allergenic, pathogenic, and toxigenic. The most common are allergenic and pathogenic found in homes. These molds tend to grow in damp places, such as, bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. Within these growing molds, they produce spores (Flappen et al, 1999). Spores are used to pollinate and settle in damp locations to produce more molds. These spores are highly toxic to humans over long durations. Some diseases include pulmonary hemorrhage, hemosiderosis, and respiratory problems (Sorenson, 1999). Molds are dangerous to human life; however, some molds are beneficial to humans.
One type of mold includes Stachybotry atra commonly known as the black mold, which can cause pulmonary hemorrhage in infants (Flappan et al, 1999). This disease causes the upper respiratory system to bleed from the nose and tracheal (Flappan et al 1999). Sometimes this type of bleeding is not caused by pulmonary hemorrhage, but hemosiderosis. Hemosiderosis is when macrophages are iron-positive; this causes the white blood cells to devour red blood cells (Flappan et al 1999). Red blood cells carry oxygen to the different organs, without red blood cells the body system would fail. These two diseases are only harmful to human bodies for short-term, while chronic asthma is long-term.
People who were exposed to mold at a young age could suffer from asthma. Asthma is the most chronic problem induced during childhood by infesting indoor allergens. Mold is a type of indoor allergen that is common within urban areas (Ker...
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...t pathogens (Weinhold, 2007). To reduce the amount of spores entering someone’s system, fix pipes and roofing problems, as well as, cleaning the moisture in the vent ducts. While some molding issues could be fixed by simply removing the moldy object and disinfecting the area (book). Others believe it is the design of a building that causes mold inhabitations to provoke respiratory issues (Weinhold, 2007). However, there certain molds not harmful to the human body like Penicillum (Landsber, 1949). This mold creates antibiotics which helps fight pathogens. There are many things unknown about mold, but researchers are determined to learn every aspect. It is important to educate the world mold because some could save lives, while others could take it away. There are no current regulations set on dealing with mold, but some insurance companies providing mold coverage.
The possible Fungus spores could pose a health risk based upon data from the NYDHS study, Harry Dobin’s autopsy, and experts in the field. Additionally, the Fungus, presumably, is the cause of the public nuisance (i.e. the odor) and the Fungus spores are the result of Landfill’s
Asthma In Children And Adult Inhabitants In Rural Poland." Allergy 68.5 (2013): 644-650. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Allergies are the one of the main leading causes of asthma. About 90% of children under the age of ten that are infected with asthma have allergies. Around 70% of people under the age of thirty have asthma and 50% of those over thirty. Allergies is likely to be a helping factor to asthma if:
In addition to various genes affecting the phenotype of asthma, multiple environmental factors like indoor and outdoor air pollution, tobacco smoke, and allergies to pets, molds, common pests (e.g. cockroaches) change gene expr...
Pedersen, Soren, and Stanley J. Szefler, eds. Childhood Asthma. Vol. 209. New York: Taylor and Francis, 2006. Print.
There are two types of asthma that are due to phenotypes, they are childhood onset asthma and adulthood onset asthma. Children with childhood onset asthma are atopic which means that they are affected by allergens in their environment due to genetics [5]. They are also more sensitive to the allergens on account of airway cells being sensitive to allergens [5]. Adulthood onset asthma is less prevalent than childhood onset asthma and is discovered more in men than women [5]. Adulthood onset asthma is mostly like childhood onset; nevertheless it is not affected by allergens, which is known as intr...
Masks and personal protective equipment were not worn by the factory workers. With no preventative measures taken, workers respiratory tracts were exposed to cotton, flax, and hemp dust. This exposer caused side effects such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, long term respiratory diseases (COPD), and permeant loss of lung functions. These symptoms were later classified as a syndrome called byssinosis before disease were diagnoses. According to the online article, “Long term respiratory health effects in textile workers,” there were two obstructive lung diseases textile workers exhibited, Asthma and COPD. The article states that two hundred and twenty-five newly hired textile workers were studies and found to have increased in asthma like symptoms at a one year follow up. The article continues to explain that there was an increase in incidence of chronic and progressive dyspnea, cough, and sputum production characteristic of COPD seen textile workers on year follow up as well. Another lung problem seen in some textile workers per Dr. Edward Holmes interview in 1818 was Scrofula, known today as
There is inadequate research/information on molds and how they are affected by acids. There is not sufficient information on the elimination or prevention of molds on household and grocery items. To test possible solutions, the growth of mold will be examined using different acids to help keep the mold at a low quantity. Two different substances, one with a high acidity and one with a low acidity, will be used along with water as our “mold repellants”. At the conclusion of each trial, each acid’s ability to prevent mold growth will be documented. Conducting this experiment will benefit the scientific world because it researches a problem that has not been thoroughly solved. Perhaps a way to prevent mold from growing can be developed with further study. This experiment will serve as a beginning to what could possibly become a great discovery. The results of this experiment will be beneficial to scientists and could possibly serve as a baseline concept for mold prevention and influence further experimentation.
The Mycotoxins are metabolites of mould which may infect foods, animal feeds and that happen to be toxic to human. The study of Mycotoxins, and the legislation associated with their control are based on them being considered as adulterant of foods and animal feeds.
Chronic bronchitis is a disorder that causes inflammation to the airway, mainly the bronchial tubules. It produces a chronic cough that lasts three consecutive months for more than two successive years (Vijayan,2013). Chronic Bronchitis is a member of the COPD family and is prominently seen in cigarette smokers. Other factors such as air pollutants, Asbestos, and working in coal mines contributes to inflammation. Once the irritant comes in contact with the mucosa of the bronchi it alters the composition causing hyperplasia of the glands and producing excessive sputum (Viayan,2013). Goblet cells also enlarge to contribute to the excessive secretion of sputum. This effects the cilia that carry out the mechanism of trapping foreign bodies to allow it to be expelled in the sputum, which are now damaged by the irritant making it impossible for the person to clear their airway. Since the mechanism of airway clearance is ineffective, the secretion builds up a thickened wall of the bronchioles causing constriction and increasing the work of breathing. The excessive build up of mucous could set up pneumonia. The alveoli are also damaged enabling the macrophages to eliminate bacteria putting the patient at risk for acquiring an infection.
Asthmatic children are especially at risk. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children. Between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children have their condition worsened by secondhand smoke.
We just learned about the outdoor air pollution, now we have to learn about the indoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution, is founded with the highest concentration of harmful fumes or toxic pollutants than outdoors. According to Nature, Causes, and Burden of Condition, air pollution is considering “a major threat to health, particularly for women and young children, who may spend many hours close to the fire”, other words most of the household uses “solid fuels burn them in open fire or simple stoves that release most of the smoke into the home”, creating more air pollution (Bruce, Rehfuess, Mehta, Hutton, & Smith
They become an issue of relevance when they cause epidemics in humans or animals. Mycotoxicosis is no exception. In 1960, about 100,0000 turkeys died from feeding on mold peanuts. Investigation discovered that these mold peanuts were infected with a group of mycotoxins called aflatoxin[1]. Economically, mycotoxins cause illness and death in humans and animals, and increase cost of food production and toxin management. Examples of economically important mycotoxin-producing fungi include Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp., Claviceps spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Acremonium spp., Phomopsis spp., and Stachybotrys spp.[4]. Cancer is the most studied mycotoxicosis among the others, with aflatoxins, ochratoxins, and fumonisins being the most carcinogenic groups. Other mycotoxins groups cause different diseases; zearalenone and ergopeptine affect the fecundity and growth of humans and animals, deoxynivalenol causes teratogenic diseases, and phomopsin and sporidesmins are harmful to the liver[1, 2,
It can cause asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children, and has been implicated in various other childhood diseases such as sudden infant death syndrome or middle-ear infections. Scientists agree that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke. It should simply be avoided. Neither air conditioning nor separation of smoking areas completely ...
they create many breathing and heart conditions like cancer and other threats in the body, that is why children who are exposed through air pollutants are most likely to have pneumonia and asthma.