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Posted 10/9/2015 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
How do you test your home for mold? And how do you test yourself to see if mold is making you sick? Anyone know?




UPDATE: So today my husband and I decided to check around the house for mold. We found a tiny bit of black mold in upstairs bath behind a piece of trim but the entire basement had mold behind all the trim when we pulled it off. Some of it was black mold some of it green/grey coloured. We ripped up some of the floor boards and found black mold that was growing in between the boards. This is a finished basement we did over the last few years it was unfinished when we bought the house 5 years ago. It is clean and nice you wouldn't of thought there was mold down there, it doesn't smell either. I'm wondering if MOLD is the cause of my husband, myself and now my daughters off balanace/unsteady feeling? I thought it was from Lyme for me causing this symptom but now I'm thinking because my other family members have developed my same symptom and two of our cats came ill in this house, it is mold.

I think we should move?

I just picked my 11 year old daughter up from my mother in laws because she was crying too dizzy didn't want to stay there. We wanted her out of the house for a week to see how she felt but unfortuantly she felt too unwell. Life SUCKS right now.

Post Edited (JessicaMommy) : 10/10/2015 5:48:12 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/10/2015 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
This is not off topic at all, Jessicamommy! Mold 'infections' are one of the things that some members deal with.

As for the home test, you can go to a Home Depot, or Lowe's I believe and get a decent home test kit. You can likely find them online as well.

As for the test for you, your doctor will need to do a nasal swab, I believe. I'm sure that our members that have had to go through this will be along soon to verify this or give you the correct information.
Posted 10/10/2015 12:49 AM (GMT 0)
Many people in my home started to feel unwell with the same symptoms once we moved to this house 5 1/2 years ago. Myself, my husband and now my daughter - all with the same symptoms. We have also had two different cats at different times in this house who became sick, with the same symptoms. I'm starting to wonder if our home is making us sick. We have no visible mold that I can see. My husband is going to check the attic tomorrow plus a good check around the house.

We bought a home test kit from Home Depot today from ProLab, and it takes up to 48 hours for results happen.
Posted 10/10/2015 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
My husband and my symptoms began almost right away after moving here (5 1/2 years ago) and now my 11 year old daughter has the same symptoms for the last 1 1/2 months. Also since moving here 5 1/2 years ago my other daughter (9) has had chronic sore throats, headaches and tummy aches. Plus with the two cats that feel ill..... im starting to wonder.
Posted 10/10/2015 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
In light of what you've shared, JessicaMommy, I commend you for pursuing this avenue.

Still, I'm sorry you and your family are dealing with this :(
Posted 10/10/2015 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
My 11 year old daughter is going to go stay at my mother in laws for a week and we are going to see if she starts to feel better out of the house.

Symptoms are unsteady feeling when walking; dizziness, brain fog, super tired unwell feeling. We all experience the same thing, just hit us at different times. We've been here 5 1/2 years now and my daughter is just getting the same symptoms as me and my husband, which we developed after moving here. My 9 year old is the only one with different symptoms then us but still sicky after moving here with chronic sore throat,headache and tummy aches. Plus the two cats experienced the same symptoms as my husband and I, which is lethargic and dopey.. not sure if the cats experienced the off balance feeling too obviously lol but looked like it.
Posted 10/10/2015 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
We have 4 children. Other key points is after moving in here my now 6 year old son developed Pneumonia one week after moving here. (never sick before that) Then my other son who is almost 3 now, I was pregnant with him in this house and he has been here since birth, has asthma issues. No one in my family has asthma issues and his siblings whom I was pregnant with in a different house and they were babies in a different house, do not have asthma.

But really gets me is how my husband and I both have off balance feeling;dizziness after moving here and now my 11 yr old daughter is feeling this way for the last 6 weeks...
Posted 10/10/2015 11:48 PM (GMT 0)
Update in original post.
Posted 10/11/2015 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
Wow JessicaMommy! I'm so sorry you found mold in your home. I hope that you can now improve the health of you and your family!

Keep asking questions. We'll try to help! I'm sorry you're going through all this.
Posted 10/11/2015 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
Found this article which talks about the dizzy symptom we are experiencing. http://www.34-menopause-symptoms.com/household-mold-may-lead-to-chronic-dizziness.htm

Could mold downstairs in our basement really be causing this? I don't even want to sleep here tonight, even though I have been the last 5 1/2 years now, doesn't change anything. I'm going to have to bring this up to my LLND.
Posted 10/11/2015 12:42 AM (GMT 0)
It could definitely be causing it. I'm so sorry!

Try not to stress. Way to go on figuring this out. It's going to be okay. Just breathe and try not to panic.

Do you have a relative you can stay with? Did your mother-in-law's place make your daughter feel more ill? Do you have somewhere else you can stay? If not, try not to worry. You have found the mold and can do something about it now.
Posted 10/11/2015 12:33 PM (GMT 0)
It is so upsetting.

When we moved here the basement wasn't finished and we didn't see mold that I can remember. Basement stayed unfinished for a couple years and we had symptoms the entire time (my husband and me) but didn't see mold anywhere. Finished the basement 3 years ago and now we decided to check because of our 11 year old feeling the same way and then the two cats that got sick at different times. So what I'm saying is the only place we can find mold is behind the trim and flooring we just put on a few years ago. It wasn't there when we first started feeling ill or we would of seen it because it was an unfinished basement. Could it be hiding somewhere else? Like under the house or in the foundation? And then once we covered it up the foundation with trim/floors/drywall the black mold was able to grow there too? Some people are saying just pull the floor, clean it up and lay it again? That sounds completely silly to me as it does not fix the problem 1) it will grow again in a week 2) the black mold is coming from somewhere we cant see because it wasn't there until we covered the basement/renovated it. So it started growing from the original source to the newly covered spaces in the basement. But the black mold was always there just could not see it (maybe in foundation or concrete if it can grow there?) There is probably more black mold/spores in the house and that is why it is growing so easily all around our basement, IMO. Do you think I'm right?

I'm thinking the house is toxic with mold and that is why the whole perimeter of the basement is growing black mold when it is covered with trim etc. We even keep a dehumidifier running down there and it has still grown everywhere.

Oye.
Posted 10/11/2015 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
Going to get a mold specialist in here and test our house/air quality. Can't call anyone until Tuesday as Monday everything is closed for Thanksgiving. We have been looking at the $1000 air purifiers online from Costco today and thinking of getting one for upstairs and down. They are suppose to be very very good at clearing any spores from the air that may be there.
Posted 10/12/2015 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
I'm no expert on mold, but I did find that using a filter that also had an ionizer seemed better than one without.

However I'm pretty sure filters are only really good "nearby" where you are. They aren't going to stop the mold, they are just going to improve the air quality in the immediate area, and only for as long as they are running.

Be careful of the claims of these things, and look for reviews for the ones you are looking into. Make sure you look for reviews that are not biased by people that got the product for free or by company reps pretending to be customers.

I believe mold feeds on moisture, so of course most basements have moisture coming through the walls and floors so when they are covered with drywall and flooring without first being sealed against moisture, you will get mold.

Common places that will have mold that you don't see are bathroom vents, behind walls with improperly installed vapor barriers, around windows that are poorly insulated resulting in them getting moisture on the inside if you are in a cold climate (a too well insulated home doesn't let the moisture out, so it forms on colder surfaces, drips down and then feeds mold).

Since you seem to feel the problem was there before, is there a room that you can cut a one foot square hole in the drywall and check the other side without messing up your whole decor? Maybe behind a couch, or where you normally hang a painting? You would be looking for two things, mold on the backside of the drywall, as well as how the insulation vapor barrier is installed. The vapor barrier should be facing the drywall not facing the house. If there is no vapor barrier (you only see pink insulation no plastic or paper, that is likely an issues).

If you do a good job cutting out the drywall, it is not too difficult to patch it with some drywall tape and compound. Just use a hand drywall saw (under $5). The tip is pointed so you just hit the back with the palm of your hand and that starts the cut.

Good luck.
Posted 10/12/2015 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
You are doing the right thing having an expert evaluate your mold issues and recommending remediation. Don't try to supervise this yourself go with someone that is an expert in the field. They'll tell you what to do. Clearly there's enough moisture in your basement to have mold actively growing so at minimum once you clean it up you'll need a method for dehumidifying the space.

Whether this is causing your sickness or not a lot of mold is not good for your health..
Posted 10/12/2015 11:59 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the replies.

The mold test kit we purchased a few days ago has mold growing in the petri dish. We put the test kit upstairs in the main part of the house we use most often. It looks like there is two different kinds of mold growing in the dish, both white. I know it could be harmless molds growing in the petri dish as mold spores are everywhere in the environment.
Posted 10/12/2015 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
Just to be safe, I encourage you to still send them in to have the identified. I sure hope that you get to the bottom of this soon!!
Posted 10/12/2015 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know if your doctor can test for mold sickness? Is there a blood test or a nasal swab or something that can be done? My daughter has another doctor appointment in the morning and I want to ask about this.
Posted 10/12/2015 11:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jessicamommy, I was diagnosed with Lyme and mold illness two months ago. I am currently doing treatment for the mycotoxins before I start Lyme treatments. My doctor was trained on the shoemaker protocol. I am finding there are a lot of different treatments about how best to treat mold illness and how to remediate effectively; this is just the protocol I decided to try first. Here are a couple of websites on mold that may be helpful as you research and another website on mold testing through mycometrics.
http://www.survivingmold.com/
http://www.momsaware.org/
http://www.mycometrics.com/

I just did the ERMI test from mycometrics on my house and my doctor helped with interpreting the results. My house was flooded several years ago and I don't think it was remediated properly. My house tested in the "borderline" range which means it is "unsafe for sensitive groups." My doctor said a air purifier would not help in cases where remediation is needed, so I decided I am going to move. I am concerned that remediation would not eradicate the mold (and it would be very costly). I will use an air purifier when I get to a clean environment, so I can keep it clean hopefully! I know doctors who treat mold illness use different methods to diagnose. My doctor wanted to do an MRI of my brain. He said he would be able to tell how much of my brain damage is related to mold and how much is related to Lyme. He also did a C4a which is an inflamatory marker. He used this test at different points during mold treatment to see how inflamation changed when I went on and off med and while I was in my home. Leaving the house is usually not enough to help certain individuals feel better due to their genetics (HLA test). Some individuals do not clear infections (like Lyme) or detox (i.e. mold) very well. When I was tested it was found I am multisuseptible, meaning I have trouble with both. Anyway, I am doing the MRI soon. I am hoping the results will help guide treatment focus for the next couple of years (or more) I am new at this too and still learning. I hope some of this information was helpful. Like I said, I do not claim the approach I am trying is the best one out there. But I had to start somewhere. I am not sure this approach will work for me yet!! I am not feeling any better yet, but I also have late stage Lyme. I do not even know how to sort out my mycotoxin symptoms from my Lyme, but hopefully I will get better at that. I am so sorry you and your family are going through this. Believe me I understand. I have two children as well both with chronic illness. It is very stressful trying to deal with illness and figure out how to handle the problems with your house at the same time. Take care and I wish you all the best.
Posted 10/13/2015 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
www.iqair.com/home-air-purifiers I don't know what brand you're looking at, but this is one you might want to look into also.

I'm sorry you have to go through so much and I hope you get some answers so you can move forward.
Posted 10/13/2015 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much of the reply. To top everything off our sewer backed up yesterday and we had to spend the night at my mother in laws. We have 4 kiddies.. it was hectic. We got the sewer problem fixed this morning.

I just checked the petri dish mold test thing and there is now black mold growing in it along with some other colours. My daughter has a doctor appointment this morning and I will be asking for blood test to check for mold illness. I have a question. Are doctors educated on diagnoses and treatment for old illnesses or is this something they are uneducated about just like Lyme? I'm really hoping our family doctor will be able to treat my doctor if she is sick from mold illness as well as getting my LLND in on things to recommend supplements etc. But do mainstream doctors generally know how to treat?

Thanks.
Posted 10/13/2015 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
Also still waiting for mold inspector to call us back to set up an appointment, we left a message yesterday but it was a holiday for Thanksgiving. Going to have my husband call again this morning and tell him its an emergency we are worried we are getting sick from our environment. Stress, stress, stress.
Posted 10/13/2015 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so worried about my daughter. My whole family. And me, I've been sick since we moved here 5 1/2 years ago. If we have a big mold problem in our house that is actually the cause of all this, then it seems like I might have been exposed for to long to ever get better. That this dizziness/off balance feeling will never go away and I won't get better. I hope my daughter can get better though as she has only be dizzy for two months not 5 1/2 years. She has been unaffected up until these last two months. I hope my whole family can get well if we find this is the problem. I can't wait to have the mold specialist in here and test our air. I hope he calls back today.
Posted 10/13/2015 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
JessicaMommy,

You all will get better! It will be okay. Most doctors are not educated in mold issues. You can try to get tested through your regular doctor or LLMD. about 25% of the population is highly sensitive to mold. There is an HLA genetic test to see if you fall in that category. As Mister Mike said, the Real Time Labs test is the gold standard for determine levels of mycotoxins in the body, but it is very expensive. I know that LabCorp has some tests for mold, but I'm not sure whether they are any good.

Some LLMD's are trained in mold treatment. It is important to remove the source of the mold in your home. Proper binders are crucial in mold treatment. You also have mold killing agents. When mold is killed in the body, it creates lots of mycotoxins. It is very important to bind those toxins because they create tons of inflammation.

Here's a great article. You can print it out for your LLMD:

http://www.gordonmedical.com/unravelling-complex-chronic-illness/mold-and-biotoxicity-part-three-treatment/

Everything will get better. One step at a time! You have us for support!

----
Edit: Changed Quest to LabCorp. Not awake yet. :)

Post Edited (Lymie Girl) : 10/13/2015 11:22:40 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/13/2015 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
I gave you the wrong link. Here's the right link:

http://www.gordonmedical.com/unravelling-complex-chronic-illness/mold-and-mycotoxins-often-overlooked-factors-in-chronic-lyme-disease/
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