Mould in Home May Mean Baby Breathing Problems
Mon July 21, 2003 05:31 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High fungus levels in the home can cause breathing problems, even pneumonia, for infants, new research suggests.

Dampness in the basement or other rooms is known to cause breathing problems for children and young adults. The new findings suggest that this may be due to the presence of fungi, which thrive in damp locations. However, the results also indicate that fungi can be a problem even when the entire house is dry.

In a study of 499 children with at least one allergic parent, Dr. Diane R. Gold, from Harvard University in Boston, and colleagues evaluated the effect of domestic fungal levels on breathing problems in the first year of life.

The researchers' findings are reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

After considering other factors such as house dampness and visible mould or mildew, the authors found that exposure to high levels of fungi made breathing problems much more likely for infants. For example, infants who lived in homes with high levels of one type of fungi--Zygomycetes--were nearly twice as likely to develop problems as other infants.

To determine whether a home is likely to cause breathing problems for an infant, the authors recommend not only looking for wet spots and mould, but also measuring fungi levels.

SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine July 15, 2003

Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Solutions

Phil can help you fix your own property’s mold problems at low-cost, more safely, and better-in- results than what is done by many mold inspectors and mold contractors.  How can Phil help you?

     1. Read Phil’s five plain-English, mold advice books to master mold inspection, testing, removal, remediation, and prevention for your house, condo, apartment, office,  or workplace.

     2. Buy do-it-yourself, affordable mold test kits, mold lab analysis, video inspection scope, mold cleaner, and mold killer, for the  successful toxic and household mold inspection, mold testing, mold species identification and quantification, mold cleaning, mold removal, and mold remediation to find mold, kill mold, clean mold, and remove mold from your residence or commercial building.

     3. Get FREE mold advice, mold help, and/or answers to your mold questions, by emailing mold expert Phillip Fry at envirodangers@yahoo.com. You can also email pictures of your mold problems in jpeg file format as email attachments.