To learn more about how mold spores can impact your health, abc13 meteorologist elyse smith spoke to dr. Duyen nguyen with allergy & ent associates. She said that mold allergies typically present themselves with similar allergy symptoms to that of tree, weed, and grass pollens in the spring and fall. That could include nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, itchy throat, and eyes. "many studies show that asthma symptoms can be triggered by
exposure
to mold spores," dr. Nguyen said. "in some patients exposed to certain molds, can cause a severe asthma attack.
"while rare, a mold allergy, if severe enough, can lead to major complications for those with immunodeficiencies, like patients with hiv or cancer.
Children and adults with seasonal allergic rhinitis, or "hay fever," may experience sneezing, stuffiness, a runny nose, post-nasal drip and itchiness in your nose, the roof of your mouth, throat, eyes or ears. These allergic reactions occur after pollen and mold spores land in your passages (nose, eyes, throat). A chemical reaction or allergic cascade is triggered, causing these allergy symptoms. The first steps to keeping one’s “allergies” under control and staying healthy includes identification of the airborne substances, called allergens, which trigger these reactions. Once the allergen is identified, there are some simple tips that can limit exposure to the seasonal allergens, pollens and molds.
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When inhaled, tiny fungal spores, or sometimes pieces of fungi, may cause allergic rhinitis. Because they are so small, mold spores also can reach the lungs. In a small number of people, symptoms of mold allergy may be brought on or worsened by eating certain foods such as cheeses processed with fungi. Occasionally, mushrooms, dried fruits, and foods containing yeast, soy sauce, or vinegar will produce allergy symptoms. Courtesy: national institute of allergy and infectious diseases
treatment of allergic disease is based on pharmacotherapy, allergen avoidance and immunotherapy. 112 whereas pharmaceutical drugs like steroids and antihistamines can solely abate the symptoms of allergic disease, allergen avoidance is in case of outdoor exposure difficult to achieve. 113 in case of indoor exposure, avoidance is possible under certain conditions, such as visible mold growth. 114 specific immunotherapy would be an antigen-specific, long-lasting and disease-modifying approach for the treatment of mold allergy. In 1998, the who published a position paper with guidelines for safe and effective immunotherapy. These guidelines stressed the point that immunotherapy should only be performed with well-defined vaccines in carefully selected patients.