Every person’s immune response to mold exposure will be different to certain degree. However, there are some common health problems that result from long-term exposure to toxic mold including:

• Respiratory Symptoms: asthma, difficulty breathing, respiratory infections, wheezing, chronic cough, bronchitis, chest pain
• Sinus Problems: sinus pain or pressure, mucus build-up, nose bleeds,
• Allergic Reactions: Hives, rashes, skin reactions,
• Other Immune Responses: chronic fatigue, nausea, cognitive impairment, headaches, bleeding.

Worse still, some people may be more sensitive to toxic molds than others. This heightened sensitivity arises in people with:

• Pre-existing Respiratory Conditions: environmental allergies, chemical sensitivities, or asthma,
• Compromised Immune Systems: people on immuno-suppressing medications, chemotherapy patients, or with immuno-compromising condition (e.g. lupus, HIV),
• High-Risk Groups: infants, young children, and older persons.

The symptoms of toxic mold exposure are more likely to be severe in these types of people than in someone with a strong and normally functioning immune system.

When Is Mold Dangerous?

Fortunately, most species of mold are harmless to humans in the short term even if they are quite ugly to look at. The bigger problem is that there’s no easy way to tell the harmless molds from the harmful molds.

With prolonged exposure, though, almost any type of mold can cause the sicknesses and symptoms outlined above, and certain types of molds are acutely dangerous because of their inherent level of toxicity.

These highly toxic molds produce mycotoxins, such as Stachybotrys chartarum (“black mold”), and typically grow only in human residences. When the mold is disturbed, it releases mycotoxins into the air where they are inhaled by the people living in the homes, apartments, condos, or other residences.