Mold is one of the common and greatest challenges that we face today. The ability of mold to thrive with the minimum resources such as moisture and ubiquitous cellulose makes it a major headache.

With the ability to impact a real estate’s structural integrity in the long run, mold exposure is also detrimental to humans and animal health.

What makes mold dangerous is that most individuals exposed to it hardly identify the culprit until it’s too late, i.e., when they start observing severe symptoms.

Recent studies on human mold exposure and pertinent health impacts have unveiled interesting statistics linking mold exposure and neurological symptoms.

While we still do not have any conclusive evidence from the latest studies, there is enough evidence that suggests that mold exposure may cause cognitive impairment in vulnerable people.

Several theories have been put forth which may help explain and link mold exposure or neurological symptoms in humans.

Understanding the mold toxicity and allergies

Mold toxicity and mold allergies are often misinterpreted. Allergies from mold are usually mild and trigger sneezing, skin inflammation, and itchy eyes.

On the other hand, Mold toxicity is a severe inflammatory response triggered by the volatile toxins emitted from mold colonies. Exposure to these toxic spores continually can escalate health concerns as the body finds it hard to dispose of the ingested toxic mold vapors.

Your body reacts to toxic mold with symptoms such as multiple sclerosis, fatigue, and histamine intolerance. Most of these inflammatory responses are hardly traced back to mold toxicity. Some neurological symptoms that toxic mold exposure may lead to are weakness, lethargy, light sensitivity, blurred vision, memory loss, and lack of concentration.

Neurological impacts of mold exposure by age

In children, long-term mold exposure can cause neurological conditions ranging from hemosiderosis and pulmonary hemorrhage. Prolonged mold exposure at school and home has also caused persistent cough, wheezing, and sinus infections.

A prospective birth cohort study in Poland conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information links low cognitive function scores with 6-year old children exposed to mold-contaminated homes in the early postnatal period.

The severity of the symptoms varies with the duration of the exposure. In adults, prolonged mold exposure could lead to neurological issues such as verbal recall impairments, balance loss, and memory issues. It is also inconclusively assumed that individuals routinely exposed to toxic mold are more susceptible to depression and anxiety, especially if they have a low sense of control.

Treatment

Whether it is a mold allergy or toxicity might be the first question you might want to answer. A blood test or a skin prick test can help you diagnose the exact reason behind your health concern. A skin prick test enables the doctor to analyze the immune system’s response to mold toxicity, and the blood test draws evidence on how your body reacts to allergens. Treatment options for mold-related illness can range from immunotherapy to a nasal flush out.

Whether or not mold can affect your brain largely depends on how susceptible you are to mold exposure.

We still don’t have any conclusive pieces of evidence linking mold exposure directly with neurological symptoms. However, a combination of mold exposure, stress levels, and the health status of the immune system can make you highly vulnerable to neurological symptoms.

Removing mold from any setting you dwell or spend time in should be an absolute priority. We recommend resorting to a professional mold removal service for efficient mold removal and the probability of mold reoccurrence.