Mold Allergy

Mold and mildew are fungi. They differ from plants or animals in how they reproduce and grow. The "seeds," called spores, are spread by the wind outdoors and by air indoors. Some spores are released in dry, windy weather. Others are released with the fog or dew when humidity is high. Inhaling the spores causes allergic reactions in some people. Allergic symptoms from fungus spores are most common from July to late summer. But with fungi growing in so many places, allergic reactions can occur year round.

To diagnose an allergy to mold or fungi, the doctor will take a complete medical history. If mold allergy is suspected, the doctor often will do skin tests. Extracts of different types of fungi will be used to scratch or prick the skin. Avoid or limit contact with mold. For example, stay away from basements that may have mold; don’t cut the grass; steer clear of hay and straw. If you can’t avoid these things, wear a dust mask, which can be found at most hardware stores. Take steps to prevent or get rid of mold.

The clinically diagnosed case series consisted of 521 adults with newly diagnosed asthma and the control series of 932 controls, after we excluded 76 (7.5%) controls with a history of asthma. We estimated the fraction of asthma attributable to workplace mold exposure to be 35.1% (95% confidence interval, 1.0-56.9%) among the exposed. Present results provide new evidence of the relation between workplace exposure to indoor molds and adult-onset asthma.