Tips For Mold Allergy Relief
Molds are extremely common environmental occurrences that cause many people allergy symptoms, but getting mold allergy relief can be relatively simple through medications and some lifestyle alterations. Molds such as alternaria, aspergillus, cladosporium and penicillium are commonly found in most environment types, and their reproductive agents, known as spores cause allergies in a large percent of people. Allergies are caused by an overreaction of the body’s immune system, which sees these spores as foreign invaders. The immune system then creates antibodies to fight off these foreign invaders until the infection is gone. These antibodies stay in the body, and when a second occurrence of mold is observed, they react immediately, releasing antibodies such as histamine that cause allergy symptoms. These allergy symptoms are annoying and troublesome to people, and may have links to asthma or other airway problems.
Symptoms of mold related allergies include: sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, itchy eyes, cough, watering of the eyes, postnasal dripping and inflammation of the sinuses. Asthma caused by a mold allergy may cause difficultly with breathing, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Mold allergies may be seasonal or year round. There is also a type of mold called black mold, which is extremely toxic to humans. Exposure to black mold can be deadly. Symptoms of black mold exposure include: coughing blood, difficulty breathing, bleeding from the nose, hemorrhaging, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and possible death.
There are several ways to obtain mold allergy relief. There are many medications that can block or remove the allergies or chemicals that cause them, and there are some simple steps that one can take to help remove mold spores from their home. Reducing your exposure to mold and its spores is the most effective tool against mold allergies. Molds inside of the home often grow on or inside of showers, closets, blankets, foam pillows, cabinets, carpets, air ducts, sheetrock, basements and garages. By controlling the growth of mold in your home you can limit your exposure to spores and reduce allergies. Ways to reduce mold growth require you to reduce the humidity in living spaces to below 40% through use of exhaust fans and dehumidifiers. It is also useful to remove mold growth with solutions or cleaners, prevent the growth of mold by completely drying clothing and bedding and by using chemical moisture removers in enclosed spaces. Paint your home with mold inhibitors and avoid burning moldy firewood in fireplaces or wood stoves to also reduce the amount of mold spores inside your home.
There are also many different forms of medications available either over the counter or by prescription that can help you obtain mold allergy relief. Antihistamines work by blocking the allergy causing chemical histamine, and can be purchased over the counter or by prescription depending on the brand. Examples of prescription antihistamines are Allegra and Astelin, while products such as Claritin, Alavert, Zyrtec, Tavist, and Benadryl are available in the aisle. Also available without prescriptions are nasal sprays containing Cromolyn Sodium, which prevents the release of histamine. An example of this type of nasal spray is NasalCrom.
There are also nasal corticosteroids, which help to treat inflammation in the nasal cavities. Examples of these are: Flonase, Beconase, and Nasonex. Nasal corticosteroids are approved for safe long-term use for people suffering from mold allergies. Available both from the aisle or by prescription, decongestants such as Sudafed, Drixoral, Actifed and Afrin can help with allergy congestion problems. They can be obtained in nasal spray, tablets or in liquid forms, but they are not recommended for long term use. Singulair is a product that blocks the immune system chemicals known as leukotrienes to help overcome allergy symptoms. Other treatments include rinsing the nasal passages with salt water or allergy shot from a doctor, but these have only moderate success with mold allergies.