The Truth About Mold Allergies

I can always tell when the mold count is high on a particular day because my son can be heard down the hallway sneezing constantly. His eyes get puffy, he’s coughing, and his nose sounds congested when he talks. These last few months his symptoms have been constant, and with the rain it makes sense -- rain brings mold. Since antihistamines haven’t been effective, we’re planning to get him tested this summer, so we can validate his symptoms, and get him started on drops.

What you should know about mold and mold allergies:

Mold has no allergy season. It's around all year. It hangs around in buildings, builds up after heavy rains, and grows on food. It has a notable spike in the summer (mostly due to the spring rains), but it’s not something like cedar that we only need to worry and complain about a couple months out of the year.

Mold is a nuisance because it can sprout up just about anywhere it gets damp. In our walls, on our floors, and as we all have seen, mold also develops on decomposed food like strawberries. Luckily this is a mold that you can strop from affecting you. Throw this food away and put it outside in the garbage bin. Don’t put it down the garbage disposal because you’ll break up the spores and shoot them into the air you’re breathing like an allergy grenade.

How to tell if mold is affecting you

Because of all these different ways we run into mold, it’s hard to tell if mold is affecting your allergies. If you’re noticing any of the following symptoms after heavy rains and in more humid environments, it could be an indicator of how mold affects you:

• Itchy eyes
• Sinus headaches
• Stuffy nose
• Repeated sneezing
• Chest tightness

The only way to really learn about how mold affects you is by getting an allergy test. After learning what you’re allergic to, you can eventually become resistant by starting allergy treatment through allergy drops, allergy shots, or ExACT Immunoplasty.