Are You Affected by Mold?

Coming from sunny California, where the air is often dry and it rarely rains, the climate of Georgia is quite dynamic. When it's hot - it's really hot. When it rains - it really does pour. Lightening is exciting and scary - it can be extremely powerful and it feels like it will tear your home apart. The weather in Atlanta affects and influences each day, something that Californian's sometimes take for granted.

One of the first things I noticed in living in Atlanta, was I didn't see any water sprinklers. Where are the water sprinklers, I asked an Atlantan? Every front yard and garden home in LA has water sprinklers. The reply came with a loud hearty belly laugh, "We don't have water sprinklers in Atlanta." " We don't need them!" It didn't take long for me to understand why. It rains often in Georgia, as long as there isn't a draught. Not like Seattle fame, but a few times every week.

The benefit of living in a moist environment, is the beauty of the vegetation and relative cleanliness of the air. Atlanta is like living in a gigantic park. It is lovely. So what's the downside? After it rains, the air is clean, but natural occurring mold spores is the result. That is a temporary phenomena, the mold spores, but more often than not, this moldiness leads to mildew and mold growth. Mold is insidious. Sometimes you can't see it or smell it until it becomes a problem. Mold can grow and cause fungus havoc. Clothes, books, furniture, and your lungs can have detrimental affects to mold. I have treated many patients - young and old - for allergic reactions to mold. In LA, I never saw a person with mold allergies in 23 years. In Atlanta, one in every four allergy patients that I treat has some type of reaction or symptom due to mold. Atlanta Georgia has a middle name - it's Mold.

Atlanta is a great city yet mold allergies are part of life. What are the typical symptoms of mold allergy? Wheezing, cough, difficult breathing, malaise, stuffy nose, itchy watery eyes, mental dysfunction, vertigo and rashes. Mold allergies are often misdiagnosed in children as Asthma. In adults it is misdiagnosed as a cold or influenza. Mold spores proliferate the environment, making it very difficult on people with allergic tendencies. People are often affected by mold and don't know it. Medical doctors do not routinely look for mold allergies. You may ask for a blood test to determine if you an allergy to mold.

The people who complain of allergy symptoms year round are those most likely to have mold allergies, not seasonal allergies. Many trips to the medical doctor could be avoided and much suffering eliminated with a correct diagnosis. Ritchie Shoemaker, MD in his book, Mold Warriors - Fighting America's Hidden Health Threat, presents proof that mold may cause serious illness.

With holistic natural therapy a serious mold allergy can be completely and permanently eliminated without shots or medication. This also helps to prevent future illness, because you're not just treating the symptoms.