Herbal Health

Do you feel worse:

– during periods of damp weather?

– when you walk into a damp, musty house or basement?

– if you sit in overstuffed furniture?

– if you’re near hay or straw (in a garden, in a barn or at a circus)?

– if you’re near a compost pile or leaf piles?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, chances are you’re allergic to moulds. Another ‘yes’ clue: Do you feel better:

– when there’s snow on the ground?

Moulds are a type of plantlike growth called fungi. Like pollen, their spores ride on the wind and cause allergies. Mildew is the black or white growth produced by mould spores. Rubbish bins, shower curtains and damp basements are the most familiar mould habitats. But moulds aren’t fussy – any place that is damp, warm, dark and poorly ventilated will do. And they’re not just found indoors. Check around your house for any leaks or damp spots that could harbor mould. The sooner you dry them out, the better.

Above all, reducing excess humidity in the house is the prime goal in controlling mould. One doctor reports that his own ‘mould asthma’ responded remarkably well to the addition of a dehumidifier in his bedroom. He managed to reduce the humidity to 50 per cent in the face of outside moisture levels of up to 88 per cent in foggy, humid Ventura, California. With the drop in indoor moisture came a marked decrease in the mould level in his room – and discontinued use of steroid drugs for the treatment of his asthma (Annals of Allergy).

Alfred Zamm, an environmentally oriented doctor in Kingston, New York, had this advice for mould sufferers; ‘I recommend buying the largest-capacity [dehumidifier] available, one equipped with a control that automatically turns it off when the humidity drops to an acceptable level.’ (Why Your House May Endanger Your Health, Simon and Schuster)

Unlike pollen, mould is not strictly a seasonal problem, although moulds tend to flourish when the temperature rises and diminish during the cooler months. An exceptionally rainy summer will promote a bumper crop of mould. Fair weather activities like raking leaves, gardening and mowing grass stir up mould spores, making it easy to mistake mould allergy for pollen allergy. Burning leaves in the autumn can also bring on an attack.

Mushrooms and yeast are related to moulds, so eating them can trigger a reaction in mould-sensitive people. And it’s not surprising that those same people can also develop symptoms after eating foods fermented with mould: sharp cheeses such as blue and Cheddar, baked goods, candied fruit, pickled or smoked meats and fish and soy sauce. The same goes for drinking beer, wine or cider, or using vinegar. Penicillin, too, is made from mould. If you’re allergic to mould, you may be allergic to penicillin.

*37/65/5*

Related Posts:

• DIET FOR APPENDIX V: MILK
• TIMING GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING THE ELIMINATION DIET
• WHAT CAUSES FOOD INTOLERANCE? HOW ‘EATING CELLS’ WORK
• WHAT TO DO ABOUT ECZEMA: BEFORE ANY DIETARY INVESTIGATION
• ANOTHER MAN’S POISON: WHAT IS FOOD ALLERGY?
• ALLERGIES: WAYS TO CONQUER THE ITCH
• ALLERGY: PREVENTION IS THE BEST MEDICINE
• ALLERGY: AVOIDING A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE
• NO-ALLERGY DIET: LABEL READING FOR ALLERGY RELIEF

Tags: Allergies

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 4:03 am and is filed under Allergies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.