Last Updated on October 28, 2014
In most instances, the presence of mold in a home causes only physical discomfort. For instance, you may notice that the home or part of it has a musty smell, and that the mold does not otherwise cause any problems. However, there are times when the problem can turn out to be much worse. This is especially so if you or the other members of your family suffer from a medical condition that makes them susceptible to infection by the mold. In such cases, it would be wise for you to institute aggressive mold removal measures to ensure that they don’t end up becoming unwell.
What are some of the conditions that can cause this?
Some of the conditions that are usually associated with an increases risk of getting fungal infections include:
• Extremes of age:
If you have neonates or very old individuals living in the home, it would be wise to make sure that it’s free of any mold. Such individuals tend to have impaired immunity, and this in turn means that they are more likely to suffer from fungal infections. The fact that their immunity is depressed also means that they would need longer to be completely cured of the infection, and that the risk of healing might not be as high as in the rest of the population. They are more likely to develop more complications as a result of the fungal infection.
• HIV/AIDS infections:
People living with HIV tend to be more susceptible to fungal infections, and some of these can even spread to their brains. Making sure that the home is free of mold will help prevent this.
• Diabetes:
Most people don’t know this, but diabetes is also associated with a higher risk of infections. In the medical field, it is one of the classical medical conditions that manifest with a reduced immunity.
• Blood-based malignancies:
Certain cancers that affect blood cells such as leukaemia tend to also have an effect on the individual’s immunity.
The above are some of the conditions that can predispose someone to fungal infections. If you happen to have someone in the household suffer from any of the above, it would be wise to pay more attention on preventing the mold from spreading in the first place. This usually turns out to be cheaper and easier than treating an established fungal infection.
Some principles to help you with mold removal in such a case
If you are in a position where one of the household members is at an increased risk of infection, it would be wise to address the mold removal in a more aggressive manner than usual. Some of the steps you can take to ensure that the mold removal is adequate include:
• Your contractor should be highly skilled:
Rather than just being cleaners, the mold removal contractor you use should have a lot of experience and skill in the mold removal process. This is the only way to be sure that they will be thorough.
• Invest in regular monitoring:
Simply getting rid of the mold might not be enough, you might also need to invest in regular monitoring. This way, you can identify when the mold has started spreading again, and then get rid of it before it becomes enough to cause a medical threat. If you consult a high quality contractor for the initial removal, you may need to do this every six months to a year.
• Have the susceptible family members screened:
Until you are sure that the home is free of any mold, you should make sure that the family members who are susceptible to infection are screened for fungal infection. You may also need to watch out for early signs of fungal infection, and seek medical help for them as soon as they are noted. Some of these include chest pain and coughing as well as brain infection manifestations including severe headache and vomiting.
The importance of a thorough approach
Normally, mold removal can be done without much disruption for the household. However, when you have household members who might be prone to fungal infection, it might be wise for you to get the work done more thoroughly. For instance, in the case of a very severe mold problem, you might need the mold removal experts to work on the entire house.
This might mean having to move out of the home temporarily. This is usually very inconvenient, but at least you will be sure that the members of your household will be safe. Making sure that the removal is done professionally can reduce the inconvenience caused by this move, since high quality contractors usually try to do a thorough job quickly.
The one thing you should always remember is that if any of your household members has a compromised immunity, being more aggressive about mold removal never hurts. In fact, it may save you a lot of time, money and anguish in the future. Talk to us if you want to learn more about mold removal. We are a reputable company providing mold removal in Mississauga at reasonable rates.