How to Manage Mold (and Allergies) After Flooding

With changes in our climate, flooding becomes more and more prevalent, and the health effects impact even more people. The damp conditions left behind can cause a variety of illnesses, with mold allergy being at the top of the list. Here are some ways to manage mold, as well as your allergy to it, after a flood or water damage.

Cause of Illness

Mold is a fungus-like allergen that likes to stick to damp surfaces in dark and warm conditions. It releases spores that then circulate in the air, and when breathed in, cause a variety of symptoms for those who are allergic, including:

• Respiratory upset
• Hives
• Headaches
• Congestion
• And more

On top of regular allergy symptoms, some people with a mold allergy can experience chronic sinusitis.

Preventive Tips

If your home has been impacted by flooding, there are steps you can take to avoid the hazard of mold and the symptoms that follow. The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America suggests:

• Throw away items that can’t be cleaned effectively
• Wear an N95 mask and gloves when dealing with moldy materials
• Create ventilation in the home
• Use HEPA filters
• Replace dry wall at least 4 inches above waterline

This can all be helpful in reducing symptoms, but it’s not just indoor mold that causes issues. After major storms, the melting of a winters snow, a hurricane, or flooding for any other reason, the air can hold a lot of mold spores. This study showed that mold spores in the air were double in flooded areas, compared to areas not flooded after Hurricane Katrina.

Long-Term treatment

If you find you’re sensitive to mold, no amount of avoidance or prevention will help keep you symptom free, because the possibility of mold exposure is everywhere. The only way to ensure minimal reactions is to treat the cause of the allergy itself, instead of trying to manage the environment around you.

Providers at Allergy Associates of La Crosse (AAOL) suggest treating the cause of your mold allergy –  along with your other environmental allergens – with allergy drop immunotherapy.  First, they’ll recommend completing a thorough medical history, exam, and allergy testing to determine which specific molds and environmental allergens cause your symptoms.

Allergy drops are then created custom to each patient with tiny amounts of the identified allergens. The dose is high enough to help build tolerance, but not too high to cause reactions. Patients place their allergy drops under the tongue three times daily to help expose the body to their problem allergens.

Over time, the dose is gradually increased, and the body becomes increasingly used to the allergens and learns to not react when exposed “in the real world” - or when you’re out and about near a moldy pile of leaves.

To start feeling better soon, contact AAOL to schedule your first appointment.