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Indoor Pollution and Allergens

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Servises we provide:

Dr Kushnir and her staff visits house with suspected mold and moisture problem upon request and arranged time. Here is what we can do:

  1. Review the air quality report (if you already performed official evaluation)
  2. Review the timeframe of the exposure and symptoms of everyone living in the household to establish relationship
  3. Visit the house and make recommendations on remodelling or improvements of the affected house
  4. Make visual inspection of the outdoor conditions around the house
  5. Perform allergy skin testing of the family members affected by indoor allergens

We recommend to make arrangements of the house visit at least 2 weeks prior as availability is limited.

What is the sickness that develops with indoor Pollution?

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a sickness affecting people living in a certain building (if they were healthy before). They claim to experience acute health problems that appear to be linked to time spent in a building. SBS is also used interchangeably with “building-related symptoms”, which orients the name of the condition around patients rather than a “sick” building.

A 1984 World Health Organization (WHO) report suggested up to 30% of new and remodeled buildings worldwide may be subject of complaints related to poor indoor air quality.

Sick building causes are frequently pinned down to flaws in:

  • heating
  • ventilation
  • air conditioning (HVAC) systems
  • outgassing of some types of building materials
  • volatile organic compounds (VOC)
  • molds (see mold health issues)
  • improper exhaust ventilation of ozone (byproduct of some office machinery)
  • light industrial chemicals used indoors
  • lack of adequate fresh-air intake/air filtration.

What are the symptoms?

Young woman suffering from a severe depression and cough in a building with recent flooding

One of the issues with indoor pollution is that symptoms do not start all together. Also, people may experience different symptoms, even in the same family. Yet, there are certain symptoms that are most common:

  1. Respiratory symptoms: cough, chest pain, shortness of breath on mild exertion
  2. Neurologic symptoms: memory problems, headaches, poor sleep, depression, balance and vertigo, seizures and developmental delay in babies
  3. Skin problems: hives, rashes, itching and spots
  4. Systemic malaise: leg swelling, fatigue, concentration problem, poor grades in children
  5. Other systemic problems: heart palpitations, nosebleeds, cancers, pregnancy problems and miscarriages.
  6. Extrinsic allergic alveolitis, Legionnaire’s disease, humidifier fever, pneumonia and occupational asthma are also known to occur.

It can take weeks to months to develop these problems because they are not specific, and many people do not even know why they are getting sicker. Usually children, elderly and immunocompromised people are affected first.

Are there certain diseases that may develop in “sick buildings”?

Young men who has rash and asthma after 2 month in apartment with mold

Asthma is one of the diseases directly linked to contamination of the living spaces with molds and other organisms, such as dust mites. Environmental allergies to indoor proteins is also well-documented. It can lead to:

Legionnaire’s disease is due to contamination of cooling towers by legionella organisms. Legionella is also responsible for Pontiac fever. Legionnaire’s disease occurs predominantly in the middle aged and elderly adults whereas Pontiac fever occurs in young healthy adults, and has a very high secondary attack rate.

Humidifier fever is caused by breathing in water droplets from humidifiers heavily contaminated with microorganisms causing respiratory infections, asthma and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. The disease is noninfective in nature. The patient may have flu-like symptoms. It is sometimes called Monday Fever. Permanent lung damage does not occur.

The symptoms can be clinically defined and have clearly identifiable causes. The complainants may require prolonged recovery time after leaving the building.

It is important to note that complaints may also result from other cause like a preexisting illness or other allergies, job-related stress or dissatisfaction and psychosocial factors.

What exactly causes sickness inside homes?

  1. CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS. From outdoor sources: Contaminants from outside like pollutants from motor vehicle exhaust, plumbing vents and building exhausts (bathrooms and kitchens) can enter the building through poorly located air intake vents, windows and other openings. Combustion byproducts can enter a building from a nearby garage. Radon, formaldehyde, asbestos, dust and lead paint can enter through poorly located air intake vents and other openings. From indoor sources: The most common contaminant of indoor air includes the volatile organic compounds (VOC). The main sources of VOC are adhesives, upholstery, carpeting, copy machines, manufactured wood products, pesticides, cleaning agents, etc. Environmental tobacco smoke, respirable particulate matter, combustion byproducts from stove, fireplace and unvented space heater also increase the chemical contamination. Synthetic fragrances in personal care products or in cleaning and maintenance products also contribute to the contamination.
  2. BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINANTS. The biological contaminants include pollen, bacteria, viruses, fungus, molds, etc. These contaminants can breed in stagnant water that has accumulated in humidifiers, drainpipes and ducts or where water has collected on ceiling tiles, insulation, carpets and upholstery. Insect and bird droppings can also be a source of biological contamination. Biological contamination causes fever, chills, cough, chest tightness, muscle aches and allergic reactions. In offices with a high density of occupancy, airborne diseases can spread rapidly from one worker to another. Air-conditioning systems can recirculate pathogens and spread them throughout the building e.g., Legionnaire’s disease due to legionella organisms.
  3. INADEQUATE VENTILATION In 1970, oil embargo led building designers to make buildings more airtight, with less outdoor air ventilation, in order to improve energy efficiency. The ventilation was reduced to 5 cfm/person. This reduced ventilation rate was found to be inadequate to maintain the health and comfort of building occupants. Malfunctioning heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVAC systems) also increase the indoor air pollution. In order to have an acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ) with a minimum energy consumption, The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently revised ventilation standards to a minimum outdoor air flow rate of 15 cfm/person to avoid the problems related to inadequate ventilation. The standards are 20 cfm/person in office spaces and 60 cfm/person in smoking lounges. Poor design and construction of buildings with more number of offices cramped in a building to increase the salable area also contribute to inadequate ventilation.
  4. ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION. Gadgets like microwaves, televisions and computers emit electromagnetic radiation, which ionizes the air. Extensive wiring without proper grounding also creates high magnetic fields, which have been linked to cancer.
  5. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS. Excessive work stress or dissatisfaction, poor interpersonal relationships and poor communication are often seen to be associated with SBS.
  6. POOR AND INAPPROPRIATE LIGHTING WITH ABSENCE OF SUNLIGHT, BAD ACOUSTICS, POOR ERGONOMICS AND HUMIDITY MAY ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO SBS. The symptoms of SBS are commonly seen in people with clerical jobs than in people with managerial jobs because professionals or managers have better working conditions. The symptoms are more common in females than in males probably because more females are in secretarial jobs, they are more aware of their health or a lesser dose of pollutants is required to manifest the effects. The symptoms are more common in air-conditioned buildings than in naturally ventilated buildings and are more common in a public sector building than in a private sector building

REFERENCES:

Sick–building syndrome. Redlich CA, Sparer J, Cullen MR.Lancet. 1997 Apr 5;349(9057):1013-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07220-0.PMID: 9100639 Free article. Review.

Sick–building syndrome (SBS) is an increasingly common problem. Although objective physiological abnormalities are not generally found and permanent sequelae are rare, the symptoms of SBS can be uncomfortable, even disabling, and whole workplaces can be rende …

Neurologic and neuropsychiatric syndrome features of mold and mycotoxin exposure. Empting LD.Toxicol Ind Health. 2009 Oct-Nov;25(9-10):577-81. doi: 10.1177/0748233709348393.PMID: 19854819

Human exposure to molds, mycotoxins, and water-damaged buildings can cause neurologic and neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms. …In this article, the author delineates the signs and symptoms of a syndrome precipitated by mold and mycotoxin exposure an …

Mold Exposure and Mitochondrial Antibodies. Lieberman A, Curtis L.Altern Ther Health Med. 2020 Nov;26(6):44-47.PMID: 32088666

OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants received blood tests for autoimmune, metabolic, hormonal, and nutritional parameters, including AMA. RESULTS: Six patients with a documented history of exposure to indoor mold, mycotoxin, and water damage had elevated levels of AMA. CO …

The medical effects of mold exposure. Bush RK, Portnoy JM, Saxon A, Terr AI, Wood RA.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006 Feb;117(2):326-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2005.12.001.PMID: 16514772 Review.

Exposure to molds can cause human disease through several well-defined mechanisms. …Concerns about mold exposure and its effects are so common that all health care providers, particularly allergists and immunologists, are frequently faced with issues …

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Truly gifted… My family all out voted me because they wanted cats… I’m allergic and wanted to test the rest of the family. We went through the tests… A bit of a pain (duh…) and got the tests back. Glad we went because I’m apparently allergic to everything and my daughter was pre-asthmatic. We did an accelerated anti allergen program. I have had shots before but frankly, she is a master. Rarely does it hurt and when it does, its only worthy of a wince. She’s great with the kids and has strategies to help alleviate kids anxiety of those shots. We were able to reach the top dose in just a few months. We got our cats (not one… But two long haired cats) and we’re to the point where if I wanted to… I could put my face into these cats and breathe deeply with zero reaction. She’s also very up to date on the Gluten and Dairy intolerance information which has been helpful for me. Dr Kushnir has her act together… She’s a scientist as well as a doctor too. The benefit is that she’s usually the first to know about something… But she’s willing to look into the latest study without going off on a long monologue adhering to old and outdated models of doctoring. I highly recommend Dr Kushnir and her staff. BYW… food allergies can’t be helped, only avoided.

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