Dundundun... MOLD

[ArlaMo]

Yep, agreeing with all the others - get someone (hubby!) to clean it. I really think that mold in our house after an ice dam on the roof (leaked down behind the fireplace and under the master bedroom carpet) is what triggered the onset of my Wegs.

[annekat]

Do be careful, Carrie. If you let hubby off the hook and do it yourself, try to get a well-fitting respirator, not just a dust mask. There are some semi-disposable ones with replaceable cartridges available from 3M company and they come in Small. A lot less expensive than really industrial respirators. Available on Amazon last I looked. I'm not up on the latest, do some research online. Of course, I would prefer, too, that you get hubby or someone else to do it!

[chrisTIn@]

Yep, agreeing with all the others -

Me too!
My Wegs was triggered I think by helping my hubby to renovate my daughter's appartment ( she has a student appartment in a beautifull but old building).
Especially the bathroom was tricky. There was mold too.

[Alysia]

Are we "catching" something ? I have mold in my house too.
Is there realy a relationship between mold and WG ?

[Dirty Don]

I don't know about the 'mold theory'...not to be a naysayer, anything is possible...but, I grew up & lived in Oregon for years...THE state of mold!!! Hey, it's wet there! Now I live in AZ...and unless I've had this disease for more years than thought (it's possible...some medical history suggests it), this is where it came to fruition (I know...crumby word for it!). It appears to me and to my rheumy and internist that a lot of my WG was caused by or lead to by stress...duh...now there's a killer. I don't hold much in anymore (hehe, sorry sometimes for that), and am so much more relaxed than I've ever been...go figure...

[annekat]

I grew up around a lot of mold, too, and for the last 20 years have spent a lot of time sitting at an open air farmers market where there are open drains, a lot of dampness, etc., etc. That combined with being a potter and exposed to silica dust. And having allergies to pollens and my dusty house and cats.... since allergies are an immune response, could there be any relationship? And stress, too, which I know aggravates the allergic reactions, too. I guess anyone anywhere can get Wegs and there are a variety of triggers.

[annekat]

Curious, Don, are there winds in Arizona that kick up dust from the desert? If so, it would undoubtedly contain silica dust, a known trigger for Wegs. Just sayin, never been to AZ and don't know the lay of the land.

[Dirty Don]

Curious, Don, are there winds in Arizona that kick up dust from the desert? If so, it would undoubtedly contain silica dust, a known trigger for Wegs. Just sayin, never been to AZ and don't know the lay of the land.

You mean the HABOOBs! Yeah, my thoughts too...docs, in fact, thought I had a serious case of 'valley fever' at first...shows up nearly the same in the lungs caused by a viral mite that lurks in the desert areas...it's a common disease of us desert people! Who knows...I've ingested/inhaled so many things over my lifetime, any one of them could be pinned for the WG start...

[annekat]

You mean the HABOOBs! Yeah, my thoughts too...docs, in fact, thought I had a serious case of 'valley fever' at first...shows up nearly the same in the lungs caused by a viral mite that lurks in the desert areas...it's a common disease of us desert people! Who knows...I've ingested/inhaled so many things over my lifetime, any one of them could be pinned for the WG start...

I'd heard of the Haboobs and forgotten! It actually could be amazing that more people don't have Wegs, with all the things they've probably inhaled and ingested. Maybe they do and just don't know it yet!

[carriej22]

Haboob? lol

Well, good news.

It may not be mold. Pops said the best test is to sniff it (no I did not) and he did. He is 72 years old and was on a ladder sniffing my ceiling. He declared no-mold. He says mold has a smell; and that he is blind and almost deaf but he can smell stuff from a mile away (lol). He says that mold rarely grows on ceilings because it doesn't like light; and he said any mold you see is not the dangerous stuff. He said the bad stuff grows underneath things or between your walls, along the floor, etc. He just thinks it's discoloration from where it got wet.

He said he can cut that section out and replace it with new dry wall for me; but he said he thinks it could be washed off and repainted with a special paint.

I have no idea how scientific it is; but he was a carpenter since he was 18 years old so I'm hoping he knows a little something; lol.