Molds Essays -- Biology, Spores

Humans spend 90% of their lives indoors (Sorenson, 1999), thus, they are in contact with mold everyday of their lives. Because people are indoors so often, harmful mold normally grows inside. There are three types of molds, allergenic, pathogenic, and toxigenic. The most common are allergenic and pathogenic found in homes. These molds tend to grow in damp places, such as, bathrooms, kitchens, and basements. Within these growing molds, they produce spores (Flappen et al, 1999). Spores are used to pollinate and settle in damp locations to produce more molds. These spores are highly toxic to humans over long durations. Some diseases include pulmonary hemorrhage, hemosiderosis, and respiratory problems (Sorenson, 1999). Molds are dangerous to human life; however, some molds are beneficial to humans. One type of mold includes Stachybotry atra commonly known as the black mold, which can cause pulmonary hemorrhage in infants (Flappan et al, 1999). This disease causes the upper respiratory system to bleed from the nose and tracheal (Flappan et al 1999). Sometimes this type of bleeding is not caused by pulmonary hemorrhage, but hemosiderosis. Hemosiderosis is when macrophages are iron-positive; this causes the white blood cells to devour red blood cells (Flappan et al 1999). Red blood cells carry oxygen to the different organs, without red blood cells the body system would fail. These two diseases are only harmful to human bodies for short-term, while chronic asthma is long-term. People who were exposed to mold at a young age could suffer from asthma. Asthma is the most chronic problem induced during childhood by infesting indoor allergens. Mold is a type of indoor allergen that is common within urban areas (Ker... ...t pathogens (Weinhold, 2007). To reduce the amount of spores entering someone’s system, fix pipes and roofing problems, as well as, cleaning the moisture in the vent ducts. While some molding issues could be fixed by simply removing the moldy object and disinfecting the area (book). Others believe it is the design of a building that causes mold inhabitations to provoke respiratory issues (Weinhold, 2007). However, there certain molds not harmful to the human body like Penicillum (Landsber, 1949). This mold creates antibiotics which helps fight pathogens. There are many things unknown about mold, but researchers are determined to learn every aspect. It is important to educate the world mold because some could save lives, while others could take it away. There are no current regulations set on dealing with mold, but some insurance companies providing mold coverage.