Allergies!

[KaisaG]

I'm just curious if anyone else is having a really bad time with allergies? These last two days my eyes have been itching SO bad that I want to scratch them out. I rub them to the point they get bloodshot and swollen. And I've been congested and have an itcht throat-- You know the one that feels like if you stick your finger in your ear you could get it but you can't?!!

It's driving me BONKERS!

Is it just me? I don't think it's something at home because they are just as bad when I am at work! :anyone

[meeg124]

I was that way a couple of weeks ago... but I have year round seasonal type allergies and mold always gets to me and I think the mold levels are pretty high right now. When my eyes are driving me crazy, I use the drops called Patanol and they are the best! Within 10 minutes my eyes feel so much better. They are prescription though but my doc has never had any problem with me calling up and saying that I want an scrip for them though.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

[Mom of 2]

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Kate
Mom to Patty and Tyler

[daisydoc]

no allergies here... just a yucky cold. But I am feeling better this morning than I did sunday or yesterday.

hope you feel better soon Kaisa! :hug

[KaisaG]

I wondered if it might have something to do with mold but I had ruled that out since it's been kinda dry... Makes sense though- we did find some mildew in the closet the other day!

[Kellie_MO5]

I don't have any allergies, but this dry heat from the heater is killing my sinuses... i need some rain!

[Lynette]

Makes sense though- we did find some mildew in the closet the other day!

Be careful with that and make sure it is only mildew and not black mold. Bad stuff!

[becky]

what is the difference between balck mold and mildew?

[KaisaG]

Lynette where are you??!! You have me all freaked out now! You should see my swollen eye from me jamming my finger in it. :(

[Lynette]

Shoot, I was trying to be vague so I wouldn't be overreacting but brought it up just in case.

Our neighbor next door was renting their house before we bought ours and had some issues with what they thought was mildew in their dining room and bathroom. They told the landlords and their solution was to just paint over it to seal up the cracks and kill it. It kept coming back. In the meantime, the lady was pregnant and had their youngest who kept having breathing issues and a rash and their second youngest (they had three girls and the baby boy) developed asthma while living there. The landlords finally came out to do something serious about it in the bathroom and when they pealed back the wall they found everything underneath covered with what they found out was not mildew but black mold. They left the house that day and the kids and mom never went back. We talked to the dad a few days later when they moved out their stuff but they had to throw away anything upholstered: couch, mattress, etc that couldn't be cleaned because contamination and the last we heard were in the process of suing. There are bio hazard laws about clean up of what are considered "toxic molds" and the landlords didn't do it even after these people left, they had a contractor friend come in to replace stuff in the bathroom and then painted the whole place again.

Again, not to freak you out, but maybe do some googling to make sure it is mildew....which it probably is :)

[KaisaG]

I dunno the crap in the closet looked A LOT like this stuff...

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.iuoeiettc.org/Katrina/Katrina%2520Photos/mold%2520black.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.iuoeiettc.org/Katrina/Workers%2520at%2520Risk%2520Health%2520Hazards%252 0Mold.htm&h=209&w=314&sz=6&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=tpENWQro06FhgM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522black%2Bmold%2522%26svnum%3D10%2 6hl%3Den%26lr%3D

Funny thing too- I ONLY get these eye allergies in the winter.

[Lynette]

Makes sense, mold allergies are one of the more common ones. I think one of the ways they kill it is by using salt water and letting it dry? Is your closet by your bathroom at all? Does it seem like a strange place to for it to be? RP has got the worst drainage with this freakin' adobe too.

[KaisaG]

It's not even close to the bathroom! Interestingly enough the bathroom is one of the only rooms we haven't found it in. They just replaced the carpet padding in the baby's room because my MIL found some behind his crib when she was vacuuming on day. The stuff we found in the closet was in our room- I had my clothes folded in the organizer shelves and it caused mold to gro in the corners. Do you think I should be worried? How can I find out if it's the dangerous stuff or not???

[KaisaG]

And I am just remembering now that when my SIL was here one day she said something was making her allergies/asthma act up!!

[Lynette]

Personally, I would be concerned especially since you are already experiencing health issues :( I would call your doctor and baby E's ped to see if they have anything to say and your landlord to get him to clean it up as it is his legal responsibility and cost to incur. The laws regarding mold is similar to the ones regarding mice, etc. and they have to take it seriously and deal with it quickly.

[My3sonsplus1]

Kaisa I think there is some sort of mold detection kit, you take a swab with a chemical on it and rub it on the "black stuff" and if it turns pink or whatever it is mold and not just mildew. Is yours as nasty as that linky showed? That extensive and I would def think it is more than mildew.
The set up where we live is kind of ridiculous. We have a fan in the bathroom with a shower/tub but none in the shower only one and that of course is the one my dh showers in so we are bound to get crap one of these days!! It is too cold to crack a window to air the place out (not to mention our screens are not in good condition so we have spiders on the insides of the screens who I am not going to let in) which is the landlords solution to everything. We thought we saw the beginings of mold/mildew last season on our bedroom walls but it was really faint (almost like a dirty mark from kids kicking the wall with shoes) and I think it has gone away but the room smells musty at floor level so who knows. I am soooooooooooooooo tired of moving. I mean I totally would to keep my kids safe but we have moved 4 times since Asher was born and he will be 4 in June. I am begining to loose faith with our landlord though. He won't fix the mess the dogs made digging under their and our fences/replace the fence because "they'll just do it again". Hello.the.fence.is.falling.down! And he wants us to do the leg work of find what house they live at AND the owners name and phone number so he can... do whatever he was planning on doing. I don't nessasarily mind trying to figure out the addy (though I don't think I am the one ultimately responsible and I can't do it during the week because dh leaves when it is dark and comes home after dark) but I am not going to go up to their house and quiz them for their info. when it isn't even my property so I don't have anything to chat with them about anyhow (cost/responsabilty of getting a new fence/how to repair the trench they dug).

[KaisaG]

Now I wish I would've taken a picture of the crap in the closet before Emanuel cleaned it with bleach! Crap that mean I will probably have to wait for it to come back. This sucks.

[KaisaG]

According to ProLab, Inc.'s website (http://www.prolabinc.com/products.asp?kit=mold)you can purchase mold kits at the following retailers (in case anyone else is interested):

PRO-LABŪ Test Kits are available to the general public at over 40,000 leading home centers, hardware stores, pharmacy chains, supermarkets, and a wide category of specialty outlets. Stores include The Home Depot, CVS, Kroger, Do It Best, True Value, Menards, Fred Meyer, Lowe's, Chase-Pitkin, Ace Hardware, Avon, Distribution America, Giant, H E B, and Wal-Mart.

[My3sonsplus1]

Now I wish I would've taken a picture of the crap in the closet before Emanuel cleaned it with bleach! Crap that mean I will probably have to wait for it to come back. This sucks.

well if the swab came back as positive I would think that would be "proof" enough. And black mold iirc cannot be killed by bleach (which is why it keeps coming back, you either can;t kill it or can;t ill all of it because it is so extensive) so even if it looks like it is gone the swab should still work, I think.

[KaisaG]

Our old apartment definitely had it in the bathroom... We bleached that thing so many times and even painted it with anti-mildew bleach but it would come back everytime. Obviously because it wasn't mildew, aye?

[justamom]

A friend of mine rented an apartment in Santa Rosa. She became very ill, and her 3 year old became ill. Then they noticed that a black mold had overcome most of their things stored in the hall closet right next to the bathroom. It ruined everything in the closet including her expensive camera. She checked into a motel room for a couple nights while looking for a new place, and her parents came down and bought them new (used) furniture. She was sick for a few months and had to follow a strict yeast free diet to help get the black mold out of her and her son's chests. It is really harsh and tough. If you find you have black mold, get out of the house.

[colleen&Kail]

me! i cant stand it it is driving me crazy!