Taiwan is located at the junction of tropical and subtropical, and surrounded by the sea on all sides, so it belongs to a high temperature and humid environment. Under such an environment, there are more or less molds on the walls in the houses we live in . If conditions such as old pipelines and peeling of external walls are added, wall molds may worsen. However, most homeowners still choose to ignore it, because repairing it is troublesome.
There are some whitish powers on the wall which are salts but not molds at first, if there is water leakage in the wall. Although those salts are not directly derived from molds, the presence of salts represents the presence of water, which creates the most suitable environment for the growth of molds.
According to information fromU.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionandBritish National Health Service, it shows thatindoor mold exposure is a health hazard. Due to their small particle sizes, the mold spores can contaminate human skin or be inhaled, thereby causing health hazards.
As early as 2004, the National Academy of Medicine in the United States has compiled research data showing thatindoor mold exposure is strongly correlated with upper respiratory symptoms, asthma attacks, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Then in 2009, the World Health Organization publishedIndoor Air Quality Guidelines - Mold, which includes detailed scientific evidences and recommendations.
In addition, recent studies have also pointed out that early exposure to mold in the indoor environment, especially for children with genes related to allergic diseases, may induce asthma or other allergic diseases.
However, not everyone who lives in an environment with a large number of molds will develop diseases. So who is a high-risk group and needs to stay away from such an environment as much as possible? Organized as follows:
[High-risk groups of indoor mold exposure]
1. babies and children
2. elderly people
3. those with existing skin problems, such as eczema
4. those with respiratory problems, such as allergies and asthma
5. those with a weakened immune system, such as those having chemotherapy
Therefore, the author suggests that if there are molds on the walls in your house, please don’t be afraid of trouble. You should seek professional assistance to find out the source and improve it. Mold is ubiquitous.Only by completely cleaning and drying the damaged area, removing the source of water leakage, reducing the environmental humidity, and improving the overall environmental ventilation, can the problem be effectively solved.
〈The author is former Attending Physician in National Taiwan University Hospital, and Master of Science from National Taiwan University〉