Hurricane Harvey Health Concerns: One Year Later
MicroBalance Health shares lessons learned from other recent catastrophic hurricanes and health issues citizens may experience after, as well as a list of proactive steps in your home or work environment for preventing mold illnesses after a hurricane.
- Houston, TX (1888PressRelease) July 20, 2018 - Hurricane Harvey devastated communities with a catastrophic rainfall that triggered flooding inflicting approximately $125 billion in damage to the greater Houston area. An estimated 20 trillion gallons of water poured over the paved foundations of the city and surrounding areas. Post flood areas present radical changes in the ecosystem from water damage and moisture creating a long-lasting concern for mold. Ignoring the presence of mold can lead to health issues that can last a lifetime.
Below are just some of the health issues citizens may experience after a hurricane, as well as a list of proactive steps in your home or work environment for preventing mold illnesses after a hurricane:
Things to understand about the potential health issues:
• Mold Exposure Symptoms – Mycotoxin poisoning can lead to a variety of unexplained symptoms experienced by patients such as headaches, dizziness, brain fog, and other cognitive and motor function symptoms.
• Impact to Children – Young people are at the most risk because of their developing immune systems. Significant increases in asthma and asthma-related hospitalizations were observed in the years following Katrina. Most disturbing was the increase in behavioral problems with children exposed to the catastrophe.
• Other Dangers – The continuous inhalation of mold causes an inflammatory response that does not allow your body’s powerful healing abilities to work properly. It’s imperative to note that the quality of the air you breathe in is two times more important than your genetic code to your health and the quality of the air you breathe in is five times more important than all the treatment rendered by hospitals, doctors and medications!”1
• Trauma and Mental Health Impact – Five years after Katrina, experts estimate that that 30-percent of people exposed to profound trauma from Katrina – such as having a near-death experience, watching a loved one die or seeing dead bodies – would develop an anxiety disorder like post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Lack of Experience During Clean-up – Toxic mold continues to be a problem in Red Hook, NY as a result of Hurricane Sandy. As many as 40% of homes surveyed years after Sandy report mold problems. The New York Housing Authority is still actively responding to the ongoing complaints. A major issue is the inappropriate and sloppy remediation and renovation due to the lack of experience, training, and minimal certification in dealing with mold remediation.
• Recent Hurricanes Provide Insight Previously Unavailable – In New Orleans, 80-percent of homes experienced water and mold damage. In 2008, Scientists from Lund University in Sweden and Tulane School of Environmental Health Science studied post Katrina homes for the presence of mycotoxins. The paper highlights the potential health threats posed by mold aerosols in a post disaster inhabited area.2
“The next catastrophic event could be the health crisis that emanates from the extensive amount of mold and mycotoxins in the area as a result of Hurricane Harvey,” said Donald Dennis, M.D., MicroBalance Health Products. “Removing all furnishing and household items exposed to mold and made of cellulose matter is the first step. Home furnishings, upholstered items, carpets, etc. should be removed all together when exposed to flooding.”
The CDC announced during its first Fungal Awareness Week in August 2017. “The Centers for Disease Control urged people to consider fungus as the underlying cause of symptoms that don’t improve with conventional therapy. In a short video, the caption reads, ‘Fungal diseases are often not diagnosed right away because their symptoms can be similar to those of other diseases. ‘Think fungus’ if you have symptoms that don’t get better with treatment. Talk to your doctor about the possibility of a fungal infection.”3
What Can Be Done to Prevent Mold Illnesses After a Hurricane?
Maintaining mold hygiene in your nose, home, and clothes goes a long way to ensure you are not continuously inhaling mold spores into your sinuses. Here are a few things you can do:
• Mold petri dish tests provide a conclusive determination if you have a mold issue. They can be purchased inexpensively at hardware stores or at microbalancehealthproducts.com.
• Seek medical attention for unexplained symptoms that do not subside. Unfortunately, the patient often carries the burden to reach the right medical professionals, as not all physicians are formally trained to treat mold illness and manage the complex balance of detoxification.
• Be consistent in replacing HVAC filters with HEPA capabilities.
• Use non-toxic, all-natural sprays or aerosols to remove mold and mycotoxins regularly to decrease mold counts in the air and on surfaces. This includes walls, floors, curtains, furniture, and clothing.
• If suffering from sinus issues, daily rinsing with a nasal rinsing system and Citridrops Dietary Supplement will remove mold and mucous from the sinuses.
• In the event mold is visible or can be smelled, seek professional remediation help.
• If you do not own your home or suffer at your place of work, EC3 Mold Solution Concentrate is a “band aid” solution that can keep mold air counts down to make your space livable.
Weekly articles on the topic of mold and environmental illness can be found at sinusitiswellness.com. For more information, please visit www.microbalancehealthproducts.com and www.sinusitiswellness.com for additional information.
MicroBalance Health Products strives to provide safe, natural and cost-effective products for symptomatic relief of mold-related sinus symptoms. This includes environmental products for healthy surroundings for patients with hazardous mold in their living environments. The company enables mold sufferers to decrease their fungal load and environmental toxins with products to treat the nose, clothes, living spaces and the circulating air. In addition, Micro Balance Health Products provides homeopathic products designed to boost the immune system, promote cellular healing, and support the pituitary gland for balanced hormonal function. Products can be purchased at www.Microbalancehealthproducts.com.
1 Machada, Rishi. “What makes us sick” Ted Talk, September 15, 2014
2 Hooper, Strauss, et. al. “Mycotoxin Detection in Human Samples from Patients Exposed to Environmental Molds”, International Journal of Molecular Science, 2009 Apr; 10(4): 1465–1475.
3 Kauffman, Doug. KnowtheCause.com
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