mcramer Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 A moldy home may not be the root of your ills an ABC Action News report 10/25/04 TAMPA - A 1999 Mayo Clinic study connected nearly all of the chronic sinus infections afflicting 37 million Americans to mold. However, an allergy expert at USF disagrees. Dr. Richard Lockey says that research shows most of us have mold in our homes and it would take more than that to make a person seriously ill. "Most people who enter a room and it's mold infested they see the black and it leaves a message with them, saying that this room is contaminated and it truly is," Lockey said. However, Lockey, who has studied mold for 20 years, believes that mold is not really as toxic as the public fears "In order for that mold to really cause problems you have to eat it in huge quantities," explained Lockey. "For example, we know animals have died from eating mold infested hay but they have to eat a lot of it. When these mold spores and old particles get into the air they don't cause any serious medical problems. If they did, we'd all be suffering on an ongoing regular basis." Dr. Lockey sees about five people a month complaining of mold allergies and there is a test he can do to determine if that is true. Most people he said are rarely allergic to only mold. "Compared to things like dust mites, compared to things like cockroaches, compared to things like cats and dogs -- they are far down the line as far as allergens causing disease," concluded Lockey. Dr Lockey believes the idea that mold in your home is causing some epidemic of disease is absolutely unproven and unscientific. His opinion is based on years of treating patients as well as research done at USF and papers written by other members of the scientific community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 "In order for that mold to really cause problems you have to eat it in huge quantities," Is this guy for real?[:-bigeyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Originally posted by crusty "In order for that mold to really cause problems you have to eat it in huge quantities," Is this guy for real?[:-bigeyes He may have phrased it better along the lines of "one would have to ingest or absorb huge quantities....." As far as his meaning, he's probably got it exactly right. I know a couple of microbiologists (I think one is something called a micologist) that think the same thing. They can't figure out what all the fuss is about w/ mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Originally posted by crusty I Always thought the issue with mold in the home environment had to do with ingesting the spores in to the pulmonary system, not the digestive system. What planet is this guy from? I steer clear of mold on my cheese but that's another issue. The allergenic effects are attributed to the spores, not the mold itself. Most of us don't eat the walls. IMO, as is the case with all allergies, and I believe the effects of mold are allergenic only, the more one thinks about it, the worse it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Mike, you are sounding more like me every day! Let us not forget the mold is gold crowd needs some justification for their fees. We inspectors could, and should, have stopped this a couple of years ago by sticking to inspections. I have a young inspector in my area that went to XXXXX's "seminar" in New Mexico last January and now is the darling of the local real estate market as the resident mold guy. He really believes in the process and has found new self-esteem as a savior. Unfortunately we are kinda slow around these parts, so he has abt six months left. Sometimes I think inspectors shoot themselves in the foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 What Mike said. When they write the history of the world, the "mold story" will certainly fall into the chapter on "stupidest things imaginable". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Originally posted by kurt What Mike said. When they write the history of the world, the "mold story" will certainly fall into the chapter on "stupidest things imaginable". As will all allergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Originally posted by mcramer A moldy home may not be the root of your ills an ABC Action News report 10/25/04 "In order for that mold to really cause problems you have to eat it in huge quantities," explained Lockey. In my younger days I use to eat vast quanties of mushrooms, could this be why I don't feel good or would you say that it's the Wild Irish Rose wine? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 Originally posted by Terence McCann In my younger days I use to eat vast quanties of mushrooms, could this be why I don't feel good or would you say that it's the Wild Irish Rose wine? It could just be the absence of "younger days". [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terence McCann Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 Originally posted by Brian G. Originally posted by Terence McCann In my younger days I use to eat vast quanties of mushrooms, could this be why I don't feel good or would you say that it's the Wild Irish Rose wine? It could just be the absence of "younger days". [] If you remember the 60's you didn't live through them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 60 what??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igor Smetaniuk Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 ... ... ... This just in! In a most recent internet transmission, HI Bin Laden - 'Certified' HI Mold Tester/Leader has decreed the assassination of Dr. Richard Lockey. He stated " Dr. Richard Lockey's public denouncement of MOLD is a threat to our pockets and livelihood. If we must rely on Home Inspections to earn a living, we may as well go out of business. I have 'Certified' (in one day) a special network of Mold Testing HI's to make Dr. Lockey perish by ingesting Blue Cheese into his system". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Originally posted by hausdok . . . Dimwits like this reporter keep stirring things up and the shysters running around testing for the stuff just continue to perpetrate the myth. Here's the link: One more B.S. story about mold From that link, '"Stachybotrys is one of the molds we know of that's capable of creating a toxin on the spore," says McCartney. "It's a microtoxin."' Do you suppose he thinks that the toxin is really, really small or do you suppose he means, "mycotoxin"? - Jim Katen, Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crusty Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Interesting site: http://www.doctorfungus.org/mycoses/env ... htm#toxins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian G Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 I think the mold industry should adopt a chicken as a spokes person (creature?). Call him Chicken Little, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!" [:-dunce] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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