Mold is a potentially lethal risk for organ transplant patients that is largely ignored.
The residences that patients return home to after their organ transplant are almost never checked for mold. Let's face it. .....transplant patients are usually very sick before the life saving surgery. Home maintenance, roof leaks, plumbing leaks, and basement issues are not a high priority when the life of a family member is at stake. Even when these problems are noticed, the money it takes to have repairs is often in very short supply and life and death medical costs come first!
Organ transplant patients have new opportunities for a healthy and full life. However, the anti-rejection medication that helps accept new organs by lowering the body’s immune system response also creates a very high risk for fungal infections caused by mold exposures.
Hospitals are on "high alert" to create a "mold free environment". On failure to maintain that environment in UPMC Pittsburgh resulted a temporary shutdown of world class and renowned transplant center.
The CDC states "Fungal infections may be more common in certain types of transplants. Some experts think that fungal infections may be most common in small bowel transplant patients, followed by lung, liver, and heart transplant patients."
Mold at very low levels or in hidden areas are a huge risk for patients. Whether it is returning home after an organ transplant or moving into a new or temporary home after the transplant, having a professional familiar with medical grade evaluations for mold are an important part of successful outcomes.
For more information on protecting patients from mold after an Organ Transplant, go to our article with many links to supporting information at https://www.envirospect.com/OrganTransplant
If you have ever removed wallpaper, you know what they are talking about. We install wallpaper with wallpaper paste (yes Mr. Obvious) Wallpaper paste is WHEAT paste. Just imagine that you leave a piece of bread sit out......That mold will find the wallpaper paste to be a yummy environment.
For More Information
http://www.wtae.com/article/is-wallpaper-in-your-home-making-you-sick/10217478
Toxins from fungus growing on wallpaper can easily become airborne and pose an indoor health risk, researchers say.
"We demonstrated that mycotoxins could be transferred from a moldy material to air, under conditions that may be encountered in buildings," said study corresponding author Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly. "Thus, mycotoxins can be inhaled and should be investigated as parameters of indoor air quality."
There is great irony in this tearful saga. Mold is needed to make the cheese that made the dip that stained the shirt, that needs anti-stain treatment………in the flooded house that Dan did not build.
It started with a wonderful Sunday dinner out with the kids and grandson. It was a good meal, pleasant restaurant, great time. The appetizer was a very tasty, yet gooey cheese and spinach sauce with chunks of bread for dipping into that delightful cheese mixture. One of my “dips” turned into a “drop” between the plate and my mouth. Oops!
On the way home from dinner, my wife and I discuss what she thought I should write about tonight. She usually has the inside story on what readers would be thinking about. I deadline on this article tomorrow. She has a couple of greatly appreciated suggestions.
We pull into our driveway and realize that we had missed a heavy rain storm. The newly planted flowers were laying on their sides in exhaustion from the drenching. Great! They will stand up again and I get out of watering them today.
Please let me explain in my own defense. This is a new “home to us” and I have not yet learned everything about the place. On this glorious evening, I learn that when there is a very hard storm, water comes under the basement door and spreads across the basement.
What Does a Mold Expert Do When It is His House That Floods?
Back to the stain on my shirt. I walk downstairs into the basement while taking my shirt off. (Multi-tasking). I realize that as I step onto the concrete floor, there was a “slosh” noise, not the leather shoe on concrete shuffle appropriate for a multitasking senior with his shirt halfway over his head.
Recognizing that multi-tasking was not getting me where I want to go, I complete the easiest task at hand and finish taking the shirt off and the spot stain treated. ü
I start a new “to do” list based upon my discovery of why the shoes made a slosh instead of a shuffle. The next step is to consult a mold or disaster recovery professional. Oh, that’s me. ü
I look around to see why there is water on the floor and if whatever that cause is, whether it has stopped. I know that if the source of water has not ended, stopping the water leak is the next step.
The water leaked under the basement door. The rain has stopped and therefore the cause of the water event is ended. That is good news. ü
Triple check that there is not an electrical potential hazard relating to the abundant pool of water in the area affected by water. (üüü)
If there is a potential electrical hazard such as wet walls with outlets or an extension cord lying in the water I must exercise great caution. The choice is to safely turn off the electricity or think of the Jaws movie and stay out of the water.
I remove anything that is still absorbing water and is being damaged because of standing water. That would include the cardboard box of decorations that was moved downstairs two days ago because the kitchen cabinets are being delivered tomorrow. ü
Next step is to get out the “wet and dry shop vac” and begin to sucking up the standing water. ü
I sadly observe that the shop vac first had water moving toward the wand, and then running back onto the floor from the end of the wand. Note that water went up the hose at first and then……when about a cup of water was drawn up, that water was running back out of the wand. It was like watching someone going up the first section of a two-level escalator and then turning around and going back down the escalator rather than to the top section of the upper floor.
I remind myself, to not panic when realizing that the nice easy to carry shop vac that was purchased because it was small and light is not strong enough to suck a pool of water in a basement. ü
Go to “Plan B” and take the top off of the floor drain. Grab a broom and sweep water into the floor drain. ü
It is time to take photos of the current condition and be grateful that your wife does not upload a YouTube viral video of your panic and frantic efforts to this point. ü
Next step? Throw out the very few wet cardboard boxes. Be grateful that you are a mold aware person who knows that basement storage should be plastic bins and not cardboard. Cardboard is the “Breakfast of Champions” for mold. odor and wood destroying insects. ü
Without standing in any water, set up the dehumidifier placing the water drain hose into the floor drain. ü
Find a shirt that does not have an appetizer stain front and center. Put on the clean shirt realizing that you sadly are not a good sight to see when bare chested. ü
Be grateful that you have caught the water problem before it did any damage. Consult with your environmental person. In this particular case, this is accomplished by inward reflection: “self…..have you followed the proper procedures?” if not, go do what you should have done.
After the panic and work, go write the article due in the morning.
In summary, when faced with and unexpected and unwanted water event:
· Identify the source of the leak
· Stop the source of the leak
· If beyond what you can handle, call a professional
· Document conditions for insurance
· Verify that electricity isn’t a hazard
· Remove anything that can be damaged by the water contact and dry it
· Remove, sweep or suction standing water
· Dehumidify
· If you can’t dehumidify, open windows
· Realize that you have 24 to 48 to dry out before mold is a problem
· When appropriate, seek professional drying services
· Focus on the fact that mold and odors can damage health and the value of a home
Use the checklist above to make sure everything is done as it should be Check
Oh, one last thing on my list …..Install an exterior drain or concrete curb so that this doesn’t ever happen again!
The fourth lawsuit was filed in the deaths of patients from mold exposure. Two of the cases have settled already for 1.3 million each. Another case is pending in addition to this new case.
You may need a brief history. It was back in September of 2015 that the entire UPMC Transplant Program was shut down as mold was discovered in a specialized area of the hospital for transplant patients….and…. the mold was, more importantly inside of the patients.
This is a world renowned program with reportedly a waiting list of over 1,000 patients. This was a BIG deal. A “life and death” deal.
That background makes the story you read and hear in the news both interesting and scary. It is not the REAL story here. The real story is that transplant patients are at a very high risk of serious infection particularly for 6 months after receiving the transplant.
IT IS AMAZING THAT PATIENTS BEING DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL ARE NOT USUALLY TOLD TO GET THEIR HOMES CHECKED FOR MOLD …………AND IF NEEDED ……………TREATED FOR MOLD BEFORE THEY COME HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL.
If mold exposure can be a cause of death in a hospital, it can be a cause of death anywhere a patient may go.
If you have someone you care about with the modern day miracle of an organ transplant, have the home or other place they spent time checked to assure the mold level is safe in the area.
This story goes beyond organ transplant patients. Those patients on chemotherapy, auto-immune disease, elderly, very young, and many other at risk patients can become seriously ill as a result of mold exposure.
For a full article with more information on organ transplant and other immunosuppressed patients and mold exposure go to: https://goo.gl/RKnhZh
Fake Testing
Yep, you will be surprised that “fake testing” is done by firms whose names you may recognize. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) or Luminometer testing is a favorite “sales technique” of some small and some very high profile remediation . There are also some home inspectors who utilize the same misleading practice. In some instances, this may stay on the side of legality because they accurately tell you what it does. The deception is that the consumer is permitted to infer that it is also a “mold screening.” All mold will have a positive ATP reading. ALL POSITIVE ATP READINGS ARE NOT MOLD!
Here is What These ATP Testing Scoundrels Tell You
“The ATP Detection System, is the latest technology to detect and monitor harmful, microscopic organisms. ATP detection technology is used throughout the food and beverage industries, health care and pharmaceutical industries, hospitals, restaurants, supermarkets and other facilities where rapid detection of contamination is critical.” This was a quote taken from the Batronix.com website on 7-22-16.
What the ATP Testing Companies Do Not Tell You
ATP testing does not distinguish between pollen, skin cells, bacteria, mucus from a sneeze or any other organic material and mold. If they get a positive reading, it could be a million things other than mold. One slick company that offers the “free mold screening” now also offers mold testing in the fine print and at an additional cost. They know that with the expectation of a “free” mold test, the client will not likely opt to spend more money after being told that they “need” mold remediation as a result of the ATP test.
Link to the ATP Testing equipment company describing what this device is intended for and is capable of preforming:
Click here to Link to Hygiena.com to verify information on this test