Hanging outfit to dry in the garden has been a rare view in recent months, with winter storms to bring icy and gust of 100 km/h wind. But is the way we dry out clothes indoors?
According to the, drying wet clothing in extenders in little ventilated spaces can increase the amount of mold that grows at homewhat is associated with health problems and, in some cases, until death.
Second Rebecca A. DrummondAssociate Professor at Birmingham University, when mold grows in our house, can form black or green spots on the walls and usually, Creates an unpleasant smell to mold. Should not be ignored, because exposure to mold for long periods of time can have serious Health Implications.
The mold is a comprehensive term for a group of fungi that produce tiny particles called spores.
Fungi produce spores when conditions are conducive to their growth, which may include colder temperatures and high moisture. This is why it is more likely to find mold to grow on bathroom ceilings or moist walls, where there is more water for spores to settle and grow.
There are many different species of mold. The most common that cause problems in humid houses are the penicillium and the aspergillus. We are estimated that we breathe a small number of spores of these fungi.
Fortunately, our immune system is very good to detect and kill fungal spores, which limits the number of lung infections by fungi in humans, although we are constantly exposed.
The immunity cells called macrophages are within the air spaces of the lungs, called alveoliand these cells eat everything we inhale that can be considered harmful, including fungal spores.
However, there are many people whose immune system is not able to eliminate fungal spores and, in these cases, fungi can cause dangerous infections or greatly worsen underlying health, such as the asma.
People who have the immune system damaged or committed are at greater risk of being seriously ill due to fungal infections. The mold, like the aspergilluscause infections in patients with limited immune function or with pulmonary lesions caused by diseases such as asthma, quinistic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with intense smoking.
In people with asthma, the immune system exaggeratedly reacts to stimuli, including fungal spores, causing inflammation in the lungs. This inflammation makes breathing more difficult by reducing the size of the airway.
The same type of immune response is responsible for asthma symptoms and by allergic reactionsand fungal spores can also trigger these same types of immune responses, which means that fungal spores can be a particularly powerful stimulus for some people.
Em very extreme casesfungal spores do not only cause inflammation, but can invade the airways and block themleading to bleeding in the lung, which happens when spores germinate and form long projections similar to cobwebs myceliumwhich create sticky lumps that block the airways and damage the delicate tissues of the lung.
Infections by Aspergillus are treated with antifungal medications to treat fungal infections – and when resistance is developed, that It can dramatically reduce the treatment options of a patient.
Climate change may also be causing resistance to drugs in environmental fungi. It has recently been found that exposure to high temperatures helps fungi develop resistance to habitually prescribed antifungal drugs.
There are also reports of patients who get sick due to species of molds that were not thought to cause human disease, in part because they cannot develop at the temperature of the human body.
Thus, more species of mold may be acquiring the ability to cause infections as well as becoming resistant to medicines. Research programs and health care initiatives that monitor these changes are vital to helping us to be prepared for potential increases in mold infections.
Although a healthy immune system means that a typical exposure to fungal spores is not likely to cause any health problems, exposure to very large amounts of fungal spores may prove to fatal, even for people who have no underlying health problems .
It is important to help keep your home free from mold. The best way to do it is to ensure good ventilation and take other measures to moisturehow to use a dehumidifier or invest in a warm extendal to dry the clothes indoors in winter.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
