Definition
A mold allergy is an allergic reaction of the body to molds that occur naturally in the ambient air and are caused by impurities with different reactions.
Occurrence
Molds are everywhere in the environment. In households as well as in the open nature. Molds need basically three factors to grow: These organic additives can be food, wood, fabrics or foam.
When these factors meet, the molds have an excellent breeding ground to grow indefinitely. The growth process is still accelerated by supplied warmth. At home, these warm, humid rooms correspond to a poorly ventilated bathroom with shower curtains or fruit and vegetables that have been lying in the refrigerator for a long time.
- Humid climate
- Air and
- Organic additives.
There are a lot of foods that can contain mold allergens. Therefore the food does not have to be obviously moldy. The affected foods include rye bread, apples and pips, citrus fruits, cheese, nuts, pistachios and spices, soft fruits (strawberries, grapes), dry bread, dairy products, fats and potatoes. Nuts, pistachios and spices may contain the particularly dreaded aflatoxins of Aspergillus flavus, which are proven to be carcinogenic. In free surroundings, molds are found above all in forests at humid-warm temperatures, as they are to be found for example on summer days or on autumn days.
Reaction of the human body
In the case of a mold allergy, the affected persons experience a so-called immediate reaction. If the affected person inhales mould, proteins of special structure bind to the intruder. This protein is also called IgE.
A mast cell then binds to this 2-er complex, which is of decisive importance in the immune reaction. If after days or weeks a mold spore penetrates the organism again, the mast cells can burst open. In the process, they release the messenger substance histamine, which causes the symptoms responsible for the allergic reaction.
As a rule, these reactions disappear as quickly as they came. In some cases, the symptoms manifest themselves and have to be treated with medication. In a cross-reaction or cross-allergy, the immune system reacts not only to the allergy-causing substance, but also to molecules that are biochemically similar to the substance.
In a mold allergy, which is often directed against a certain group of molds, similar substances are predominantly other spore-forming fungi. It is therefore quite possible that an allergy to a certain mold fungus also reacts to most other molds or that it is not possible to differentiate exactly which type of mold causes the actual allergic reaction. Caution is also necessary with some antibiotics: The group of the Penicilline descends biochemically from a mold fungus. Therefore, drugs containing penicillin or a related substance such as ampicillin or amoxicillin can trigger a cross-reaction in a person affected by a mold allergy.
