• Moisture control is the key to mildew control.mold on petrified wood image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
  
  Mildew is another word for mold, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, can grow on wood, paper, carpet and foods when there is excessive moisture indoors. It is the mold spores, mold fragments and the mycotoxins they contain that cause health problems. The agency reports that potential health effects and symptoms related to mildew exposure include allergic reactions, asthma attacks and other respiratory complaints.
  
  

Allergic Reactions

• According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mildew can cause eye irritation, wheezing, nasal stuffiness and skin irritation. These reactions may become severe among people exposed to large amounts of mildew, such as farmers dealing with moldy hay. The agency asserts that excessive exposure to mold can cause fever and shortness of breath.
  
  The Rhode Island Department of Health adds that other allergic symptoms can include itching, coughing, headache and fatigue. Children, the elderly, those undergoing chemotherapy, and people who have their immune systems compromised by cancer, liver disease or HIV infection are more sensitive to molds than others.
  
  

Asthma Attacks

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that breathing in mold can cause an attack of asthma in people who already have asthma. Mildew induces coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest and trouble breathing.
  
  According to the Institute of Medicine, one in 10 Americans have allergy-related asthma. Eliminating mildew growing behind walls and beneath floors in the home and workplace can control many of these asthma attacks.
  
  

Respiratory Complaints

• Researchers at the Mayo Clinic report that fungus is the likely cause of nearly all cases of chronic sinusitis. Although some fungi are unicellular yeasts and mushrooms, many are molds which, according to the EPA, are responsible for a variety of respiratory complaints.
  
  The Institute of Medicine found in 2004 sufficient evidence to link indoor mold exposure to upper respiratory tract symptoms, cough, and wheeze in otherwise healthy adults and children. They also found mold linked to hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a disease resembling bacterial pneumonia, in individuals susceptible to that condition.
  
  In normal individuals, breathing in mold spores can irritate the throat and, over time, possibly weaken the immune system, causing chronic respiratory diseases often disguised as nasal and sinus congestion. The EPA reports that people with chronic lung illnesses such as obstructive lung disease are even vulnerable to developing mildew infections in their lungs.