Alternaria is a genus of molds. They grow easily indoors, causing indoor air quality problems. They can trigger hay fever, which can lead to asthma.
There are at least 44 known species, although there may be hundreds more yet to be classified.
Alternaria can cause a great number of health problems, including allergies, growth in mucous membranes (e.g. eyes, respiratory tract etc.).
Many species produce toxins.
People often develop allergies to molds of this genus.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
does alternaria causes itching, rash, and burning on forehead and on your scalp. my daughter is having these problem all over her body. We had mold in our apt. and the owner put dehumifier in. No doctor have been able to tell me what the problem is with my forehead, but it didn’t start until they put dehumifier in. Could there still be some mold in the air Please help?
The dehumidifier should reduce the mold problem, but may not eliminate it. There isn’t necessarily a link but there could be so you should look into it more.
My daughter had a anaphylactic reaction a few months back, and we didn’t know what caused it. She was just tested for alternaria, and she is highly allergic. We think she breathed in the mold and coupled with her ragweed allergy, it started the anaphylactic response. She had hives–actually, she was one big hive, and she had an asthma attack.
Oh, that sounds nasty!
A lot of people are finding that their asthma is reduced or eliminated when they go on a gluten free diet. I don’t know if this is helpful for all people with asthma, or only those sensitive to gluten. If your daughter is prone to asthma, you might want to read Wheat, Gluten and Asthma.
Meanwhile, I hope she is able to avoid mold in general and alternaria in particular. How was she exposed to it?
Please advise in test rsults
raw ct (8)
sporesm3 (104)
percentage (3)
Sorry Sue, but I am not qualified to do so.
I know what allergies I have, I need a reliable website to get pictures of the molds etc. to know what to stay away from. Can you recomend a site for such information so that I can research? Thank you.
Identifying molds is difficult. If you see any type of mold, then conditions are probably good for other types of molds as well.
The best way to find images is image search in google.
allergic reaction/hives
not really a comment but hopefully you can answer a question. allergy skin tests showed allergy to alternaria. i break out in hives. can the alternaria cause hives???