Symptoms of Being in Contact With Black Mold

• Black mold can exacerbate asthma and trigger severe attacks. ballyscanlon/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  More than 150 types of black mold can trigger adverse symptoms, CNN's Health Desk reports, by acting as an allergen, producing mycotoxins and exacerbating pre-existing health conditions. Most black mold spores are light and tiny enough to drift through a home's air, where they can be inhaled unnoticed. While most people with healthy immune systems never experience symptoms from inhaling black mold, it's best to be proactive in preventing black mold accumulation by controlling the humidity in your home and workplace.

Allergy Symptoms

• Black mold triggers symptoms in people with mold allergies that include a scratchy throat, sneezing, coughing and burning, watery eyes. The Mayo Clinic reports that once someone who has a mold allergy is exposed to black mold, her immune system becomes programmed to respond to subsequent exposures by releasing histamines, the agents that cause the allergy symptoms. Doctors commonly prescribe corticosteroids, antihistamines and decongestants to treat allergic reactions to black mold.

Asthma Symptoms

• Asthma sufferers who inhale black mold spores exhibit the wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath that accompany asthma attacks. Black mold exposure typically makes asthma attacks more frequent and their symptoms more severe than normal, regardless of whether the afflicted person has mold allergies. The National Academy of Sciences reports that while exposure to black mold can aggravate existing asthma, there's no conclusive evidence to indicate that black mold exposure causes new cases of asthma.

Histoplasmosis Symptoms

• Histoplasmosis is a potentially lethal condition caused by inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum spores. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicates that most people exposed to these black-mold spores exhibit no symptoms, but those who are sensitive to the spores exhibit symptoms three to 17 days after exposure. Symptoms including joint and body aches, chills, lethargy and a dry, hacking cough can easily be mistakenly attributed to a mild case of the flu. In disseminated histoplasmosis, the condition's most virulent form, the upper respiratory infection caused by the spores can spread to other organs and can be fatal even with antifungal treatment and surgical intervention.

Invasive Aspergillosis Symptoms

• Invasive aspergillosis is characterized by the spread of a mold-spore infection from the lungs to the body's other organs. While specific symptoms vary depending on the afflicted organs, common aspergillosis symptoms include fever, chills, joint pain and coughing up blood. People with low white blood cell counts, including chemotherapy patients, leukemia sufferers and organ-transplant recipients, are particularly vulnerable to invasive aspergillosis. Treatments may include antibiotic and antifungal medications or surgery to remove an accumulation of spores.