I am a teacher in Maryland and my building has a lot of mold, mildew. Teachers and children are getting very sick. We are experiencing asthma, shortness of breathe, coughing, rashes and many other symptoms. Where in Maryland can we go to be tested for mold in our bodies beside an allergy doctor.
Thanks for the question. Asthma and related symptoms can certainly be very uncomfortable. You rightly recognize mold as an asthmatic trigger, something that irritates the lungs when inhaled and causes asthma attacks. Fortunately, the amount of mold that is inhaled is very small, and there is no need to have any kind of testing for mold in your body. On very rare occasions, people who are immunocompromised can get fungal infections in the lung, or a specific chronic fungal irritation known as Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergilli (APA), but these are rare and very likely not relevant here. If you are especially concerned, you can visit your primary care doctor for further diagnosis and treatment. For now, my only recommendation is to stay away from that mold! I hope this helps.