Kabi-Mondai Frequently Asked Questions
Q.
Jan. 17, 2012. Hi,there! I have lived in Japan for almost 8yrs now, and I
think am suffering from mold exposure in my house, am very sick and did a
lot of test and all seems to be normal, here are some of the symptoms I do
have, skin itching, itchy throat, dry cough, red eyes, abnormal body pain,
runny nose with mucous coming from my nose, headache and digestion
problem, I did check two type of molds penicillum and aspergillus both are
negative, probably I might be suffering from black mold or others species,
here is my scenario I don't where should I go to get tested for black mold
or other species here in Japan! i have been in all big hospitals in
Kanagawa and around Tokyo, but the doctors seems not be aware/understand
how serious mold can make someone sick! Secondly i need my house to be
inspected for mold what should I do? and third if it happens mold to reach
digestive track how do treat mold digestive track problems?
A.
Your first step should be to read three of my mold advice ebooks: (1) Mold
Health Guide; (2) Mold Monsters; and (3) Do It Best Yourself Mold
Inspection, Testing, Remediation, and Prevention, only $15 each for email
attachment delivery to you from http://www.moldmart.net.
Your health problems such as skin itching,itchy throat, dry cough, red
eyes, abnormal body pain, runny nose with mucous coming from your nose,
headache and digestion problems are typical health symptoms people suffer
from when they live or work in mold infestation. I agree with you that
most doctors are ignorant about mold: (1) ignorant about mold diseases and
symptoms; (2) ignorant about how to do diagnose and treat mold health
problems. Doctor ignorance about mold health is one of the biggest reasons
to read my Mold Health Guide carefully so that you can make
recommendations to your doctor as to both mold diagnostic and treatment
procedures. One of the most valuable medical tests you can do is to have
your blood tested for mold antibodies that your body products to try to
defend your body against internal mold growth. You should also ask your
doctor about prescribing for you itraconazole, a very, very effective
anti-fungal medicine. Do you own or rent where you live in Japan???
Thanks, Phillip Fry, Certified Environmental Hygienist, Certified Mold
Inspector, and Certified Mold Remediator
Q.
Our family moved to
Tokyo
just under 2 years ago. I had some allergies before
coming to Japan. However, since coming to
Japan,
my allergies have been more frequent and stronger. My
supervisors asked me to see an allergist in February 2005.
After testing, my top 4
allergies proved to be mould, ragweed, red alder, and Japanese cedar.
At first, I have tried some simple natural and over-the-counter
answers to my allergies, and tried to plow through the more challenging
weeks. Recently, I started doing some more web
research too. The 3 pollen allergies (ragweed, alder,
& Japanese cedar) seem to be manageable by understanding the seasons for
these pollens and taking allergy medicine (even in advance of the season
if possible). I am scheduled to consult further with a
couple of physicians this week.The mould issue seems to
be a different category. I sent some of my web
research to our supervisors, and requested a mould inspection to rule out
the more dangerous types of mould. The response that I
am receiving so far is a reluctance to invest in the mould inspection,
because it would likely be very expensive. Instead,
one option being discussed the possibility of moving us and simply tearing
the building down (which is owned by the company) after we move.
We are open to moving soon (even though school has just started for
our 3 girls), since some moulds can be so serious.
If we DO move and DO
NOT do a mould inspection (and the building is torn down in roughly a
year), our question is, “What proof will we have that our roughly 2 years
here might have significantly contributed to family health concerns down
the line?” We prefer to know yes or no whether any of
the moulds in this house may be related to some health issues.
From what I have read on the internet, our home is very vulnerable
to the conditions for mould. One key decision-maker
in our company should be back in country tomorrow. It
is possible this matter may be discussed at some level within the company
as soon as Wednesday or Thursday of this week. Any and
all counsel would be appreciated. Here are some
questions:
1)
What is
your perspective of the situation I have described?
2)
We do not
prefer to do the mould testing ourselves, because we know that we are not
professionals, and we do not want our unprofessional conclusions to be the
basis of decision-making for our family or the company. Could
you recommend any professionals in
Japan?
3)
What kind
of cost for a mould inspection would be fair?
A. Mould test kits used by your
following our instructions are very effective, especially when you have
the test kit lab results done by our USA partner mold analysis lab [only US$60
per mould lab sample]. You are not going to find top-knotch experts in mould
[kabi in Japanese] in Japan because mould is not yet a concern to
Japanese---YET.
Mould test kits are available at
http://www.envirodetectives.com/mold_test_kits.htm
and would be sent to you in Japan via postal airmail from the USA. With your family's
health problems, you would be wise to move a mould-safe place as soon as
possible. Prior to moving into the new place to live, be sure to use mould
test kits to mould test the air of each room therein and of the outward air
flow from each heating/cooling duct register for the possible presence of
elevated levels of airborne mould spores, in comparison to an outdoor mould
control test. Mould is a huge health risk in Japan because of the nation's
high humidity and
rampant, unmitigated mould growth.
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