Hidden Mold Crisis in American Schools

Parents worry about what their children eat. We worry about chemicals, medications, screen time, behavioral problems, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, allergies and eczema. Schools spend enormous amounts of money trying to improve academic performance and address behavioral and developmental problems.

But there is another question that deserves far more attention:

What if the building itself is contributing to some of these problems?

Across the United States, schools have dealt with leaking roofs, flooding, plumbing failures, aging HVAC systems, condensation, excessive humidity and water-damaged building materials. Once drywall, ceiling tiles, insulation, carpeting, wood and other porous materials remain wet, they can provide an environment where mold and other microorganisms can grow.

The EPA recognizes dampness and mold as significant indoor-air-quality concerns in schools and reports that dampness and mold are associated with increased respiratory and asthma-related health problems. The EPA also recognizes that the physical environment of a school can influence attendance, health and academic performance.

Yet we continue to treat mold primarily as a building-maintenance problem.

It may be time to start treating it as a children’s health problem.

Mold Exposure Isn’t Just About Allergies

When most people hear the words “mold exposure,” they think about sneezing, coughing and allergies.

Those problems are real, but the potential health picture is considerably larger.

A major review of epidemiological research found indoor dampness or mold consistently associated with asthma development and exacerbation, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, respiratory infections, bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, upper respiratory symptoms and eczema.

For children, that matters enormously.

Imagine trying to learn while you cannot breathe properly.

Imagine taking a math test after spending half the night awake because your skin was itching.

Imagine trying to concentrate while experiencing headaches, congestion, coughing, sinus pressure or exhaustion.

The physical symptoms are only the beginning of the potential chain reaction.

What If Some “Behavior Problems” Have an Environmental Component?

When a child becomes restless, irritable, emotional, withdrawn, hyperactive or unable to concentrate, we naturally begin looking at the child.

Does this child have ADHD?

Does this child need counseling?

Is there a behavioral disorder?

Is there a problem at home?

Does the child need medication?

Those questions can be completely appropriate.

But we should also be asking what that child is being exposed to for 30 or 40 hours every week.

Research has begun examining this issue.

One large study involving thousands of children specifically investigated indoor dampness and mold in relation to behavioral problems. Other prospective research has associated persistent dampness during early childhood with poorer measures of cognitive function and social competence.

Another prospective birth-cohort study followed children exposed to mold-contaminated homes and investigated their subsequent cognitive function at six years old.

These studies should make us pay attention.

They don’t mean every behavioral problem or learning disability is caused by mold. They mean the relationship between children’s environments, their brains and their behavior deserves much more serious investigation.

Learning Problems May Be Part of a Much Larger Picture

The brain doesn’t operate independently from the rest of the body.

A child dealing with chronic inflammation, respiratory problems, poor sleep, allergic symptoms, itching, headaches or repeated illness is not entering the classroom under the same conditions as a healthy, well-rested child.

Now imagine that exposure occurring:

Six or seven hours a day.

Five days a week.

Approximately nine months every year.

Year after year.

Difficulty concentrating can become difficulty learning.

Poor sleep can become poor memory and attention.

Repeated illness can become repeated absences.

Chronic physical discomfort can become irritability or behavioral problems.

And over time, these children can simply become known as the kids who “can’t focus,” “can’t behave” or “can’t keep up.”

The EPA itself recognizes the connection between indoor environmental quality, student health, attendance and academic performance. Better ventilation has been associated with better performance on standardized math and reading tests, while moisture and mold control can reduce respiratory illness and absenteeism.

Before automatically assuming the problem exists entirely inside the child, we need to look at the building surrounding the child.

Eczema and Skin Problems Shouldn’t Be Ignored

Eczema is another piece of this puzzle that receives far too little attention.

A comprehensive review found indoor dampness or mold consistently associated with eczema, with 89% of the reported odds ratios examined exceeding 1.0.

For a child, severe eczema isn’t merely a cosmetic skin condition.

It can mean relentless itching, inflammation, discomfort and disrupted sleep.

And then the secondary consequences begin.

The child sleeps poorly.

The child wakes up exhausted.

Attention declines.

Irritability increases.

School becomes more difficult.

Behavior changes.

Once again, what appears in the classroom as a learning or behavioral problem may have a physical component underneath it.

And Then There Is the Question of Autism

This is one of the areas that deserves much more research.

Autism is complex, and genetics clearly play an important role. But researchers have increasingly investigated environmental factors that could potentially interact with genetic susceptibility during development.

Mold and fungal toxins known as mycotoxins have been included in that research.

One study involving 172 children with autism and 61 controls measured several mycotoxins and reported statistically significant differences between the groups for several measured compounds. The researchers concluded that the possible role of mycotoxins in autism warranted deeper examination.

Another published review examined potential neurological and immune effects of mycotoxins and discussed possible pathways involving inflammation and immune activation that could be relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

A small earlier study also examined mold/mycotoxin-exposed children and neurobehavioral abnormalities in children with autism.

At the same time, the research is not uniform. A separate pilot case-control study of school-aged children found no association between measured urinary mycotoxins and an autism diagnosis.

So we should not pretend science has answered this question.

It hasn’t.

But that shouldn’t end the conversation.

It should begin one.

If researchers are investigating relationships among fungal toxins, inflammation, immune activation, neurological function and neurodevelopment, shouldn’t we be doing everything reasonably possible to reduce unnecessary mold exposure in the places where children spend enormous portions of their lives?

Especially for children who are already neurologically or immunologically vulnerable?

Think About the Possible Chain Reaction

A school develops a roof leak.

Water repeatedly enters the ceiling.

The ceiling dries on the outside, but moisture remains inside the building cavity.

Mold grows.

Eventually the leak is patched and the stained ceiling tile is replaced.

Everyone assumes the problem has been solved.

But what happened inside the wall or ceiling?

Now imagine a susceptible child sitting underneath that area every day.

The child begins developing congestion.

Then headaches.

Then eczema.

Sleep becomes worse.

The child wakes up exhausted.

Concentration declines.

The child becomes increasingly irritable.

Grades begin dropping.

The teacher notices behavioral changes.

The parents are called.

The child is evaluated.

Maybe medications are introduced.

Everyone is asking:

“What is wrong with this child?”

But nobody asks:

“What happened to this building?”

That is the question America needs to start asking more often.

Why Doesn’t Everyone in the Classroom Get Sick?

This is one of the arguments commonly used to dismiss environmental illness:

“If the school were making children sick, wouldn’t everyone be sick?”

No.

Human beings aren’t biologically identical.

One child has asthma.

Another has eczema.

Another has significant allergies.

Another has different genetics.

Another has an underlying immune vulnerability.

Another may have experienced completely different environmental exposures throughout childhood.

One child might develop respiratory symptoms while another experiences primarily skin problems.

Another may struggle with fatigue or concentration.

Another may appear completely unaffected.

Different responses do not automatically mean that an environmental exposure isn’t occurring.

Mold Doesn’t Always Look Like Mold

Perhaps the most dangerous misconception is that someone should be able to walk into a classroom and see a giant black patch on the wall.

Water can enter behind walls.

It can collect underneath flooring.

It can soak insulation.

It can affect ceiling cavities.

HVAC components can retain moisture.

Condensation can repeatedly wet surfaces.

Carpeting can remain damp.

A building can have a history of roof leaks or flooding long before the current students ever entered it.

And replacing a ceiling tile doesn’t necessarily tell you what happened above that ceiling.

That is why schools need to investigate moisture, not simply visible mold.

We Need to Stop Normalizing Sick Buildings

If a classroom repeatedly leaks, investigate it.

If a school smells musty, investigate it.

If ceiling tiles repeatedly develop water stains, investigate the source.

If carpeting has been repeatedly wet, investigate it.

If HVAC systems are producing condensation or excessive humidity, correct the problem.

And if groups of children or teachers begin reporting unexplained respiratory problems, eczema, headaches, fatigue or other symptoms that appear associated with a particular building, investigate the environment instead of immediately dismissing the people reporting the problem.

We shouldn’t need absolute proof that a particular building caused a particular child’s illness before correcting obvious water damage.

That is backwards.

The objective should be preventing exposure in the first place.

America’s Children Deserve Better

We are witnessing enormous numbers of children struggling with asthma, allergies, eczema, behavioral problems, attention difficulties, developmental disorders and learning challenges.

There will never be one explanation for all of these conditions.

But environmental health belongs in the conversation.

We should be investigating how chronic exposure to damp buildings, mold, microbial contaminants and poor indoor air quality may interact with genetics, immunity, inflammation, sleep and neurological development.

And we should be asking a very uncomfortable question:

How many children are struggling inside buildings that are contributing to their problems while everyone around them is focused exclusively on treating the child?

Maybe the child who cannot concentrate doesn’t simply need more discipline.

Maybe the child whose eczema keeps exploding doesn’t simply need another cream.

Maybe the child whose asthma repeatedly worsens doesn’t simply need another inhaler adjustment.

Maybe the child experiencing headaches and exhaustion isn’t simply trying to get out of school.

And when a child with autism, ADHD, learning difficulties or sensory problems suddenly becomes substantially more symptomatic inside a particular environment, perhaps the environment deserves investigation too.

Sometimes we need to stop asking only what is wrong with our children and start asking what is wrong with the buildings we are putting them in.

Schools should be among the safest environments in a child’s life.

Clean air, dry buildings and aggressive prevention of water damage shouldn’t be optional.

They should be considered fundamental components of protecting children’s health.

Because children only get one childhood—and they should not have to spend it breathing inside water-damaged buildings.

Matt Nedin
Certified Holistic Nutritionist
EndSickness, Founder
Phone: (734) 846-8619
WhatsApp: +17348468619
Email: endsickness@gmail.com