Housing issue for son

[tastyjane]

Re: Housing issue for son

Thanks both, I have PM'd PlanB and will see what she says.

Elsa, I think it is this mold - Stachybotrys Chartarum - the symptoms of an allergy to this mold are classic to what Josh is experiencing

Mental and Neurological Symptoms From Toxic Black Mold

The trichothecene mycotoxins
produced by toxic black mold are neurotoxic. This means they can kill neurons in the brain and impair a person's mental ability. They also cause nervous disorders such as tremors and can cause personality changes such as mood swings and irritability.

Symptoms:

• Confusion
• Brain fog
• Shortened attention span
• Difficulty concentrating and paying attention
• Slowed reflexes
• Disorientation
• Dizziness
• Memory loss and memory problems
• Impaired learning ability
• Hallucinations
• Shock
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Aggression and other personality changes
• Tingling
• Trembling
• Shaking
• Seizure
• Numbness

luckily he has only got to the Dizziness stage and I hope that we can sort this and he can get better. It has been horrific to see a really healthy young man change over the weeks - it is putting his relationship at risk as well as his job as he is just too exhausted to function properly even though he is still trying to go to work they have had to take him to A&E once as he passed out!




Jane x

[Undercover Elsa]

Re: Housing issue for son

Hi honey,
Dear me, sorry to hear your son has been going through this.
It sounds very much like allergic aspergillosis. Aspergillus is a mould which forms in damp, be it buildings or rotting vegetation etc.
Have a look here: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Aspergi...es/Causes.aspx

It is treatable with antifungal medication, thankfully. He definitely shouldn't be going back to live there until it's sorted out. My first step (after the doctor's) would be to have a word with Environmental Health, who would investigate and possibly declare the house unfit for habitation until rectified. I would think that and proof of his illness would get him out of the contract.
See what PlanB has to say - she may have come across this situation before.
Hope he gets this sorted out and feels better soon

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Housing issue for son

You need planB. Send her a quick PM.

[tastyjane]

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right place to post but I really need some help from anyone who has experience of landlords and leasing. My son and his girlfriend moved into an apartment in July; he has been waiting for an appointment with an ENT specialist for a problem with his throat. Over the past 12 weeks he has been getting progressively poorly - to be honest we have all put it down to his throat problem and if I am being honest I thought he was becoming depressed from it which was causing the exhaustion and lifelessness he was presenting. It has got to the point that he is unable to function - is suffering terrible headaches and is completely wiped out - so much so that the doctor wants to sign him off work.

Anyway - they have been to stay with his girlfriends parents and its like he is a different man - the fog in his head has lifted and he feels he is totally different. Chatting with her parents Josh just happens to mention that the "mold" on their bedroom ceiling is getting worse and worse.

Anyway 24 hours of googling and I believe he is suffering from a severe allergy to black mold (he hadn't mentioned the mold on their bedroom ceiling before!). He has all the symptoms and as his exposure increases he is getting worse and worse.

I have arranged for a test to be sent to them to establish what type of mold it is and he is going to make an emergency appointment with his doctor tomorrow to see if they can do further blood tests (he has been undergoing extensive tests for the symptoms which we all thought was related to his throat) after explaining about the mold.

My worry is that they have signed a 12 month lease, if it is this mold that is making him so ill then I don't want them to stay there - honestly he has changed from a very healthy 24 year old who played football 3 times a week and thought nothing of working 18 hour shifts to someone who is chronically ill and cannot function!

Can anyone with any housing experience give me any advice how we approach this with the landlord and their agents? The last tenants had de humidifiers all around the apartment but Josh didn't think to question it at the time!

Thanks in advance.

Jane x