Persistent rain, floods and humidity on the North Coast means that many of us have become familiar with mould. But how much do you know about mould and the impact of mould on health?
Healthy North Coast is hosting the webinar “Mould: a health hazard”. It is designed to help health care providers address patients with illnesses related to mould in the indoor environment by providing background understanding of how mould may be affecting patients.
Register here for the webinar, which will be held on 22 February 2023 at 7:00pm. Key papers that clinicians should be aware of will be summarised to help participants dovetail into the content and learning outcome objectives.
For some people moulds can cause symptoms such as a runny nose, eye irritation, cough, congestion, tiredness and asthma-like problems or respiratory infections. Symptoms depend on the amount of airborne mould spores a person is exposed to, and how sensitive they are to moulds.
When patients present to primary care services with symptoms and health concerns, it’s important that clinicians are equipped to consider environmental factors. In some cases, patients’ exposure to moulds in their homes, offices, schools, and workplaces may be having a significant effect.
This webinar will present guidance and tools to help providers evaluate their patients and explore environmental relationships to illness.
The content covered includes:
- what is mould and what are the different types
- the risk to health from mould
- why it’s important to consider and to test/not test for mould
- evaluation tools for recognising moisture-related illness
- management and remediation of moisture-related illness – how to treat moulds in the environment; what’s safe for the individual; when would you consider an occupational hygienist/professional cleaner.
Learning outcomes:
- underscore the role of clinicians in the identification of mould-related environmental disease
- explain the current understanding of the relationship between mould exposure and illness
- outline approaches to diagnosis in children and adults
- provide an approach to environmental assessment
- offer strategies for clinical management and preventive intervention.
Dr Cameron Jones will present the webinar. He is a microbiologist/mycologist who has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and more than 2500 technical reports on air quality and microbial pathogens. One of Australia’s top mould experts, he passionately provides advice on how to create a healthy home or office after water damage via his podcast The Mould Show.
Dr Jones’ role is to show how science and health are connected and he offers practical advice on the impact of mould and other bio-contaminants after flooding or similar and what remediation strategies should be applied to reduce risk to those exposed.