Ever since Penicillin was put into mass production back in the 1940’s, it has been noted that some people have experienced adverse reactions to the drug. What is penicillin?
Penicillin is an antibiotic that has been used for the past 70 years or so to treat different kinds of illnesses and infections. It comes from the mold penicillin notatum, which is a blue-green kind of mold sometimes found growing on food. Before the invention of this drug, infections and diseases that are only minor to us could very well be fatal. Because it is made from mold and reproduces quickly, it’s not very difficult to manufacture at all and therefore it is the most popular antibiotic in use worldwide today.
If you are allergic to penicillin or know someone who is, you might know a bit about what to expect if your new baby is allergic. If not, you should know that an allergic reaction to penicillin, especially at such a young age, can be fatal. These reactions can be anything from a simple skin rash all the way to breathing difficulties that can be life-threatening. If you go to a doctor regularly, you should have had to answer a question on a form that asked if you were allergic to penicillin. This is so they know whether or not they can administer the drug if you are admitted to the hospital because it is the most frequently occurring drug allergy in existence today.
Even though penicillin is a drug made from mold designed to help us fight infections, you can be allergic to it like any other mold. The medical industry is unsure why some people have reactions to penicillin and some do not, but knowing if you are allergic is very important. Some only have minor symptoms when exposed to the drug and some can be put near death by it. The only treatment for being allergic to the drug is simply not to use it. There are other antibiotics that can be used to fight infections besides penicillin.
The symptoms of a penicillin allergy include swollen lips, tongue, and face or sometimes rashes or hives that can cover a large area of the body. The most life-threatening reaction to the drug is when the bronchial airway becomes extremely swollen and it causes difficulty breathing. This can be followed by a drop in your blood pressure and will cause lightheadedness. This kind of reaction can be fatal and if you experience any of these symptoms after receiving a dose of penicillin, you should tell your doctor as soon as you can. If you are allergic, it’s possible that your newborn will be allergic as well, so your child’s doctor needs to know this before giving them a dose of the drug.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
Connecticut water damage restoration companies across the united states.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Mold Trouble in Florida
If you live in Florida, you have probably experienced some damage to your home due to hurricanes, especially water damage. Mold also likes to start growing in homes that have been water damaged after hurricanes and other storms, especially since Florida is characterized by warm and moist weather. Mold can start to grow in these homes after about 48 hours, so it’s important to get any standing water in the home removed and the home dried out as soon as possible.
A large amount of all the buildings in Florida have to deal with some kind of water or mold damage and a lot of the time this is due to the frequent hurricanes that hit the state almost every single year. The electricity goes down and people are not able to use their air conditioners to help air out and dry the home. Air conditioners can also help to remove humidity by keeping the house at a certain temperature.
If you want to have a healthy and safe indoor environment to live in, you need to make sure your air conditioner is properly serviced as often as is necessary. If it is an old system and has a lot of problems, it is probably best to just replace it instead of doing work on it repeatedly.
Sometimes indoor air quality tests need to be done and not just in Florida. Mold testing should be done and while it’s become a multi-million dollar business industry, it is a necessary one. Mold has been proved to be very harmful to human (and animal) health. When you choose a company to do mold testing or remediation keep it in mind not to choose the same company to do both for you. If a company does both mold testing and removal, it is in their best interest for them to find mold on your property, so even if they say there is mold there, it might not be.
Make sure they have the latest technology in mold testing such as infrared thermal cameras, mold spore counters, air moisture meters, and etcetera. The company should also have a microbiologist in house and certified mold inspectors.
They should inspect the air conditioner, the exterior, plumbing, and they should perform moisture tests around the whole house.
You should do these things even if you do not live in Florida, but a large part of the state of Florida is at risk for water and mold damage because of the moisture and humidity that can exist there.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
north carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation companies across the united states.
A large amount of all the buildings in Florida have to deal with some kind of water or mold damage and a lot of the time this is due to the frequent hurricanes that hit the state almost every single year. The electricity goes down and people are not able to use their air conditioners to help air out and dry the home. Air conditioners can also help to remove humidity by keeping the house at a certain temperature.
If you want to have a healthy and safe indoor environment to live in, you need to make sure your air conditioner is properly serviced as often as is necessary. If it is an old system and has a lot of problems, it is probably best to just replace it instead of doing work on it repeatedly.
Sometimes indoor air quality tests need to be done and not just in Florida. Mold testing should be done and while it’s become a multi-million dollar business industry, it is a necessary one. Mold has been proved to be very harmful to human (and animal) health. When you choose a company to do mold testing or remediation keep it in mind not to choose the same company to do both for you. If a company does both mold testing and removal, it is in their best interest for them to find mold on your property, so even if they say there is mold there, it might not be.
Make sure they have the latest technology in mold testing such as infrared thermal cameras, mold spore counters, air moisture meters, and etcetera. The company should also have a microbiologist in house and certified mold inspectors.
They should inspect the air conditioner, the exterior, plumbing, and they should perform moisture tests around the whole house.
You should do these things even if you do not live in Florida, but a large part of the state of Florida is at risk for water and mold damage because of the moisture and humidity that can exist there.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
north carolina flood water damage restoration and other states such as
New Jersey mold remediation companies across the united states.
Mold Testing Kits
If you become concerned that mold exists on your property, the first thing that you should do is buy a mold testing kit. These test kits that you can use on your own are used to determine if mold does in fact exist in your home and to identify what kind of mold you are dealing with and if it is dangerous to you. These kits do not tell you just how much mold is growing in your home and will not tell you everything that a professional mold inspector can.
Mold testing kits include either a stick or a Petri dish that has something for the mold to attach to and grow in. The mold must grow on this item so the lab can determine what kind of mold you are dealing with.
The benefits of home mold testing kits are fairly decent. They are inexpensive for the most part and it does not typically take long for the results to come back from the lab.
Mold tests can be used in order to sample the mold in your home that you can see visually growing on the walls or on the floor and you can find out whether this mold is dangerous to your health or not. All molds are bad for the internal structure of your home, but not all of it will be harmful to your health. Either way it is a good idea to have it removed.
You can also use these tests to sample the air in your home. The air you are breathing may or may not be healthy due to a hidden mold problem. Testing the air being put out by your air conditioner is a good way to find out if there is mold where you live if you cannot find a visible infection.
These Petri dishes can also be placed around your home and if there are mold spores in the air, they will settle onto the dishes and begin to grow.
Unfortunately, you have to follow the instructions included with the tests or they will not be of any use to you. They simply will not return accurate results.
Something else that is unfortunate is the fact that the tests will not just pick up one kind of mold in your home; if there is more than one kind of mold growing in your home, it will pick them all up and molds do not tend to grow at the same speeds. Aspergillus molds, for example, tend to grow faster than Stachybotrys chartarum.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and other states such as
north carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
Mold testing kits include either a stick or a Petri dish that has something for the mold to attach to and grow in. The mold must grow on this item so the lab can determine what kind of mold you are dealing with.
The benefits of home mold testing kits are fairly decent. They are inexpensive for the most part and it does not typically take long for the results to come back from the lab.
Mold tests can be used in order to sample the mold in your home that you can see visually growing on the walls or on the floor and you can find out whether this mold is dangerous to your health or not. All molds are bad for the internal structure of your home, but not all of it will be harmful to your health. Either way it is a good idea to have it removed.
You can also use these tests to sample the air in your home. The air you are breathing may or may not be healthy due to a hidden mold problem. Testing the air being put out by your air conditioner is a good way to find out if there is mold where you live if you cannot find a visible infection.
These Petri dishes can also be placed around your home and if there are mold spores in the air, they will settle onto the dishes and begin to grow.
Unfortunately, you have to follow the instructions included with the tests or they will not be of any use to you. They simply will not return accurate results.
Something else that is unfortunate is the fact that the tests will not just pick up one kind of mold in your home; if there is more than one kind of mold growing in your home, it will pick them all up and molds do not tend to grow at the same speeds. Aspergillus molds, for example, tend to grow faster than Stachybotrys chartarum.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and other states such as
north carolina mold remediation companies across the united states.
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