Disturbing selfies reveal horrific impact of 'silent killer' that could be lurking in your home

A parent has revealed the alarming effect that vulnerability to household damp and mould had connected her face—resulting successful dramatically swollen lips and cheeks. 

Joanna Hayes, 42, and her two-year-old girl broke retired successful achy reddish rashes, blisters and utmost swelling, which they judge are linked to the grim authorities of their home.

Ms Hayes, from Worcestershire, was forced to telephone an ambulance earlier this year, erstwhile she struggled to respire and astir mislaid consciousness.

Doctors astatine the infirmary confirmed she was having an utmost allergic absorption to mould spores successful her home. 

This tin hap erstwhile microscopic fungi particles successful the aerial are inhaled, triggering the over-reaction of the immune system.

Ms Hayes and her girl moved into the two-bedroom assembly level successful Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, past June but wrong months the spot was engulfed by achromatic spores.

Disturbing images amusement mould spreading crossed the walls arsenic good arsenic shoes successful the bottommost of a cupboard.

Mushrooms were besides visibly increasing connected the sofa successful the damp surviving room.

The foundation idiosyncratic is present excessively frightened to participate the spot and she and her girl person been forced to slumber successful their car. 

'Soon aft we moved in, we noticed shadows connected the walls and achromatic mould,' she said.

'I initially treated it myself but the mould got worse and worse the colder it got to the constituent wherever the wallpaper was falling off.

'When the bedewed upwind acceptable in, the damp and mould became much and much obvious.

'When I unfastened my daughter's chamber doorway successful the morning, a immense question of freezing acold aerial hits me.

'There is simply a large spot of mould successful the surviving country and adjacent mould nether the bed. It is everywhere.'

Mould tends to thrive successful warm, humid environments and tin beryllium hard to spot successful your home. 

In England, astir 2 cardinal radical are surviving successful homes with important damp and/or mould, authoritative figures suggest. 

It is estimated up to 1,250 deaths successful the UK each twelvemonth are attributed to achromatic mould exposure.

While determination aren't circumstantial figures for the fig of children who person died from the unsafe fungi, 1 poignant lawsuit is that of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died successful December 2020 aft vulnerability to mould successful his home.

The spores successful the one-bedroom lodging relation level wherever helium lived with his parents successful Rochdale, Greater Manchester, triggered a deadly respiratory condition.

Mr Abdullah repeatedly raised the contented with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) but nary enactment was taken.

RBH said it was 'truly sorry' for Awaab's death.

Ms Hayes is present demanding Community Housing, which owns the flat, to destruct the mould oregon find her a caller home.

She added: 'I reported it to Community Housing and the squad did a mould wash, but it didn't enactment and it conscionable keeps coming back.

'Me and my girl person started to endure endless thorax infections and ENT issues truthful my two-year-old needs an inhaler.

'She shouldn't request an inhaler astatine two, she's conscionable exhausted.'

The parent described paramedics' daze astatine the authorities of her location erstwhile they arrived to instrumentality her to infirmary earlier this year.

She said: 'I told the paramedics astir the mould and they went into my daughter's room. They said the conditions were unacceptable.

'The absorption made maine realise that thing sinister is going connected successful the level and the mould spores are having a carnal interaction connected my health.

'I'm successful fearfulness for my beingness and I can't hazard dropping down dormant successful the spot and leaving my two-year-old to fend for herself.'

She is presently having allergy tests conducted by the GP, but they person advised her to permission the spot owed to the wellness risks.

Signs of mould astatine location tin often spell undetected, but it often involves fuzzy black, white, greenish oregon achromatic patches connected the walls, and a damp and musty smell. 

Inhaling oregon touching the spores that mould releases into the aerial tin origin an allergic reaction, specified arsenic sneezing, a runny nose, reddish eyes and a tegument rash.

Mould tin besides trigger asthma attacks and different respiratory problems, origin coughing, wheezing and breathlessness.

The microscopic fungus causes these conditions by releasing thousands of toxic particles into the atmosphere. 

Ms Hayes said: 'My girl has been a small trooper passim each of this, but I request to deliberation of her and I don't cognize wherever other to turn.

'I consciousness similar we've been abandoned by Community Housing.'

Community Housing has apologised for the conditions successful her level and said it volition proceed to enactment her to consciousness 'safe and well' successful her home.

A spokesperson said: 'We are atrocious that Ms Hayes has been experiencing problems with damp and mould successful her home.

'We person been moving intimately with her to rectify the occupation and woody with different repairs she has reported.

'We person further works planned to dainty the affected areas and person kept Ms Hayes informed of the advancement of this.

'We volition proceed to enactment her and transportation retired repairs to alteration her to consciousness harmless and good successful her home.'