To think mould has made my baby Ill?!!

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My 10 week old baby has broncilitis 3 weeks ago, she has now started coughing again but not as bad although the cough can last for a very long time :-(
We have the humidifier on every night and the walls and curtains are always wet in the morning from it but soon dry off although I don't use central heating much as was told it can make asthma worse so use a portable radiator.
Well today I was doing a big clean and noticed under the window an curtains a patch of mould say a foot square, concealed by the chest of drawers.
The chest of drawers also has some mould growth.
I've binned it and cleaned the carpet, dried the curtains and have left the window slightly ajar to stop the condensation but could this have made her Ill, this peice of mould??

The hospital should have warned you that bronchilitis does often come back. Asthma is made worse by cold so surely it's wiser to use the central heating? Mould spores do contribute to asthma though. Mould is caused by inadequate ventillation so your best bet is to stick the heating on.

also if you are using a humidifier this will be making the air more wet and mould will continue to grow. We used to live in an old terraced house and needed a dehumidifier on all day during winter which helped keep the condensation down. I would suggest this and whack the heating on the dry out the house, also open the windows and air out the house every day.

the damp and condensation is more likely the cause IMO.

Damp and mould behind furniture is characteristic of condensation, as the furnitire prevents heat getting to that part of the wall, so it is colder and gets more condensation and damp.

I am going to guess that you are in the habit of draping wet washing around the house or over radiators as this is the largest cause of damp in UK houses. The moisture diffuses round the house, and rises upstairs since it is lighter than air. Do you have plastic windows? Have they got trickle vents?

Do you have an extractor fan in the bathroom? Or in the kitchen? If so I can suggest something.

"also if you are using a humidifier this will be making the air more wet and mould will continue to grow."

That's not true. Is it what you meant to say?

You can get anti-mould and mildew sprays - might be worth picking one of those up.

Living in damp and moldy housing can increase likely hood of respiratory conditions like chest infection etc but that is all it does.

We live in a very damp and moldy house - lots of chest infections for both DC and me but didn't affect DH. Few years later one of our DC has asthma as do I - may well have always been on the cards for us but suspect that house didn't help.

I hadn't heard of central heating making asthma worse ? it is how we heat our house. Changes in air temperature make it worse - ie going from warm to cold or other way round - and cold air can be an irritation by itself
and central heating can dry the air which can make DS eczema worse but have not notice anything with the asthma.

I?m not sure why you are using a humidifier in a damp house though? Surely you want a de-humidifier?

It certainly will be true if the OP is using a humidifier. A dehumidifier will sort out the damp in the house, but presumably the humidifier is for the bronchitus. If I were you OP, I'd stop the humidifier and just let dd in the bathroom when you shower or bath. It can;t be doing anyone any good to have it on if the walls and curtains are dripping in the morning.

oh sorry, my mistake, I misread "humidifier"

but presumably the humidifier is for the bronchitus

that makes sense - was confused by humidifier usage.

My son who is a year old was always very mucusy and that's when we were advised to keep central heating to a minimum as it dries the air out.
The windows are left open for an hour during the day or when we are out so that the draft doesn't get through to them.
I know it's the humidifier doing it as its only accross the wall and carpet that the humidifier is next to.
Same wall where the window Is and yes you're right, the condensation is terrible in here, probably due to the house being warmed by the warm must humidifier and the windows always closed.
The hospital said there's no way condensation etc could cause her broncilitis and to carry on with the humidifier as most in the air helps coughs.
I'm very confused :-(
Nobody told me it could come back, she was fine for 2 weeks and now it's starting all over again.

If you are not heating the place that could be making the problem worse.

Also make sure you ventilate the place even in winter.

Mould can make asthma worse so YANBU

Then you must stop using the humidifier. Damp and mould is a horrid problem, especially in the bedroom, but you're actively making it worse so it'll turn into a vicious circle.

I would say that mould definitely doesn't help. My DS had a terrible chesty cough when we lived in a mouldy, damp flat. We moved to a lovely warm, well ventilated house a month ago and the difference has been incredible. We were all suffering a little and we're all feeling much better.

While we stayed in the flat I tried to keep the house as mould free as possible by opening windows on sunny days. We also moved any furniture that was against an outside wall as that was where the mould seemed to be worst.

The mould problem that is. There is no point letting the place get damp through being too cold as damp and mould make asthma worse too.

The cough from bronchi can come and go for ages afterwards. It's not uncommon to have it more than once either.

Dampness won't help things but it's impossible to say if that's to blame.

That was my thought exactly, it's all well an good that the air is misty and do therefore not drying out theIr throats making them cough etc ( we are all in the same room ) but surely it can't be good for the walls to be damp and now the carpet to be wet from the curtains?
The hospital looked at me like I was nuts an just said as long as the temp is above 17 ( it's always 18-19 we have a room temp thing ) then carry on with the humidifier there's no way it's contributing to the colds/broncilitis etc as its a virus not infection

Ok.

Bronchilitis is caused by a virus, not by the air. It's eased with oxygen. What you're better off doing is turning the central heating back on and placing a bowl of tap water under the radiators. I trained as a children's nurse, hence why I know it comes back as I spent months nursing babies with this. Raising the matress of her cot by placing a rolled up towel underneith will aslo help her. If she's struggling to feed then she needs to be in hospital.

I'm asthmatic and allergic to mould. I had pneumonia recently. Dr advised heating on and a humidifier. You do need to be vigilant as we had terrible mould afterwards. But you must keep the house warm. Not boiling, just a warm temperature. If you let it get too cool, you'll get more condensation. I would advise wiping worse of water off windows in the morning and making sure the room is well aired. When your baby has fully recovered invest in a dehumidifier too. The one we have has helped a lot! Hope your little one is better soon xxxx

Sirzy :
Really? Nobody told me this :-(
I read up that the cough could linger but I didn't expect it to go away for weeks and then return!
It's def not as bad as before, she lost her breath the last time and had to be kept in on oxygen :-(
The room is always kept warm as the temp thing tells us that, but I very rarely leave a window open so the condensation is always bad, the curtains are often damp although the walls are only wet after the humidifier has been on.
I told the docs all this but they honestly looked at me like I was mad, said its a virus and you can't get a virus from being too hot cold or anything else!
And that dry air makes Asthma and coufgs bad so keep using the humidifier!

Peace of cake :
Is it common for the cough to go and
come back?
She's coughing probably 5 times a day but each time lasting a good few minutes but she's not losing her breath or anything.
She's feeding well and alert in herself.

Thederkinsdame :
How do you find out if you're allergic to mould?
I mentioned a dehumidifier and was told this was the worst thing I could do as it will dry the air out, like central heating does therfore irritating her lungs, making the cough worse

It is a virus, normally caused by something called RSV which is pretty common in most people but only normally causes problems for babies.

DS was prone to bronchi as a baby and as a result often got times when he got a cough and/or viral wheeze but was otherwise ok.

He is 2 now and asthmatic and still prone to chest infections.

It's basically baby bronchitis. The cough will be there, will go and will return. They only admit babies into hospital if they are unable to feed or are becoming tired and struggling to breathe. Many babies get it, it's due to the time of year. Put a bowl of water under the radiators, this adds moisture into the air but not as much as a humidifyer.

So the humidifier and condensation couldn't have causes the bronchitis?
They tested for rsv and it was negative hence whybim wondering / worrying if I've caused it making the room too dano with the bloody humidifier

It sounds like you'd be better keeping the window open and the heating on.

Mould is extremely unhealthy and can cause respiratory problems.

So the humidifier and condensation couldn't have causes the bronchitis?
They tested for rsv and it was negative hence whybim wondering / worrying if I've caused it making the room too dano with the bloody humidifier

No, it's caused by a virus. Mould, damp and cold air affect asthma though. The humidifier would have helped your baby though as it adds moisture to the air. It's not so great for walls though.