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??

Problems mold can cause:

www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/mold.html

Use your common sense. Do you think it's a good idea to put a baby in a bedroom with dripping curtains and damp walls that has mold growing in it because of the damp.

No I gather that as its making the wallpaper peel!
I guess I'm a bot of a hypochondriac when it comes to my kids!
My mum has terrible asthma so I've always done what I thought best just in case they develop it, moist air etc but now I've made this mould grow I feel awful

You should be able to wash it off with a bleach/water solution. Then let it dry and paint over some anti mould paint. It's important to ventilate the rooms so don't block the air vent. Move the furniture away from the walls so there's a gap in between. It doesn't need to be huge, just a couple of inches.

It's OK to worry about your children, we all do that.

Oh god, I feel your pain, we went through exact same thing with DD. She was in hosp at least once a month with broncolitis/awful asthma attacks. We used a humidifier but also had the mould problems so was important to air the room out throughout the day.
Used the trawl the internet in desperation for advice and got lots of conflicting advice.
The only thing you can do is try changing small things to try and find the right thing to help you. The things that we tried were.
The humidifer
Making sure the temperature of the room didn't suddenly drop after midnight as this can cause coughing fits.
Raising the head of the bed/cot up a few inches to help her breathing.
Orbas oil was a big no no for us.
Took out the carpets in most of house (this was good)
Most importantly was giving her the preventative ventolin before bedtime and every so often throughout the night.
Sometimes the only way she could get through the night was if I sat up all night holding her upright so that she could breathe, lying down seems to make breathing more difficult.
I hope you find any of this useful and can happily say that when she got to about 2 years old the maturation of her wind pipe actually made all the problems go ( unless she had a really bad cold) and hasn't needed ventolin since she was around 3.
I really wish I could wave a wand for you
Wishing you all good health for 2012.

Thunderbolts :
The walls arent growing mold, they are damp in the morning on the side of the wall the humidifier is next to.
The Curtains are affected by this also and as they are very long they hang on te floor and that's why the carpet has some mould growth.
The hospital are sure it's bronchilitis or just a cough but In not sure as it went and came back.
The room is not cold, I don't Leave windows open in case of a draft but this isn't helping as its contributing to the condensation

You do need to leave a window open it will help.

Cheeky :
I've never heard of ventolin!
What is it?
Will def stop using the olbas oil and see if that helps or not,
I can't describe how helpless I feel.
The hospital seem to think I'm over reacting keep taking her in but she's only 10 weeks and to see her coughing to such an extent she's bright red or can't catch her breath ( that was last month when she was taken into hospital ) is so nerve wracking :-(
I will stop the humidifier for a while or only have it on hen the radiator is on so that the walls etc aren't getting damp.
I have cleaned the mould off the carpet an thrown away the feat of drawers.

Dampness certainly won't help things. I would certainly stop that, I know with DS any sign of dampness and he becomes chesty and struggles.

But there's no way of using the warm air humidifier like they are telling me to do without the walls and curtains getting damp from it ;-(

Put a bowl of tap water underneith the radiator!!

You need to stop blaming yourself and try (I know its hard) to relax.

If she is struggling to catch her breath them of course you are right to take her in as the hospital must have thought to have admitted her. I am sure you have been made aware of the signs to look for to need her checking again.

Generally though when children get bronchiolitis any future eposides aren't anywhere near as severe as the first one.

Sirzy :
Thankyou, this time is def not as bad,
I just wish I knew where she got it from :-(
I'm so over zealous with them yet this happened.
I just don't want to make it worse by using the humidifier like the hospital said to do even though it's making the walls damp

My Dh has an allergy to mould and we use an air steriliser to help with his asthma. It wasn't cheap but has certainly helped him at night, we have one called 'air free' that destroys the spores with heat rather than trapping them as HEPA filter air purifier does. We got it from here:

www.breathingspace.co.uk/

Also got some anti allergen air spray, washing gel for clothes and spray for soft furnishings from

www.biolife-international.co.uk/

who are recommended by Allergy UK. Probably wouldn't stop the bronchitis but may help if your LO is reacting to the mould or other allergens in the air.

Also just to say that we were advised that bleach doesn't remove the mould fully from walls and that anti-fungal wash is required - you can get non toxic versions if you are worried about using it in LO's room.

Also would second keeping windows slightly open, where you can to prevent condensation forming. We had 'trickle vents' fitted to the windows to help with airflow.

I just wish I knew If it was related.
To those of you who have children with mould allergies :
Can you describe their symptoms for me and what the cough sounded like and how often it occurred?
Thankyou

You can't tell if it's related. However it isn't healthy to have a baby in a mouldy room, that is so damp that mould is forming all over the place.

Are you going to open the windows?

The windows have been opened all day today with the radiator on to stop the condensation.
I haven't turned the humidifier on as I know this is just going to make the wall an curtains wet again so not sure what to do about that,
Maybe look for a less powerful one or just take her into the bathroom with me a few times a day instead so she doesn't get bunged up

OP, How long do you use the humidifier for? Is it on 24/7, overnight, daytime only?
How many weeks have you been using it?

I understand you aren't opening the windows because you don't want to cause a draught, so are they closed 24/7 or closed at night?

Sorry...x posted OP.

Now I know the windows have been opened all day today, what was happening before today?

The windows have been opened all day today with the radiator on to stop the condensation.
I haven't turned the humidifier on as I know this is just going to make the wall an curtains wet again so not sure what to do about that,
Maybe look for a less powerful one or just take her into the bathroom with me a few times a day instead so she doesn't get bunged up

Ami :
Have ordered the humidity reader! Thsnkyou

I'm also allergic to mould and had chronic bronchitis as a child (probably not helped by having a chain smoking mother too).

When I discovered the allergy (had it tested in hospital), dh cleaned the entire house of mould and we changed one of the windows and I have not had one chest infection since then.

But babies do often get those infections, mould or no mould, and this time of year is ripe for it so don't feel too guilty. The mould may have only just appeared and it might have nothing to do with it.

The humidifier has only been on a lot since her bronchilitis do the room wasn't damp at all before that so I know it wasn't that that cause the initial bout of it.
I leave the windows ajar when we go out but not the bedroom one once we are in as it feels quite drafty if it's left open.
The humidifier is a warm mist one by the way not a cold one so it warns the room up rather than cools it, temps always about 18

The humidifier has only been on a lot since her bronchilitis do the room wasn't damp at all before that so I know it wasn't that that cause the initial bout of it.
I leave the windows ajar when we go out but not the bedroom one once we are in as it feels quite drafty if it's left open.
The humidifier is a warm mist one by the way not a cold one so it warns the room up rather than cools it, temps always about 18

Are you confusing a humidifier with a dehumidifier? If you have wet walls you need to reduce the water vapour in the air!