Sick building syndrome is not a disease and does not have an ICD-10 code. But its symptoms are felt to a greater or lesser extent by almost all of us. Our apartments and office buildings where we work are sick. We talk to Magdalena Cubała-Kucharska, MD, a specialist in family medicine, environmental medicine and allergology, and an expert in integrative medicine, about how to recognize the symptoms of the sick building syndrome and what to do if we suspect them at home.
The sick building syndrome is not a new phenomenon: as early as 1982 it was recognized by the World He alth Organization as a problem threatening human he alth and life. But in Poland it is still rarely spoken of. What exactly is he?
Simply put, the sick building syndrome is a whole complex of he alth ailments that appear while staying in a specific building, and which are very easy to ignore or associate with completely different causes. These symptoms are mainly memory impairment, unspecified, recurring headaches, sneezing, runny nose, scratchy throat, burning or itchy eyes.
But most of all, after a few hours in such a building, you develop a lot of fatigue, which cannot be explained by the intensity of physical or mental effort.
Is it a common phenomenon?
In 1984, the WHO estimated that this problem affects as much as 30 percent of buildings for the construction and finishing of which synthetic finishing materials were used. I suspect that in Poland their number is much greater. However, it is difficult to obtain such data from our country, because no one keeps such statistics.
This problem mainly affects office buildings or also residential buildings?
Both can be infected. In office buildings, the main factor contributing to the sick building syndrome is neglected ventilation through which bacteria, molds, fungal spores and viruses are transmitted. But not only her. We usually have huge surfaces lined with very often toxic - toxic - because many such linings release toluene, solvents or phthalates, which are harmful to humans. We also have electrosmog emitted by many computers located on a relatively small area.
One of theways of dealing with ailments that we experience in office buildings is a he althy home where we can rest. But not everyone has this opportunity, as many residential buildings are also sick. Many really sick buildings were built when blocks of concrete were built. The building materials contained toxins, mold and fungus spores, but also toxic chemicals that shouldn't have been there. Therefore, in many old blocks of flats, the walls themselves damage the inhabitants.
But it doesn't end there. Buildings can also be damp. It is worth noting that currently built buildings often do not differ from the old ones in this respect. Let's take a mold like this: many people would sooner consider looking for it in the basement of an old block of flats built on a damp ground than in a beautiful, newly built apartment building. Meanwhile, very often our beautiful new apartment buildings or single-family houses are simply too airtight. We do not install vents in them, we build passive houses, which often have too little air exchange with the surroundings.
A dozen years ago there was a fashion for clogging ventilation shafts, which was to improve the tightness of the building and heating efficiency - so many housing communities did. This led to a situation where the air in the buildings became too humid. Such buildings should be immediately unsealed and properly ventilated. Humid air has a negative impact not only on the residents or users of the building, but also on the condition of the building itself - it can lead to moisture, damage to walls or furniture. In such rooms it is stuffy, it smells unpleasant, it is also difficult to warm them, because humid air is very difficult to warm up.
What are the symptoms of sick building syndrome?
Most often with an allergy to dust mites present in, for example, carpets or with an allergy to mold. This is a very dangerous version of this syndrome, because allergy, especially to mold, activates many autoimmune mechanisms. Molds have a special ability to produce microtoxins, and their spores - if we breathe them in - can damage the cell membranes of the nervous system and, in the most severe cases, lead to death. In people with a weakened immune system, it may happen that they settle in the bronchi or in the sinuses and they will always be there.
Can these symptoms lead to chronic disease?
Yes, especially if mold is present in the building. We consider their spores to be biotoxins. Exposure to them can trigger a reaction known as a chronic reactioninflammatory response. This reaction will trigger an inflammatory cascade every time you enter a sick building. Staying in such a building for a long time may lead to the development of a chronic inflammatory disease with periodic exacerbations. This phenomenon is still not widely known in our country, in my opinion, it is now understood better than the medical community by construction engineers.
How to distinguish symptoms associated with the sick building syndrome from symptoms of the disease? Is it possible at all?
Observation of ourselves should give us a lot to think about. In the case of office buildings, it can be quite difficult, as it may happen that we enter a building where we experience everyday stress - and if we feel stomach pressure and muscle tremors, it is not the building that is the cause of it, but perhaps the team we work in. , boss or just the type of task. However, if we enter the office relaxed and symptoms - mainly physical, such as sneezing, coughing, or watery eyes or a headache - appear, this is a signal that the body is trying to defend itself against toxins.
It should give us food for thought when all this subsides when we go out into the fresh air, although the symptoms will not improve if the inflammation has already become chronic - but it is already a very advanced form of sick building syndrome, which happiness develops only in a few people. Therefore, if someone in a building feels terrible, they should go out for half an hour for lunch or even a short walk - and if they feel much better outside, it is quite likely that they are dealing with Sick Building Syndrome.
What to do then?
The answer to this question is very difficult, because unfortunately these possibilities are not too many. First of all, you should talk to your colleagues - if they also have similar symptoms, it is worth agreeing a common position and working together. Many things cannot be changed, but the owner or manager of the building should certainly be forced to clean the ventilation, especially the correct ozonation of the ducts.
This is the basis, because the ducts spread the air, and with it all kinds of viruses, bacteria and mold spores. If they are properly cleaned and exposed, the air will have a much better quality, and thus the well-being of people who work in it should improve.
What can we do on our own to make working in a sick building better?
It's a good idea to put an air purifier in your office to filter out pollutants. You can also, if of courseit is possible, set up a few air-purifying plants, for example, on the list created by NASA. However, you have to be careful with some of them, especially against ficus benjamin - it is a flower that can be very dangerous for allergy sufferers. And when it comes to flowers, whether in the office or at home, you also have to make sure that the ground is not moldy, because people allergic to molds can be very harmful.
But there is a simple way to prevent this - if you replant the plant, which you need to do regularly, it is worth decontaminating the soil in the oven at high temperature for a while. It sounds crazy, but it is a very effective method for both mold and other pathogenic microorganisms in the ground, which my dad recommended to me - he used it himself and thanks to this, I have an incredible collection of plants in my family home.
And what can landlords or should do if they suspect their malaise may be related to the property?
It is definitely worth checking if there is mold in the apartment, because, contrary to appearances, mold is not only the domain of poor or neglected apartments, it can develop even in beautiful, elegant apartments with wonderful paneling or wallpapers. First of all, you have to look into the bathroom, because there, especially by the bathtub or on the tiles, mold likes to settle - it's such a black coating.
It is worth using the help of a company that specializes in finding and eliminating mold - specialists must carry out a detailed inspection, carefully examine not only the premises, but also various other places, including the gable wall of the building.
If they find signs of it, the place requires professional cleaning up. Specialist preparations are used for this, but one application is not enough - it is necessary to spray the surface four times with several days' breaks for drying, and no one should be at home during this time. My advice: before ordering such a service, let's ask - but without prompting - how it will be performed, because not everyone does it in accordance with the rules.
The apartment or house should also be ozonized. I am a huge supporter of this method, I use it myself. Ozone treatment disables the room from use for several hours, but it is worth doing it regularly - ozone kills viruses, bacteria, parasites, mites, pathogenic fungi, and also neutralizes some chemicals. At home, I have a small ozone generator, which turns off automatically after ozonation - after an hour after ozonation, you can enter the room and ventilate it, which is very important, because ozone must not be inhaled. It is also worth subjecting second-hand household items to ozonation, e.g.furniture.
Let's also try to buy things with approvals. The approval should be given to paints, carpets, carpets and furniture. Of course, they are more expensive, because the approval costs - but it is a guarantee of safety and product quality. It is worth investing in such things, especially since we currently have a market for Chinese products - they are beautiful and with their help you can turn your home into a palace. But remember that untested carpets, rugs or just any furniture or paint can simply harm us.
Magdalena Cubała-Kucharska, MD, PhDA specialist in family medicine, environmental medicine and allergology, expert in integrative medicine. Founder of the Arcana Integrative Medicine Institute, since 2004 a member of the American Defeat Autism Now!
Specialist in family medicine, environmental medicine and allergology, expert in integrative medicine. Founder of the Arcana Integrative Medicine Institute, since 2004 a member of the American Defeat Autism Now movement!
