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| | 1/5/2009 8:06:52 PM |
July 2, 2002 - MIDLAND, TEXAS (MRT) - One of a handful of doctors in the nation on the cutting edge of understanding health problems linked to toxic mold reports is seeing a number of Midland-area residents suffering from mold-related ailments.
"I have seen a number of patients from there and various other Texas communities," Dr. Michael Gray of Benson, Arizona, said Monday in a telephone interview.
Gray said he expects the mold problem to get much worse before it gets any better.
"We're catching the leading edge of the wave right now," Gray added, pointing to an explosion of new cases nationwide in the past five years.
One of his Midland patients is the daughter of Violet and Mark Singh, who had endured a personal nightmare and seen numerous local doctors for years before her family decided to see Gray after toxic mold was located inside their home.
After researching experts all across the country, the family decided to go to Arizona.
"If I hadn't made that trip to Arizona to see him, I would have resorted to the opinion of some of the other doctors in that her (health) problems were psychological," Ms. Singh explained.
She said her daughter, now 17, has not gained "an ounce or an inch" in six years. She also suffers tremors and a wide range of other health problems that local doctors were unable to link with a diagnosable illness.
"When I got there I saw a family who had to burn their home because of mold and that other people were suffering from mold," Ms. Sing explained.
Gray, a physician for almost 30 years, holds mold clinics and is considered by top microbiologists -- including Texas Tech professor David Straus -- as an expert in the field.
"Most medical doctors understand very little about toxic mold," Straus said.
Gray attributes most exposure to dangerous mold to "a more relaxed" building code since the 1970s, which allows less air flow between building materials and walls.
"It literally is a recipe for disaster, all you have to do is add water since it actually has spores on it," Gray said of most building materials used in the past 30 years.
"I'd say the awareness of the impact of mixed structure mold is in its infancy," he added.
In some of his most severe cases, Gray said he has seen patients lose all hair, develop multiple scorosis, lose vision and suffer cognitive disorders and spinal chord problems necessitating early retirement.
Gray urges residents to repair water leaks immediately after noticing them. He also warns that some forms of toxic mold cannot be killed with cleaning products such as bleach.
"Cleaning can make mold go airborne," he said.
Experts say toxic mold is not like the type of mold that grows in showers, where the environment is wet all day, but rather in walls, building materials and under carpets where leaks have occurred.
Once mold is located and eradicated, and a patient is diagnosed with health problems, getting health insurance companies to pay for treatment can be a nightmare in itself, some say.
"Indemnity insurance generally is less trouble than managed care," the doctor said of his experience in dealing with insurance companies reimbursing him and his patients for the costly testing involved in making such a diagnosis.
After paying for the trip to Arizona, the Singhs paid Gray up front fees and are waiting to get reimbursed from their carrier.
The Microbiology Department of Texas Tech University performs residential testing of mold samples at a nominal charge.
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