What is Green, a symbol of the Holiday Season, and makes you sneeze? The answer could very well be your Christmas Tree.
An article in the Orlando Sentinel, written by Linda Shrieves reports that allergists have long suspected that live Christmas trees are the culprits behind some folks runny, itchy noses.
"I've been in practice for over 30 years and every year between Christmas and New Year's we have everybody come in with recurring sinus infections, states Connecticut allergy specialist Dr. John Santilli.
Determined to prove his point, Santilli placed a live Christmas tree inside an intern's apartment and took air samples for two weeks. (Santilli keeps his Christmas tree on a porch until Christmas Eve.) For the first three days, the mold counts inside the apartment hovered around 800 spores per cubic meter of air, compared with a normal range of 500 to 700 spores per cubic meter. But by day 14, the mold count had skyrocketed to 5,000 spores per cubic meter. "The longer you keep the tree up, the worse it gets," said Santilli, who presented his study at a recent national meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Dallas. "By the second week, the tree was putting out a bucket of spores. That's when it gets to be a problem, especially if you have asthma or are prone to sinus infections."
Though most of us don't associate mold with Christmas trees, Santilli says the dead tree begins decaying shortly after it's cut. "Mother Nature's cleanup crew is the mold, he said. "The molds take over and start decaying it."
Although the medical community has long known about "Christmas tree allergy," what causes the sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes has been open to debate: pollen or mold?
In 1969, Canadian researchers interviewed 1,657 allergy patients and theorized that as many as 7 percent of people with allergies also may be allergic to their Christmas trees.
That team suspected the culprits were pollens that stuck to the Christmas tree and balsam resins. Santilli, thinks his new research proves that mold may be the biggest problem.
A solution to the problem is offered by a Minnesota based company marketing an EPA Approved GREEN mold preventor called Vital Oxide. Vital Oxide is water based and completely odorless. Company spokesman Tom Heller states that vital Oxide is the perfect product to use to keep the mold problem at bay. Heller states that more information is available at the company website; www.worldwideoxide.com - 16759
An article in the Orlando Sentinel, written by Linda Shrieves reports that allergists have long suspected that live Christmas trees are the culprits behind some folks runny, itchy noses.
"I've been in practice for over 30 years and every year between Christmas and New Year's we have everybody come in with recurring sinus infections, states Connecticut allergy specialist Dr. John Santilli.
Determined to prove his point, Santilli placed a live Christmas tree inside an intern's apartment and took air samples for two weeks. (Santilli keeps his Christmas tree on a porch until Christmas Eve.) For the first three days, the mold counts inside the apartment hovered around 800 spores per cubic meter of air, compared with a normal range of 500 to 700 spores per cubic meter. But by day 14, the mold count had skyrocketed to 5,000 spores per cubic meter. "The longer you keep the tree up, the worse it gets," said Santilli, who presented his study at a recent national meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in Dallas. "By the second week, the tree was putting out a bucket of spores. That's when it gets to be a problem, especially if you have asthma or are prone to sinus infections."
Though most of us don't associate mold with Christmas trees, Santilli says the dead tree begins decaying shortly after it's cut. "Mother Nature's cleanup crew is the mold, he said. "The molds take over and start decaying it."
Although the medical community has long known about "Christmas tree allergy," what causes the sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes has been open to debate: pollen or mold?
In 1969, Canadian researchers interviewed 1,657 allergy patients and theorized that as many as 7 percent of people with allergies also may be allergic to their Christmas trees.
That team suspected the culprits were pollens that stuck to the Christmas tree and balsam resins. Santilli, thinks his new research proves that mold may be the biggest problem.
A solution to the problem is offered by a Minnesota based company marketing an EPA Approved GREEN mold preventor called Vital Oxide. Vital Oxide is water based and completely odorless. Company spokesman Tom Heller states that vital Oxide is the perfect product to use to keep the mold problem at bay. Heller states that more information is available at the company website; www.worldwideoxide.com - 16759
About the Author:
Before you display your christmas treethis season be sure to learn more about how it can effect your well being. Your tree could be making you sick. Learn more about about mold on your christmas tree
