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+--- Thread: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria (/Thread-OSA-and-mold-fungus-bacteria)
OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - USAFAirdale - 10-14-2012
Might anyone have reputable references (Medical studies) linking the repeated exposure to mold, fungus, bacteria (in a daily environment) to OSA ?
For you SWA OEF/OIF vets, same question or as related to the particulate matter in the air during daily dust storms?
I was fine before I went to OIF/OEF but was diagnosed with Mod-Severe OSA after returning from a deployment.
Thanks in advance.
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - Sleepster - 10-14-2012
It's going to be tough for you to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between those environmental conditions and your OSA.
I know of no medical studies. Somehow a researcher would have to show that there's a significantly higher chance of being diagnosed with OSA for a person exposed to these environmental conditions.
If you have OSA, anything that causes the tissue in your throat to swell will make it worse. Allergic or even nonallergic reactions to mold or bacteria will certainly cause the tissue to swell. But there's no way to determine that you'd not have OSA if you were not exposed.
Either way, I hope your VA benefits are covering the costs of your therapy, and that your therapy is working for you.
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - USAFAirdale - 10-14-2012
(10-14-2012, 09:42 PM)Sleepster Wrote: It's going to be tough for you to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between those environmental conditions and your OSA.
That is why I was asking. Out of 39 unit members deployed to my location, 9 or 10 have been diagnosed with OSA since we returned home.
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - zonk - 10-14-2012
[Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome caused by occupational exposure to solvents]
CONCLUSIONS: As the symptoms of encephalopathy and sleep apnoea syndrome overlap, the latter should be considered before an encephalopathy is diagnosed. Because a rare cause of the sleep apnoea syndrome is prolonged and marked occupational exposure to organic solvents this should be asked about in taking the history. If indeed there has been occupational exposure, it should cease at once and be reported
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10191821
Mold Resources (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldresources.html#Health%20and%20Mold
Facts about Stachybotrys chartarum and Other Molds (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm#Q2
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - trish6hundred - 10-14-2012
Hi USAFAirdale,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Best of luck to you with your CPAP therapy.
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - PaulaO2 - 10-14-2012
I was actually reading up on the VA and sleep apnea the other day.
Most of the information I read said that the medical folks tend to ignore any OSA symptoms while on active duty. They consider it a generic 'sleep issue'. So, statistically, the idea that those folks didn't get diagnosed until later is not a surprise.
If the exposure was something that caused regular throat irritation, maybe it could cause OSA. OSA is a throat/tongue thing and not a lung thing.
RE: OSA and mold, fungus, bacteria - Sleepster - 10-16-2012
(10-14-2012, 09:52 PM)USAFAirdale Wrote: That is why I was asking. Out of 39 unit members deployed to my location, 9 or 10 have been diagnosed with OSA since we returned home.
It could be that you'd have OSA anyway, and that the exposures made the condition worse or brought it on earlier. You have to keep in mind that OSA is not necessarily something you have or don't have, it's a matter of degree. For example, if you're tested and have a AHI below 5 you're considered "normal" and therapy is not called for. But if your AHI is 5 or above you get a CPAP machine!
It sounds like you would need to talk to a lawyer to get anywhere with your claim. It seems to me that the severity of the OSA is something that would have to be considered here.