I discovered mold underneath the sink in my bathroom last week. Living in a very high humidity area like the Pacific Northwest — that’s not a big surprise. I did some research on how to clean it up and prepared myself to tackle the growth.
One important thing to note here: I’m allergic to mold in all forms. If I take penicillin (or any mold-based medication), I break out in hives. If I eat bleu cheese, my mouth burns. Knowing this, I protected myself with a face mask and rubber gloves. I figured I was in danger of ending up with a stuffy nose and/or a headache from breathing in airborne mold, so I ran the vent in the bathroom on high, and got the fans ready for drying.
First, I took everything out of the bathroom for fear of something picking up airborne mold. Then, I grabbed a bleach-based cleanser and some hot water and went to work. It took a LOT of scrubbing. That was some stubborn mold! Somewhere around my third tub of hot water, I noticed something odd. My hands and arms were starting to swell up. Splashing around in the moldy rinse water had caused an allergic reaction! My fingers were so puffed up, they looked like little sausages. It was weird and disconcerting, for sure.
I rinsed the wall one last time and cleaned everything up. Then I popped some Benadryl and took a shower to wash away any lingering mold water. By that time, my head was starting to hurt and my nose was a little bit stuffy. The reaction I’d been expecting all along finally showed up.
The Benadryl made me sleepy (antihistamines usually knock me right out) so I curled up for a nap. When I woke up, I was feeling much better. The swelling was gone, my head didn’t hurt, and my nose was clear. Hooray for Benadryl! I got a stern talking to from friends and family who know I’m allergic to mold, and offers to finish the clean-up for me.
Really, I’d had no clue that I would react to the moldy rinse water. But it just goes to show — when you’re sensitive to something, your body can show it in strange ways!