Environmental Wellness - Who Are You Driving Around With?

Who Are You Driving Around With?

Driving around with "Troika"? Troika refers to the deadly trio of tropical and sub-tropical fungi that can grow in your automobile. It multiplies quickly and easily. While you are getting into your motor vehicle during rains, the vehicle carpet will get wet, this provide a conducive environment for these fungi to grow and multiply. The scientific names for the Troika are Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium. Once the carpets are wet they will begin to grow and multiply within approximately 24 hours and they can be deadly.

In US there were 5,000 recorded deaths from Cladosporium poisoning in 2007. Aspergillus and Penicillium are responsible for respiratory problems and decreased lung capacity. They are responsible for eye infections, ear, nose and throat infections and a host of other debilitating medical conditions.

An automobile parked all day long in the tropical or sub-tropical which temperature might reach up to +40C inside cabin. The automobile becomes an incubation chamber for rapid fungal reproduction. Then, if you have a chemical air freshener inside, those chemical fumes mix with the living, growing toxic fungal. You get in the car, switch on the A/C and direct the cool air to your face and body.

Cool air is not always clean air. These are not golf balls floating in the air that you can see. Approximately 700,000 of these deadly fungal spores can fit on a pinhead. So tiny yet so deadly. In a confined space the toxic level can build quickly and dramatically.

 

In one hour of commuting, one would have breathe more than 1,000 liters of air and unfortunately it's the air trapped in your vehicle. Most of the time passengers do not associate these conditions with their running nose, itchy eyes, sore throat but it is definitely connected.

 

Researchers at University at Buffalo and the Mayo Clinic have shown that chronic sinusitis is an immune disorder caused by fungus and not bacteria.

 

Our body is one huge filtration system. The larger fungi get trapped in our nasal passages leading to sinusitis. The medium size ones get into our upper respiratory track leading to throat infections. Those tiny, pesky spores get all the way down into your lungs - dark, moist, made of living tissue and lots of oxygen passing through.

 

Long term exposure at this stage leads to Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis. It reduces lung capacity. In extreme cases, it can be fatal. Take precaution!

 

 

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