Is your home making you sick?

A long wet weather spell in recent years has left a new health problem in its wake: Toxic mould

- EVA-MARIA BOBBERT

After three La Niña years in a row, many Australians are now hosting a silent but stubborn house guest: Mould. Inside walls, under floors and

carpet, or at the back of your wardrobe, mould thrives in damp conditions and, left unchecked, can cause serious health issues.

"I started developing some really unusual problems like migraines, hives and blocked ears. Then I woke up one morning with really severe nerve pain down my arms and legs.

It was so bad that I couldn't stand up," says Corbin Halliday, who was working as a hairdresser in Hobart at the time. "I went to emergency and my blood pressure was so high the staff were worried I could have a stroke. It was scary. I was 25 and had a fit and healthy lifestyle." Despite medication, Corbin began to get worse in the months that followed. "The pain in my head and body was so bad that I was bedridden.

I had to stop working. I went to so many specialists but they couldn't work out what was wrong." Eventually, tests revealed that Corbin had mycotoxin poisoning from exposure to black mould. "It was underneath my floor in a rental apartment the whole time. I had no idea," he says.

Mould spores travel through the air and cling to surfaces - anything from skin to furniture and carpet - and, if the conditions are damp enough (anything above 60 per cent indoor air humidity), mould can thrive. People with asthma and allergies are more susceptible to mould allergy (which triggers hayfever-like symptoms), but it can also cause a more serious condition: Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), a progressive multi-system illness that shares similarities with chronic fatigue.