Alternaria alternata is one of the most common fungi associated with asthma. Not only the presence of asthma but also persistence and severity of asthma have been strongly associated with sensitization and exposure to A alternata. Although exposure to Alternaria is an important risk factor for asthma, few studies have assessed exposure to this fungus in indoor environments.
A alternata, a cosmopolitan saprophyte commonly found in soil and plants, is usually considered an outdoor allergen.
Although most intense exposure is likely to occur outdoors, Alternariaand other allergenic fungi are also found in indoor environments.
Note: All allergens are reported down to a cutoff level of 0.10 kU/L. The significance of allergen specific IgE levels between 0.10 and 0.35 kU/L remains undefined. Cumulative levels of multiple allergen specific IgE antibodies may have an additive effect in producing clinical symptoms. Individual allergen specific IgE antibody levels may not always correlate with severity of clinical symptoms. Results must be interpreted in the context of the clinical history and the patient’s symptom presentation. Quantitative IgE levels can serve to guide overall disease management by targeted trigger exposure reduction to identified allergens.
The most prevalent mold in dry, warm climates, Alternaria alternata has air spores that peak in the afternoon and typically disseminate in warm, dry air. Therefore, in temperate climates, Alternaria alternata spore counts are usually highest in the summer.
Those allergic to this mold may experience symptoms after inhaling its spores. Alternaria alternata is mainly an outdoor fungus that typically grows on vegetation. However, the species can also be found indoors, where it prefers humid locations such as bathrooms and often produces large brown spores that are a well-known cause of allergy and asthma.
That said, indoor Alternaria alternata concentrations are typically impacted by the current amount of outdoor concentrations. That is, if there are considerable spores in the outdoor air, indoor levels may be high as well.
Alternaria thrives at temps of 20 to 25 C (68 to 77 F), but it can survive temperatures between 1 and 35 C (roughly 34 and 95 F).
Mold sensitization rates vary according to different studies, but allergy to Alternaria alternata seems to affect roughly 5 percent of people and is strongly associated with allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever) and asthma. In children, the prevalence of reported sensitization varies dramatically, from less than 1 percent in Austria to 50 percent in the U.S. state of Arizona. And according to a large study of children with asthma living in inner cities in the United States, Alternaria was the most common mold allergy, with 38 percent of study participants incurring a positive skin test to this allergen.
Alternaria allergy paired with Alternaria exposure is a risk factor for the development and worsening of allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and asthma, and it can cause severe asthma exacerbations.
Where is Alternaria found?
Alternaria is often found in soil and on mediums such as plants, cereal grains, grass, corn silage, rotten wood, bricks, canvas, iron, compost, and bird nests. Plus, Alternaria is a plant pathogen and can infect more than 4,000 plant species, causing significant damage to grains, fruits, and vegetables, making it responsible for 20 percent of agricultural yield losses. In fact, Alternaria molds grow on a host of foods such as tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflowers, peppers, apples, melons, tangerines, oranges, lemons, and sunflower seeds.
That said, mold reproduces via spores, which can be transported by air, water, and insects. So even if a fungus originates outdoors, it often can enter a dwelling through a variety of means, including doorways, windows, vents, and heating and air conditioning systems.
Therefore, Alternaria alternata can be found indoors on surfaces such as drywall, ceiling tiles, wood, carpet, wallpaper, textiles, window frames, and materials within heating and air conditioning systems.
Common Symptoms
Mold allergy symptoms can range from mild to severe and vary person to person. Reactions can happen almost immediately after exposure, or they can be delayed. Symptoms are most common in mid-summer to early fall, but since molds grow both indoors and out, allergic reactions can occur all year.
Symptoms typically include one or more of the following:
→ Nasal congestion
→ Runny nose
→ Sneezing
→ Irritated, watery eyes
→ Coughing
→ Wheezing
→ Itchy eyes, nose, and throat
→ Dry, scaly skin
Mold sensitization is also a major risk factor for developing upper and lower respiratory diseases such as asthma. In fact, exposure to Alternaria mold is related to potentially life-threatening asthma. Other reactions to Alternaria can include allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever), allergic sinusitis, and fungal ball production in the sinuses.
A small percentage of asthmatics with inhaled mold allergy can also develop allergic urticaria (aka hives) when they eat or drink anything containing yeast or mold.11 In addition to causing allergic reactions, molds can also lead to infections along with toxic reactions.
How do I manage my allergy?
If you are allergic to molds, your healthcare provider may recommend a plan that includes the following:
Exposure Reduction:
→ Limit your outdoor time during seasons when mold is most active.
→ Wear a mask when disturbing or moving plant materials, and avoid raking and burning dry leaves.
→ Avoid barns, silos, hay, straw, and peat moss.
→ Use a certified asthma and allergy friendly filter attachment on your heating and air conditioning unit, and change filters regularly.
→ Employ dehumidifiers to lower indoor humidity levels to less than 45 percent to create an environment where mold is less likely to thrive.
→ Improve air flow through rooms by opening doors between spaces, moving furniture away from the walls, and operating fans.
→ Use exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens to pull moisture out of the rooms.
→ Fix any plumbing leaks, check windows for condensation, and remove sources of dampness.
→ Repair roof leaks, clean gutters, and ensure rainwater drains away from your dwelling.
→ Clean thoroughly and regularly, including sinks and tubs, refrigerator door gaskets, and garbage cans.
→ Remove clothes from washing machines promptly and clean rubber seals regularly.
→ Eliminate sources of dampness in basements, such as pipe leaks and groundwater seepage.
→ Run ventilation fans during and after showers and baths.
→ Remove any carpet from bathrooms and basements.
Symptom Relief:
Your healthcare provider may direct you to employ one of the following therapies to improve your allergy symptoms:
→ Antihistamines are commonly used to reduce symptoms such as sneezing, itching, and runny nose.
→ Nasal corticosteroids are used to reduce swelling in the nose and block allergic reactions.
→ Oral and nasal spray decongestants can be employed to relieve stuffiness.
→ Anti-inflammatories such as montelukast can be effective in treating mold allergy.
→ Daily nasal lavage using a squeeze bottle filled with salt water can help clean out irritants and alleviate nasal symptoms.
→ Allergen immunotherapy, as directed by your healthcare provider, may help develop tolerance to mold exposure.
Links:
Exposure to Alternaria alternata in US homes is associated with asthma symptoms (link)
Ozdemir O (2015) Molds and Respiratory Allergy - Part 1. MOJ Immunol 2(2): 00045. DOI: 10.15406/moji.2015.02.00045. Available from: https://medcraveonline.com/MOJI/MOJI-02-00045.pdf.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2019 Apr 3. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20351519.
Fukutomi, Yuma & Taniguchi, Masami. (2015). Sensitization to fungal allergens: Resolved and unresolved issue. Allergology International. 145. 10.1016/j.alit.2015.05.007. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1323893015001161?via%3Dihub.
Abbott, S. Molds and other fungi in indoor environments: Summary of biology, known health effects and references. (2003). http://www.nlmlab.com/sites/default/files/PDFs/NLML-IndoorMolds.pdf
Ward J., Leduc C. Mold Busters [Internet]. Ottowa, ON, Canada: Bust Mold Inc.; 2019 Mar 20 https://www.bustmold.com/resources/mold-library/alternaria.
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America [Internet]. Arlington, VA: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America; 2015 Oct. https://www.aafa.org/mold-allergy.
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology [Internet]. Arlington Heights, IL: American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; 2018 Apr 23. https://acaai.org/allergies/types/mold-allergy.
GI Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Canadian Society of Intestinal Research; 2004 Mar/Apr. https://badgut.org/information-centre/health-nutrition/yeast-and-mould-allergy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Environmental Health; 2020 Aug 11. https://www.cdc.gov/mold/faqs.htm.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2019 Apr 3 / https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351525.
References:
Baxi SN, Phipatanakul W. The role of allergen exposure and avoidance in asthma. Adolesc Med State Art Rev. 2010 Apr;21(1):57-71, viii-ix. PMID: 20568555; PMCID: PMC2975603.
Pomes A, Chapman MD, Wünschmann S. Indoor Allergens and Allergic Respiratory Disease. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2016 Jun;16(6):43. doi: 10.1007/s11882-016-0622-9. PMID: 27184001; PMCID: PMC4976688.
Simon-Nobbe B, Denk U, Pöll V, Rid R, Breitenbach M. The spectrum of fungal allergy. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2008;145(1):58-86. doi: 10.1159/000107578. Epub 2007 Aug 20. PMID: 17709917.
Storey E. Guidance for clinicians on the recognition and management of health effects related to mold exposure and moisture indoors. Farmington, CT: University of Connecticut Health Center, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Center for Indoor Environments and Health; 2004.
Lee HB, Patriarca A, Magan N. Alternaria in Food: Ecophysiology, Mycotoxin Production and Toxicology. Mycobiology. 2015 Jun;43(2):93-106. doi: 10.5941/MYCO.2015.43.2.93. Epub 2015 Jun 30. Erratum in: Mycobiology. 2015 Sep;43(3):371. PMID: 26190916; PMCID: PMC4505009. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4505009/pdf/mb-43-93.pdf.
Bozek A, Pyrkosz K. Immunotherapy of mold allergy: A review. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017 Oct 3;13(10):2397-2401. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2017.1314404. Epub 2017 May 8. PMID: 28481693; PMCID: PMC5647975.
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Easily upload lab results from any provider, whether it's a hospital, independent lab, or home testing service. We support PDFs, scanned documents, and JPEGs from patient portals. No need to log in to multiple platforms — everything is centralized in one secure space.
Easily upload lab results from any provider — we support PDFs, scans, and images. Keep all your reports organized in one secure place.
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Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey. Whether you're tracking a condition, managing treatments, or staying proactive, the timeline helps you and your doctor understand how things progress over time.
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Whether it's a blood test, GI panel, urinalysis, or something else, lab reports measure numerous biomarkers that reveal what's happening inside your body. Our extensive database covers over 10,000 biomarkers, providing clear, simple explanations of what each result means and how you can take action—no matter your membership level. Say goodbye to confusion and get the insights you need to better understand your health.
Our database covers over 10,000 biomarkers with clear, simple explanations—so you can finally understand your results and what to do next.
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Enter Your Lab Reports — Always Free
If you'd like to handle inputting your health data into your account, you can do so with our easy-to-use data entry forms. Our user-friendly form is designed to guide you through the quick and easy submission process, making it simple to keep track of your health metrics. This is available to both Complete plan and Unlimited plan members.
Our user-friendly form guides you through a quick, simple submission process, making it easy to enter your health metrics.
Add your results anytime with our easy entry form. It's quick, guided, and helps you stay organized — free for all members.
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View your lab data through easy-to-read graphs and tables. Quickly spot patterns, track changes, and compare results across different dates — all without digging through multiple reports. You can also select and compare graphs of specific biomarkers side-by-side to better understand how they relate and change over time.
See your lab reports in clear graphs and tables. Spot patterns, track changes, and compare results over time — all in one place.
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Export Your Complete Lab History
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file. Choose from PDF, Excel, or CSV formats to easily review, share, or get a second opinion—no more juggling multiple reports.
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file.
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Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest. Complete plan members receive one report entered for free, then $15 per report after that. Unlimited plan members receive ten report entries for free, then $15 per report after that.
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest.
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Whether you're working with a doctor, nutritionist, caregiver, or wellness coach, you can securely share your complete lab history by sending an invite link to anyone you trust. You have full control over who sees your information and for how long, ensuring your privacy and peace of mind at every step.
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I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.
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As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!
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Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.
It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.
If you're on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.
The Complete Plan ($15/month) is perfect for individuals who want ongoing access to their health data. It includes unlimited lab imports, visual tracking, custom ranges, result explanations, full account exports, and secure sharing — all with a simple monthly subscription. You can cancel anytime and restart your plan whenever you're ready — your data will still be there waiting for you. You can also upgrade to the Unlimited Plan at any time, with the cost prorated based on what you've already paid.
The Unlimited Plan ($250 one-time) is also designed for individuals but offers lifetime access with no ongoing subscription. You'll get all the same features as the Complete Plan, plus a larger initial data entry allowance (10 reports), making it a great choice if you prefer a one-time payment and long-term use without monthly fees.
In short:
There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."
Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.
For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.
We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.
Our Data Entry Service is for when you don't want to manually type in your lab results yourself. You simply upload your report (PDF, image, or screenshot), and our trained team enters the information into your Healthmatters account for you — accurately and neatly organized, ready to view in graphs, tables, and timelines.
The $15 per report covers the time and care it takes for a real person to review your file, make sure each result is entered correctly, and double-check for accuracy. This ensures your health data is precise and easy to work with — without you having to spend the time doing it yourself.
Prefer to do it yourself? You can always use our free self-entry tool to add results manually — it just takes a bit more time and attention.
For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.
Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.
Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.
All professional accounts allow you to import and onboard an unlimited number of clients and their lab results. The distinction between professional plans lies solely in the data entry service.
The Pro Monthly Plus plan is priced at $75 per month and includes a data entry service for five reports each month. Additional reports can be self-entered at no extra cost or, if preferred, you can use our data entry service for an additional fee of $15 per report.
The Pro Monthly plan is priced at $45 per month and does not include a data entry service. Self-entry is free for an unlimited number of reports, and you can opt for the data entry service at a fee of $15 per report.
You also have the option to upgrade to higher monthly or to annual plans, which come with substantial discounts. All upgrades can be done directly from your account.
Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.
Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.
We've crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.
1. Graph View:Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.
2. All Tests ViewExplore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.
3. Table View:For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.
Yes, you can download your information anytime. We offer two easy ways to export your lab data:
This makes it simple to save, back up, or share your health data whenever you need.
Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.
Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.
Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.
A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.
The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.
To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.
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Reference range: