Symptoms

• Symptoms of exposure to black mold include sneezing, difficulty breathing, chronic cough, nosebleeds and sinus headaches.
  
  

Allergies

• Many people are allergic to common mold, which causes hives, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing and itching.
  
  

Asthma

• A study published September 11, 2007 in ScienceDaily found a link between asthma and mold. After the participants were no longer exposed to mold, their asthma improved. Asthma causes wheezing, raspy breathing and difficulty taking in breaths due to inflamed airways.
  
  

Time Frame

• Some people exposed to toxic mold will have no symptoms and will be unaffected. Others might notice symptoms right away, especially if that person has an allergy to mold. Severity of symptoms can vary.
  
  

Prolonged Exposure

• Prolonged exposure to mold spores weakens the immune system. Someone who initially had no symptoms might suddenly become ill from the mold exposure, or develop chronic illnesses due to a weakened immune system.