ASPERGILLUS WARNING TO GROWERS! PLEASE READ.

[Plant n Prosper]

I just became very very sick from a fungus found on cannabis/in cannabis soil called ASPERGILLUS.


Aspergillus is a fungal infection in the lungs caused by breathing in fungal spores commonly found in our soil, or found on our buds if not dried completely. I have a closet grow and to prevent detection, the air is vented out of my closet through the wall and into my bathroom. This air is then recirculated throughout my downstairs and my bedroom. I recently dried an outdoor harvest in the closet, and I can't tell if this is the cause of my illness, or if it's from my soil being so "alive" with beni's. Let me explain what happened...

I chopped and dried 10 plants about 3 weeks back, then one more plant a week ago. I found almost an oz. of mold out of those first 10, and practically none on the last one (maybe a gram or two). I started feeling weird about 1-2 weeks ago (really out of it, tired all the time, not myself) and 2 days ago it got worse. I can't tell if I missed some mold along the way when smoking... or if this stuff got into the air down here during the dry-process and has been affecting me since...

can an entire batch of plants go bad if one or two in the closet has mold growing in some of their buds?

can this mold go air-born even though it's on the inside of the buds?

Has anyone had any experiences with this fungus?


Symtoms are:

Fibromyalgia/mps (and several correlated symptoms)
Respiratory distress, coughing, sneezing, sinusitis
Difficulty swallowing, choking, spitting up (vomiting) mucous
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Burning in the throat and lungs (similar to acid reflux and often misdiagnosed as such)
Asthmatic signs; wheezing, shortness in breath, coughing, burning in lungs, etc.
Irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, diarrhea, sharp abdominal pains, stomach lesions
Bladder, liver, spleen, or kidney pain
Dark or painful urine
Dirt-like taste in mouth, coated tongue
Food allergies/leaky gut syndrome/altered immunity
Memory loss; brain fog, slurred speech, occasionally leading to dementia
Vision problems
Swollen lymph nodes
Large boils on neck (often a sign of anaphylaxis)
Yellowing of nails, ridges, or white marks under nail
Thyroid irregularities, sometimes leading to complete dysfunction; adrenal problems
Headaches
Anxiety/depression, heart palpitations - confusion, PTSD
Extreme blood pressure, cholesterol, or triglycerides irregularities
Ringing in ears, balance problems (very common), dizziness, loss of hearing (aspergillus niger)
Chronic fatigue (also included under this classification directional confusion)
Intermittent face flushing; almost always systemic, Called the Mylar Flush (neurological))
Night head sweats, and drooling while sleeping, profuse sweating
Multiple chemical sensitivity; only upon exposure to Stachybotrys and Chaetomium
Nose bleeds (stachybotrys)
Bruising/scarring easily; rash or hives, bloody lesions all over the skin (Often systemic, see images; skin)
Reproductive system complications; infertility, changes in menstrual cycles, miscarriage
Sudden weight changes (Detoxifier genotypes tend to gain weight, non-detoxifier genotypes tend to lose weight)
Cancer
Hair loss, very brittle nails, temporary loss of fingerprints (in rare cases)
Joint/muscle stiffness and pain
Irregular heart beat/heart attack
Seizures, inadvertent body jerking, twitching, inadvertent facial movements or numbness in face
Hypersensitivity when re-exposed to molds, which can lead to anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis upon re-exposure to mycotoxin producing molds
Death, in extreme cases



^Fucked up right? I have 2/3 of those symptoms and my life is HELL right now. Skin rashes, extreme anxiety, fatigue, balance problems, asthma attacks (never had one before in my entire life), severe short term memory loss, brain fog, swollen lymph nodes, hypersensitivity, vision problems, ringing in ears, cold sweats, chills, insomnia, rapid heart beat, fungal food sensitivities (bread/potatoes), twitching in extremities, ect.


PLEASE take precautions yourself, and ventilate your grows properly even if you have to get a carbon filter in order to vent outdoors. Mines in the mail as we speak...

Lemme know what you think, thanks guys. Really in a confusing/frustrating situation right now and could use any/all help and advice I can get... I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that's ran into this problem. & If I can save one person from becoming infected with this shit then the length of this post is MORE than worth it. Please be safe guys n girls.

 

[Slip Kid]

To answer your questions, yes, yes and no. Sounds to me like you might have mono, if you're glands are popping like that and you feel like shit all around. I used get sick in late October sometimes after drying outdoor flowers in the house long before I'd even heard of a carbon filter but shit, I'm no expert but I've been around cannabis a long time and I've never knowingly come across the illness you're speaking of but I have come down with mono twice, both in later October/Nov. I doubt it was related to cannabis but when your nodes swell like that it's time for a Dr. Hope you start feeling better, sounds terrible!

 

[Gelado`]

Aspergillus is no joke. Are you sure that's what got you? One more reason to keep my air conditioning/dehumidification going...

 

[h.h.]

Why is this in the organic section? The soil microbes did not cause your illness. We do get sick.Sometimes real sick. However, erroneously blaming organics or an over active soil does much more harm than good. It only serves to raise the hysteria supporting chemical suicide. Mold comes from poor growing conditions, if that's what it is. See a doctor in case it isn't. Get well..

 

[Gelado`]

Aspergillus will grow on anything that is wet and damp, including concrete walls; if anything, organic soil would keep the spores under control. High humidity is what causes bud to mold.

 

[foomar]

Had most of your symptoms and extreme UV sensitivity a couple of years ago , turned out to be diabetes.

Best see a doctor before jumping to conclusions.

 

[yortbogey]

U need to HEPA filter the whole house.... and yes get checked by DOc.... sounds like Diabetic symptoms to me also....

 

[OrganicBuds]

I bet it's not the mould that is effecting you. See a doctor, and I hope you get well soon.

 

[Easy7]

A good carbon scrubber should stop most of the spores. I would think most of the soil fungi wouldn't be enough to make you sick. Unless the soil is disturbed, the fungi spores should stay there. There are more spores on a mouldy loaf of bread than in the soil. I work with mycology and see all sorts of moulds. Many moulds/fungi are not harmful but some do cause allergic reactions. My guess would be that your buds are mouldy and that is what could be compounding with weather changes.

 

[Plant n Prosper]

A good carbon scrubber should stop most of the spores. I would think most of the soil fungi wouldn't be enough to make you sick. Unless the soil is disturbed, the fungi spores should stay there. There are more spores on a mouldy loaf of bread than in the soil. I work with mycology and see all sorts of moulds. Many moulds/fungi are not harmful but some do cause allergic reactions. My guess would be that your buds are mouldy and that is what could be compounding with weather changes.

carbon scrubbers don't stop spores, I looked it up. I'm beginning to think it was the bud that was moldy now. Thanks man

 

[Plant n Prosper]

Aspergillus is no joke. Are you sure that's what got you? One more reason to keep my air conditioning/dehumidification going...

I'm 90% sure because I came down with the same sickness after smoking damp weed from my dealer last December. I thought he was trying to poison me... but now that it happened again and I've only been smoking my harvest for the past month I'm thinking there was just mold on his bud that I didn't see, and of course mine as well.

I thought mold looked like white fuzzy stuff or dark brown? I looked up Aspergillus on cannabis and it looked like a completely normal bud in numerous pictures. So fucking frustrating! I don't wanna throw out all this weed but I don't wanna sell it and make others sick too...


And air conditioners are breeding grounds for Aspergillus. Air + moisture = perfect conditions

make sure your a.c. is up to par and not 4+ yrs old

 

[botrytiscinerea]

I'm sorry Prosper, please get better I enjoy your postings!

 

[Plant n Prosper]

Aspergillus will grow on anything that is wet and damp, including concrete walls; if anything, organic soil would keep the spores under control. High humidity is what causes bud to mold.

Shit. The air from my closet is shooting into my bathroom which is damp half the time. I have noticed a little mold on the floor board of one wall... but it's been there for a long time. I'm wondering if its that hot moist air making mold grow in the walls and I'm finally getting sick from it now... we kindof have an older house

U need to HEPA filter the whole house.... and yes get checked by DOc.... sounds like Diabetic symptoms to me also....

I have one, that I've been keeping in the bathroom that gets exhausted into, but only after I've been feeling like this. Will def buy another for the upstairs and see if I feel any better... thanks homie

 

[Plant n Prosper]

A good carbon scrubber should stop most of the spores. I would think most of the soil fungi wouldn't be enough to make you sick. Unless the soil is disturbed, the fungi spores should stay there. There are more spores on a mouldy loaf of bread than in the soil. I work with mycology and see all sorts of moulds. Many moulds/fungi are not harmful but some do cause allergic reactions. My guess would be that your buds are mouldy and that is what could be compounding with weather changes.

Oh shit. Actually now that I think about it... we had some potatoes upstairs that went rotten and were leaking like this nasty juice and shit into the bowl they were in. A newspaper was covering it so it went undetected for a little bit... would this have dangerous spores as well? Thats interesting that you work with mycology!

 

[pinkus]

Unfortunately by the time you see mold on your weed, the mycilium are already deep inside the buds. It's always the best policy to throw out ALL the weed that was in the contaminated container/batch. Good luck and and never smoke moldy weed... though I certainly did when I was younger

 

[h.h.]

More likely the mold in your bathroom walls is whats making you sick.
AC takes the moisture from a room. Age makes little difference.Old units with obsolete freon actually work better. The freon is only environmentally unsound if it leaks or when it is disposed of. I.E. replacing your AC. Don't replace it after 4 years. If it doesn't drain the moisture it acquires, then .you create unhealthful conditions. Fix your drain. See a doctor.

 

[Plant n Prosper]

More likely the mold in your bathroom walls is whats making you sick.
AC takes the moisture from a room. Age makes little difference.Old units with obsolete freon actually work better. The freon is only environmentally unsound if it leaks or when it is disposed of. I.E. replacing your AC. Don't replace it after 4 years. If it doesn't drain the moisture it acquires, then .you create unhealthful conditions. Fix your drain. See a doctor.

Holy shit. My a.c. never drains, I thought it was good because it won't be leaking onto my porch. Maybe my a.c. is the cause of this whole thing... I'm gonna take it a part and see what the insides look like. Thanks for the heads up man, rly appreciate it

 

[Plant n Prosper]

Why is this in the organic section? The soil microbes did not cause your illness. We do get sick.Sometimes real sick. However, erroneously blaming organics or an over active soil does much more harm than good. It only serves to raise the hysteria supporting chemical suicide. Mold comes from poor growing conditions, if that's what it is. See a doctor in case it isn't. Get well..

Because Aspergillus is found in organic soil, that's why.


"These fungi are commonly found in soil, food, cellulose, grains, paint, carpet, wallpaper, interior fiberglass duct insulation, and decaying vegetation. Penicillium may cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asthma, and allergic alveolitis in susceptible individuals."

I don't know for sure if my soil got me sick, I was listing this as a possibility though. I would never ever promote non-organic growing. I've done it before, and while its cleaner it's not something I'd advertise. I'm warning growers that this can happen to them due to a number of possibilities, and I'm trying to get an answer to my questions at the same time...

 

[pinkus]

actually smoking mouldy weed is even more likely than anything else in your proximity if that's what you did, and that's wht it sounds like to me in the initial post.

 

[Gelado`]

As for air conditioners, you're right, they are absolutely breeding grounds for all kinds of nasty pathogens. Ideally we should get our air conditoners professionally disassembled and cleaned with high pressure hoses. You wouldn't believe how gunked up they get after a year or two! The age doesn't matter as much as cleanliness. I need to get mine cleaned for sure.