# Mold spores and mycotoxins in lungs

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-spores-and-mycotoxins-in-lungs/821733
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 22, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-spores-and-mycotoxins-in-lungs/821733 "2018-09-22T14:35:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-spores-and-mycotoxins-in-lungs/821733/1 "2018-09-22T14:35:51Z")

</div>

Wonder if a mycologist can chip in with some knowledge here:

So I have seen from one source that various molds, such as aspergilus and penicilium, emit mycotoxins essentially willy-nilly and these float about in the air like vapors, but then another source says that such mycotoxins aren’t emitted unless someone inhales them into the lungs AND they grow colonies in the lungs; which is right?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [September 22, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mold-spores-and-mycotoxins-in-lungs/821733/2 "2018-09-22T18:01:45Z")

</div>

The whole “mold is a dire health threat” is completely overblown. Here is what the CDC says about mold:

> **[Facts about Stachybotrys chartarum | Mold | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm#Q1)**
>
> CDC Mold website provides information on Stachybotrys chartarum, sometimes called "black mold".