Mold Causes Dangerous Air Quality Alert For The Second Day In A Row

CHICAGO (CBS) – Loyola Medicine issued Thursday another Dangerous Air Quality Alert for the Chicago area, after a second day of an extremely high mold count.

Thursday's mold count topped Wednesday, marking the highest mold count of the 2016 season, with a count over 100,000 recorded.

Gottlieb Allergist, Joseph Leija recorded the count Thursday morning and issued the Dangerous Air Quality Alert for the second day in a row.

Thursday marks the third dangerous air quality alert for mold this year, after a count Wednesday of over 70,000 and a count back in September of 53,000 was recorded.

One of highest mold counts in history of The Gottlieb Allergy Count was Aug. 20, 2014 with a recorded count of 82,000, but nurses told CBS Chicago that there have been counts over 100,000 years back. Thursday's count will stand in the one of the top highest counts for mold in Gottlieb's history.

An alert is issued for mold when the count is over 50,000. Gottlieb Allergy encourages people with mold allergies to stay indoors. They advise people to run the air conditioning to filter the air or run a dehumidifier, especially if one has a basement.

Mold allergy symptoms include sinus pressure, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, cough and fatigue.

Gottlieb's Allergy Count for Thursday stated a moderate grass count, a moderate weed count, a moderate ragweed count, an absent tree count and a very high, alert mold count.

Dr. Leija measures allergy counts each weekday morning. One can find the counts on the website, or by calling the hotline: 1-866-4-POLLEN (1-866-476-5536), after 7 a.m.