Severe allergies possibly affected by mulch?

[blahblahblah]

I have severe allergic rhinitis and am used to not feeling well, in particular when pollen counts are high.  However, I have been feeling worse lately - chest ache, lower back ache, sore throat, unproductive cough, ever since spreading mulch in my garden.  Is there a connection? Are there particulates inherent in mulch which have further irritated my respiratory function?

[Azzazah]

A related discussion, Garden Mulch was started.

[Debbies18]

A related discussion, Allergies and Mulch was started.

[Inanga]

could be molds or fungus - i have had allergic rhinitis (mainly post nasal drip) for years - i found sugary foods made the mucu run like crazy - I thought this could be a sign of some yeat/fungus whatever living around my nose/sinus/etc - avoiding sugary stuff helped with the symptoms. I have just done 2 weeks on nystatin - an anti fungal agent. They have been great weeks - could breath like normal and no post nasal drip after such a long time. Now the course is finished I think it's coming back. I had to twist the doc's arm to try this stuff and it seems to work so maybe my hypothesis is alnog the right lines. I assume I am allergic to the organsim itself or it's products. May also apply to you - just a thought.

[National Jewish]

It is more likely the molds that you stirred up in the garden, which often cause the types of symptoms you have described.

[Ptstvsnd]

Interesting you should comment on this.  I thought the same thing after spreading lots of mulch a few years ago.  I would not doubt that depending on where and what kind, there could be irritants.  My theory was that there might be mold spores especially.  I don't know if that is the case, but I now wear a horribly uncomfortable mask when I spread mulch.  The year I got my first sinus infection, I put a truckload of compost down, and spread 3 truck loads of mulch.

I wish someone would do a study on all of us on this forum.  I would answer a thousand page questionnaire if I thought doctors could get to the bottom of all the sinus issues.  Who knows if every one of us spread mulch prior to our infections?  A doctor won't ever ask that....