Will Physicians Add Potential Drywall Damages to Regular Patient Screenings? July 18, 2009

Numerous homeowners in Hampton Roads and around the country have discovered their homes were constructed with drywall that contains toxic levels of sulfur and strontium.  Both elements present extremely harmful gases when they come into contact with water molecules, such as atmospheric humidity or rain.

Are our physicians paying attention to the potential health problems stemming from homes with toxic drywall?  Are they educated enough to realize their patients may be severely compromised by elements that exist in a product that few homes in today’s market are built without?  Can homeowners living in homes built with toxic drywall feel confident that their family physician will find the answer to their problems by considering they could be affected by drywall “off-gassing?”  Or, will people continue to be diagnosed with commonly known problems that present the same symptoms that are being blamed on drywall problems, such as Sinusitis or upper respiratory problems, simply because of the lack of education of our healthcare providers?

Some homeowners have been diagnosed with Lupus and other problems that are commonly considered when a physician can find no other logical reason for their symptoms.  The symptoms being reported by homeowners whose homes have been proven to contain drywall run the gamut from headaches, allergies that didn’t exist before living in the home, and rashes to severe respiratory, mucosal and systemic health problems.  It appears those more susceptible are children, the elderly and others who have existing immuno-compromised health.  But, otherwise healthy individuals are also having “light bulb moments” when physical symptoms started not long after moving into a home built during the years where builders and contractors in the U.S. were importing drywall from China on a regular basis (broadly said to be between 2003 and 2007, but peaking in 2006), and they have realized their home may be causing the problems after further investigation.

Another consideration is that there are areas of the country where there is, obviously, more humidity or rain than others.  This also needs to be something considered by physicians across the country, because people in areas not widely known to be affected by drywall issues, where humidity or rain levels only peak at certain times of year, may only present symptoms associated with exposure to toxic levels of sulfur and strontium during those seasons.  How do we educate health professionals around the country that just because their patient didn’t present with specific symptoms all winter, for example, but are visiting the doctor on multiple occasions in the summer months for sinus problems, Bronchitis, rashes, and other issues associated with drywall, when the humidity is worse, that they should look to the potential of damages caused by drywall?  There could be people in areas where it has not been widely publicized who are being wrongly diagnosed and may continue to live in homes that, unknowingly, have toxic drywall.

Will doctors simply provide treatments for these illnesses without considering toxic drywall exposure?  Will a physician’s intake questions include, “Does your home contain toxic drywall?”  If not, how do these people find real answers to their problems?  When will the CDC or EPA finish their investigations of the true affects of the toxic components of some drywall so as to educate medical professionals so they will regularly check for the ultimate cause of the wide range of symptoms being presented by people living in toxic homes?  Our medical community must take note that more and more people could be presenting problems because they live in a toxic home and just don’t know it.  Or, many people may be treated for something in error.

Because this is such a new phenomenon to the country and to the medical trade, doctors have had no choice but to try to correlate the symptoms presenting in their patients to known illnesses and diseases.  But, that could all change if physicians are notified and educated by medical and governmental agencies that regulate the industry.  Additionally, because this issue is so new, there is no firm answer about long-term affects on those who have lived or are living in homes built with the toxic drywall.  This issue should be aggressively addressed and considered as important to those agencies in the same manner as issues related to lead paint, asbestos, Agent Orange and exposure to other components previously found to cause unforeseen damages to individuals.

The toxicity of the gases being produced in homes with contaminated drywall is still being investigated and rates of exposure will range depending on the atmosphere where the home is located.  But, a revolution in training of physicians is more than necessary to keep up and should remain ongoing until definitive answers can be found.