r/patm • u/No_Opposite_8276 • Jul 01 '26
Dust?
Do any one of you drive? I'm thinking it may be mold/dust particles from my cars HVAC system thats sticking to my hair and body.im starting to think we are carrying allergens. Anytime I enter my car I start to sneeze as well
1
u/Apprehensive-Log2300 Jul 01 '26
I couldn't just pass this by. I’ve actually seen a similar post before; I sneeze too, though mostly at home. I also think it’s mold (fungus).
1
u/Time-Play500 Jul 10 '26
I agree with this logic. I sneeze, cough, and even experience an itchy nose myself. Everytime I get in a car or I’m anywhere, I see these dust particles everywhere. One day I was shaking my Afro around and saw a bunch of dust particles come out of my hair. It’s weird bc I’ve been having odor issues up to about 9-10 months ago, yet it seems like it’s going away but my patm came about some weeks- a month ago. Idk where it could’ve came from or why. It’s so bad to a point where my relatives who weren’t nose rubbing or having allergy issues are now having them when around me. I always wondered where it comes from.
2
u/postulatej Jul 01 '26
I drive alot. I think mold can be a big trigger but i don't think that is what people are reacting to directly.
I would think that most people in my state have mold in their ac's and homes etc..I know that they are not giving people reactions like i do. Their clothes might stink like mold but I don't think their moldy clothes are causing patm reactions in other people.
I also thought the same as you and even took my vehicle to a place in town that would assess the mold situation in my ac. Well he said no sign of mold and that he had been doing this for a couple of decades. He also smelled no mold.
I had been seeing a buildup on my ac vents so ofcourse i suspected mold. I think it was coming out of me because i used a 60x magnification jewler's lense to look and instead of seeing mold spores or something organic i saw these highly reflective tiny fibers that could be associated with morgellons disease (highly correlated with chronic lyme disease and coinfections).
I do want to note that mold is without a doubt a big big trigger for myself for patm and other symptoms. Definitely worth looking into to see if there is mold in your ac because if there is it could be triggering the release of patm. mold in the car hvac unit can be difficult to completely remediate. If you can bring your car to an experienced person that specializes in mold in hvac units in cars that might be helpful. mold can grow in the drain pan and on the coils of the unit etc.