Typical SBS symptoms may occur from a few minutes to a few hours after entering a building and tend to get progressively worse throughout the day. This pattern is repeated until the sufferer eventually concludes that the building is the cause of the symptoms. In theory, SBS symptoms are the initial indicator of damage to the immune system, nervous system, etc., and that prolonged insult to the body's systems can lead to disease conditions. These are clinically diagnosable diseases where a physician can perform a test or conduct an examination and conclusively diagnose the disease as having an environmental cause and, in all likelihood, will associate the building with the onset of the disease. The following is a discussion of a number of the most common BRIs, but this list should not be considered exhaustive.
Allergies are an immune system overreaction to exposure to environmental contaminants, such as mold.
The typical response is that the body overproduces immunoglobulins and triggers the release of a chemical called histamine, which causes nasal swelling and congestion. While mold allergies are common, there are other allergens commonly found in a building that can also trigger allergic responses, such as cat and dog dander, cockroach antigens, dust mite feces, and pollen. Asthma Asthma is a hypersensitivity response which may be triggered by exposure to a wide range of environmental stimuli, including molds, tobacco smoke, carbon-based particulates, and many others. Asthma is a restrictive airway disease that can be fatal. There are also nonenvironmental triggers, such as stress and exercise.