Symptoms and Signs of Sick Building Syndrome

Doctor's Notes on Sick Building Syndrome

Sick building syndrome is a condition that occurs when a number of a building's occupants have a constellation of nonspecific symptoms without a specific identifiable cause. The symptoms occur when people are in the building, and resolve when people are not in the building, and they are found in a number of individuals within the building. Sick building syndrome should not be confused with building-related diseases, which can be traced back to a specific cause that can range from allergies from molds found in a building, to bacterial infections related to contaminated cooling towers, to cancers from prolonged exposure to carcinogens.

Symptoms of sick building syndrome may include nausea; irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; mental fatigue, difficulty concentrating, headaches, skin irritation, and dizziness.