Sick Building Syndrome

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html

The term "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified.

Symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome

Sick building syndrome involves a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms, much like other unexplained conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and Gulf War syndrome (GWS) do. Some authorities have attempted to separate the symptoms into distinct categories such as 'allergic' and 'non-allergic', or 'chemical related' and 'microbe related'. Since there is yet no concensus on these distinctions, the common symptoms of SBS are listed here together:

Headache
Eye, nose, and throat irritation
Dry cough
Dry, itchy skin, rashes
Dizziness and nausea
Difficulty in concentrating
Fatigue
Sensitivity to odors

Distinction between sick building syndrome and building related illness has to be identified. One reason is that they have different etiologies and that treatment method is different too.