Testing for mould illness doesn’t have to be expensive. There are some easy, cheap tests to do at the start which can give you great information. General blood testing that is one of these
While the blood tests that your doctor will run in a routine check up won’t be able to diagnose mould illness, it can show some important clues that mould and mycotoxins are worth looking into.
For years I had very low platelets, and my wife had very low neutrophils and no-one could explain to us what was causing it. Both of were big clues (for us) that mould was affecting our health, and once we moved out both of these tests went back to normal.
Here are some other patterns that commonly come up with mould illness. Sometimes the markers may be out of the lab ranges, and other times they can be in the range but still considered high or low from a functional perspective. Get in touch if you need help with looking at your blood tests for these clues
CBC- COMPLETE BLOOD COUNT
This looks at your white blood cells, haemaglobin, red blood cells and platelets
White blood cells: With mould exposure, there will often be an elevation or a reduction in white blood cells, especially neutrophils.
Platelets: There can also be an elevation or reduction in platelets
LIVER FUNCTION
It is common to see elevated liver enzymes GGT, and ALT
Albumin: Albumin binds to mycotoxins, especially ochratoxin, and can be low or high on a test
Alkaline phosphatase: low alkaline phosphatase can be often seen. Its not certain what causes this but could be related to nutrient deficiencies or hypothyroid secondary from mould.
KIDNEY FUNCTION
Mould can affect the kidneys, and you may see changes in kidney function tests as well as ADH
CHOLESTEROL
There is research showing that mould toxins can interfere with lipid metabolism. You may see elevated triglycerides,elevated LDL or trigycerides
VITAMIN D
Mold and its mycotoxins can downregulate the receptors needed to absorb vitamin D into the body. This can in turn cause low vitamin D levels, and may make it difficult to achieve normal levels with supplementation and sun exposure.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor, but have been trained in functional testing which uses tests (like blood tests) to look at how the body is functioning as a whole. The above is not medical advice, and is intended for educational purposes only