A blood test, sometimes called the
How do doctors test for mold? Some of the commonly prescribed medical tests for mold sickness are Mycotoxin testing, IGE testing, Scratch Allergy testing GI testing, and DNA testing. Your doctor will often use your environmental report to identify the appropriate corresponding medical test.
Testing for Mold Poisoning
The doctor will take a health assessment and health history, and will order blood testing. Antibodies in the patient's body will be checked for a reaction to mold and to other allergens and poisons. The severity of the reaction will also be determined.
The best and cheapests way to test your home for mold is using a DIY mold test kit. Popular options include Moldcheck, ProLab, and FirstAlert. These kits typically include swab or tape lift samples for surface testing. For more accuracy, send samples to a laboratory for analysis.
It's best to hire a professional mold inspector for accurate results. They have the experience and equipment such as digital moisture meters, hygrometers, infrared cameras, and borescopes, to detect and identify mold growth, and DIY kits may be unreliable.
It irritates the nose and throat, which can lead to both sneezing and coughing as your body tries to get rid of the irritant. Inhaling mold spores can also trigger coughing in people with allergies or an asthma attack, for those with asthma.
To test for mould in the air at home, you can use DIY mould testing kits available in stores or online. These kits often include petri dishes filled with a growth medium. You'd expose the dish to the air for a set period, and then cover and allow it to incubate for a specific time.
Mold is an obvious health risk in any home, but investing in an air purifier can help limit your exposure. The best among them will ideally offer HEPA-level filtration, with this level of filtration being able to trap up to 99.97% of airborne particles down to 0.3 microns in diameter.
According to the CDC, people usually experience their first symptoms within 2 to 9 hours of their first exposure. On the other hand, some people could go for weeks or months before feeling sick if their exposure is limited enough. This is why it is also important to check damp, dark areas of your home for mold.
Such specialists might include an allergist who treats patients with mold allergies or an infectious disease physician who treats mold infections. If an infection is in the lungs, a pulmonary physician might be recommended.
If you have a mold allergy, your immune system overreacts when you breathe in mold spores. A mold allergy can cause coughing, itchy eyes and other symptoms that make you miserable. In some people, a mold allergy is linked to asthma and exposure causes restricted breathing and other airway symptoms.
Hydrogen peroxide, commonly used to disinfect wounds, is active against a wide variety of micro-organisms including mold. It acts by releasing oxygen at a rapid rate, which kills mold by oxidizing the surface and breaking down proteins and DNA.
If you want to monitor your indoor air quality proactively, you can invest in an air quality monitor. This will help you test if your house is making you sick. These devices constantly check the indoor air quality and provide feedback about the levels of different pollutants.
Urine mycotoxin tests are ideal for testing yourself (and your family members) for mycotoxin exposure. They're absolutely painless, totally non-invasive, and incredibly easy to use.
Chronic Fatigue: Mold forces your body to work harder, leading to persistent fatigue, especially in those with pre-existing conditions. Lung Issues: Prolonged exposure can cause lasting damage to lung function.
Mold Detection
In the same way that smoke detectors identify smoke, not fire, the Biomatrix Mold Monitor identifies unseen moisture that can lead to widespread mold growth.
“Square footage and the number of samples are the biggest factors in the cost,” Pfeifer says. With these variables, a mold inspection can be higher or lower than the national average. In his California market, the cost can range from $275 for a simple visit to $2,900 for a complex inspection.
A quick and easy test for mould
HouseTest's laboratory uses the latest qPCR testing technology to analyze mould DNA found in samples of dust or air. Samples can be taken both by householders and specialist surveyors and we analyse them as soon as they arrive at our lab. Taking a sample is a quick and easy process.