Is there is test for mould toxicity in the UK?

[ChocolateBoxCottage]

I know you can ask for mould allergy testing. However I was on SEN thread at some point this year and a OP was telling me their child had a blood test to look a bit deeper at the effect of mould- like a toxicity response to mould on her child. I can't seem to find it in my past history but I did reply to the OP.

My eldest son has had a personality transplant in the last year and I'm trying to think what's changed. One thing is moving rooms since his eldest brother went to uni. It's always been mouldy ( private rented) and I painted it with mould paint but I can'ttrwat it behind the bed without dismantling it. I can some black mould still remains there.

Possibly clutching at straws but I'd interested in doing this kind of test

Sorry, but if you know the mould is there, you need to dismantle the bed to treat it. If you wouldn’t sleep in there, why would you let DC? Move him back to the other room, treat the mould and paint, then find the cause of the mould and fix it so it doesn’t come back. Furniture pushed against walls causing condensation can be the cause, so leave a gap between the wall and furniture to allow air flow. Maybe get a dehumidifier too?

The NHS commonly test for Aspergillosis if a patient has respiratory symptoms, if you are in the U.K, and possibly allergies, but that’s their limit.

The NHS does not offer a specific “mould toxicity” test These would have to be done privately I’m afraid.

I can dismantle the bed but there's no way to get a bed I'm there without it being up against the wall at both ends as the only way it can fit in the box room.

Not using the room as a bedroom is luxury we don't have unfortunately. Everywhere I see I have drenched in hydrogen peroxide and used the mould paint but I can smell the damp in the air. It must still be where I can't see / reach it.

I think I have seen something about a toxicity test. Whether it is widely available I don't know, sorry.

However my experience with a family member is that if you can get a report on the property from a professional to say the mould is dangerous or hazardous to health, that is the best evidence. I don't know if this is something you can get freely though as I paid for ours which said that the house was "inhabitable and not fit for human cohabitation". Of course that doesn't help the health situation but hopefully long term, your living arrangements.

My daughter has severe sensitivity to mould and had a comprehensive test carried out last year which looked for a wide range of different moulds. She couldn’t find a test that was available in the UK and had to send her samples to the US for analysis. I think it cost her ablut £400.

Just googling for you and there are lots of places that test for it in UK depending on where you are in the country. If you wanted to go privately there is this which seems more reasonable than a few hundred! https://healthyaa.co.uk/product/aspergillus-fumigatus-allergy/

If you could find out please that would be amazing? Thank you

I think the damp survey might be a good idea. We have told the owner for years. They insist its our fault. We don't dry clothes inside and open windows but we are overcrowded. But this box room is on two external walls one is covered by tiles. I suspect something is leaking somewhere.

I’ll message her and ask her which company she used. She lives overseas now and her internet connection isn’t always great but I’ll pass on details as soon as I’ve heard from her

That sounds really tough, and I don’t think you’re clutching at straws at all. Mould can absolutely affect behaviour and health, especially in kids. We had a similar situation after a room change, and it turned out the mould behind furniture was worse than we thought.

There are tests that go beyond standard allergy panels—some look at immune response or mycotoxin levels. MyMycoLab and MosaicDX are two I’ve seen mentioned a lot.

Before going down the testing route, I used a free visual scoring tool to assess the mould risk from photos—just to get a sense of how serious it might be. It helped me decide whether to escalate or not. Happy to share it if you want to try it. Hope you get some answers soon, you’re doing the right thing by digging deeper.

@ChocolateBoxCottage. My daughter has sent me details of the tests she did last year. This is what she said

There are two main providers of mycotoxin testing, both in the US: mosaic diagnostics and real time laboratories. You need to go through a UK lab - I used Regenerus labs. I did the mosaic diagnostics MycoTox profile combined with the Organic Acids Test (they do a package) https://www.regeneruslabs.me

Together they were £564 but it looks like the prices have gone up a bit now on the website; alone they are more expensive so it’s good to get the package - the MycoTox gives you an overview of mycotoxins detected in the urine and combined with the OAT which gives a good overview of your metabolic profile, candida, bacteria, energy, nutrient deficiencies etc. They’re often taken together by people with mould sickness.

Yes please if you could, thank you!

Amazing thank you so much for this ❤️

How old is he and what do you mean by personality transplant?

If the landlord is not doing anything about the damp and mould despite you reporting it then report it to the environmental health department at your local council.

All the repainting or bleaching in the world is not going to sort out the damp and mould (which is basically water in the wrong place ).

This is shocking reading!

Re personality transplants, DS1 got very antsy on antihistamine. Cetirizine I think. We always get loratidine now, he was vile, for a while, until we worked it out.