Mold Illness Testing: Blood vs. Urine Mycotoxin Tests Explained

Awareness of illness from exposure to mold in water-damaged buildings is increasing, but it can still be overlooked. For more than 30 years, I’ve been researching, testing, treating patients, and educating practitioners about mold and mycotoxins: toxic molecules released by molds that trigger autoimmunity and illness. And these are the chronic conditions I’ve most often seen mysteriously persisting because accurate mycotoxin testing is not used in diagnosis: chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic Lyme disease, autoimmunity, autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and skin disorders such as eczema.

When patients know they’ve been exposed to mold, or you suspect they may have been, mycotoxin testing can identify an otherwise hidden source of toxin-induced autoimmunity and inflammation shared by all the conditions above. And mold illness can cause many other symptoms, from brain fog and memory lapses to serious disorders of the respiratory, neurological, and immune systems, as well as central nervous system diseases.¹

A study at Rutgers Medical School pointed out that fungal toxins cause the precise type of damage to the central nervous system that is found in multiple sclerosis. And they concluded: “We propose here that fungal toxins are the underlying cause of multiple sclerosis and thus may offer an avenue towards an effective cure.”²

And a study at Tufts University, in Boston, concluded: “The information reviewed indicates that exposure to mold and mycotoxins can affect the nervous system, directly or through immune cell activation, thus contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder.”³

A Testing Problem

As practitioners, we use objective tests to help identify why patients are suffering, but what do we do when a test doesn’t reflect what’s happening with the patient? I’ve seen this problem when patients are checked for mold exposure with a urine test for mycotoxins, which is not a validated test.

As one chiropractor told me: “I’ll do a urine test, and it’ll show moderate or medium levels. Then I start treatment and repeat the test six weeks later, and everything is really high. I’ll wait and test again six weeks later, and then levels could be anywhere. It doesn’t make sense because it’s not what I’m seeing or hearing from my patients, and I don’t know what to tell them.” Unfortunately, I’ve heard many similar stories.

There is a different, reliable test for mycotoxins that uses blood rather than urine. But before I delve into how the blood test works and the science that supports it, I want to put it into perspective.

There are different protocols in use for treatment of mold illness, and they may or may not include mycotoxin testing. The Shoemaker protocol, for example, does not.⁴ However, practitioners using various protocols may include mycotoxin urine tests, and they tell me they see baffling results.

Unreliable tests make it difficult to accurately detect and effectively treat mold illness. But when the actual problem is identified and treated, health is restored, sometimes to a degree that bewilders a patient’s medical specialist.

→ Go deeper into mold illness and mycotoxin testing with our Toxic Mold & Mycotoxins Resource Center.

A Doctor Couldn’t Believe an MRI

A young mother had been referred to a neurologist because she wasn’t feeling well and her doctor wanted to rule out possible neurological issues. The opposite happened.

An MRI of her brain revealed ten white spots, which denoted loss of myelin, also known as the brain’s white matter. Since myelin protects nerves much like a plastic coating shields electrical wires, loss of myelin leads to serious neurological diseases, in this case, multiple sclerosis.

At this point, the patient sought my help. A blood test revealed that her mycotoxin levels were elevated. She then completed my treatment plan and, eight months later, felt completely normal and, needless to say, greatly relieved.

A few months later, her neurologist’s office called to schedule a follow-up annual MRI, so she had it done. It showed a normal brain; all the white spots were gone.

The neurologist could not believe his own eyes. In shock, he completely lost his composure and berated the radiologist for producing an erroneous MRI. But eventually, he accepted the fact that the radiologist had not made any errors and the white spots really had healed.

This patient’s loss of myelin was not an isolated case. Studies have shown that mycotoxins may cause neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, multiple sclerosis, and anxiety and depression.^5,6 The right treatment can restore myelin and neurological health.

Why Urine Mycotoxin Tests Fall Short

A study by two CDC researchers aptly described the problem with urine mycotoxin tests: “Low levels of mycotoxins are found in many foods; therefore, mycotoxins are found in the urine of healthy persons.”⁷

Levels of mycotoxins in food in the United States are very low and not harmful, but they do show up in urine tests. Levels fluctuate daily and even during the course of a day, depending on what a person has ingested. That’s why the tests don’t necessarily correlate with symptoms of mold illness and responses to treatment.

How inaccurate can urine tests be? One study that examined the challenges of urine mycotoxin tests found that approximately 20 percent of external (non-food) exposure to mycotoxins in the last 24 hours may be evident in a urine test.⁸

In other words, the test is inaccurate 80 percent of the time. In addition, the half-life of mycotoxins in urine averages only 4 hours.

Unreliable tests make it difficult to accurately detect and effectively treat mold illness. But when the actual problem is identified and treated, health is restored, sometimes to a degree that bewilders a patient’s medical specialist.

How the Mycotoxin Blood Test Works

The blood test for mycotoxins uses a regular blood draw and measures levels of antibodies to mycotoxins. Researchers who tested the efficacy of this approach found that it detects mycotoxins “with significant accuracy, precision, and specificity.”⁹

The MyMycoLab blood test for mycotoxins measures levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to 14 different mycotoxins. These toxins behave quite differently from molds.

Pathogenic molds are living organisms, as are viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Molds can cause infections, ranging from pesky ones such as athlete’s foot or toenail fungus to respiratory conditions such as aspergillosis in the lungs, which can be deadly.

In contrast, mycotoxins are not living organisms. They are toxins released by molds, and they set off production of antibodies that can attach to human tissue and trigger autoimmunity. Studies with over a thousand people have shown that levels of antibodies to mycotoxins in blood correlate with exposure to mold mycotoxins and symptoms in patients.^10,11

The blood mycotoxin test measures these two types of antibodies:

IgG antibodies

Elevated blood levels of IgG antibodies to mycotoxins indicate that the patient currently has these levels in their body, and mold may have colonized areas such as the sinuses or lungs, making it an internal source of mycotoxins.¹²

This differs from IgG behavior in microbiology, where IgG antibodies to living organisms—pathogenic molds, viruses, bacteria, or parasites—indicate past exposure or infection and can be protective. If you have chickenpox as a child, your antibodies to chickenpox last into adulthood. This is how vaccines work.

IgG antibodies to mycotoxins are certainly not protective. When elevated, they can trigger autoimmune diseases and inflammation.

IgE antibodies

Elevated levels of IgE antibodies indicate current exposure to molds and mycotoxins and cause mast cell stimulation, which can lead to mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Mast cells cause inflammation throughout the body, play a significant role in asthma, contribute to other airway and lung conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and play a role in autism.^13,14

IgE antibodies to mycotoxins have been shown to trigger the release of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by mast cells. A well-known inflammatory cytokine, IL-6 plays a significant role in the development of inflammatory conditions, especially rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease among rheumatoid arthritis patients.^15,16

Mycotoxins Tested

These are the mycotoxins measured in the blood test and the primary organs and systems each one affects:¹⁷

1. Satratoxin: Brain, nervous system, lungs, immune system, and skin.
2. Verrucarin and Verrucarol: Immune system, nervous system, and cellular function.
3. Ochratoxin A and B: Kidneys, liver, brain, muscles, and fat tissue, and it can cross into the placenta.
4. T-2 Toxin: Gut, brain, reproductive system, and immune system.
5. Vomitoxin, also called Deoxynivalenol (DON): Gut, brain, immune system, and hormonal system.
6. Cladosporium Toxin: Lungs, respiratory system, and nervous system.
7. Stachybotrys Trichothecene: Blood vessels, nervous system, gut, skin, and hormonal system.
8. Alternariol: Cells, DNA, immune system, and endocrine system.
9. Aspergillus Hemolysin: Blood cells and immune system.
10. Sterigmatocystin: Liver, developing fetus, and immune system.
11. Mycophenolic Acid: Immune system.
12. Gliotoxin: Immune system, nervous system, loss of myelin, and DNA.
13. Fumonisin: Brain, liver, kidneys, and cellular energy systems, notably mitochondria.
14. Zearalenone: Reproductive system, hormonal system, liver, immune system, and mitochondria.

Levels of both IgG and IgE antibodies are tested for each mycotoxin, providing a total of 28 data points. This provides an accurate picture of the effects of mycotoxins on a human body and the degree of autoimmune reaction, as a baseline and when monitoring treatment results.¹⁸

→ More information about the test and related science is available at www.MyMycoLab.com.

References

1. Gray MR, Thrasher JD, Crago R, et al. Mixed mold mycotoxicosis: immunological changes in humans following exposure in water-damaged buildings. Arch Environ Health. 2003 Jul;58(7):410-20. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15143854/
2. Purzycki CB, Shain DH. Fungal toxins and multiple sclerosis: a compelling connection. Brain Res Bull. 2010;82(1-2):4-6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20214953/
3. Ratnaseelan AM, Tsilioni I, Theoharides TC. Effects of Mycotoxins on Neuropsychiatric Symptoms and Immune Processes. Clin Ther. 2018;40(6):903-917. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29880330/
4. SurvivingMold https://www.survivingmold.com/legal-resources/community/week-of-october-24-2022#:
5. Campbell AW, Thrasher JD, Madison RA, et al. Neural autoantibodies and neurophysiologic abnormalities in patients exposed to molds in water-damaged buildings. Arch Environ Health. 2003 Aug;58(8):464-74. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15259425/
6. Campbell AW, Anyanwu EC, Vojdani A. Combination of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins and itraconozole in treating chronic mycotic demyelinating optic neuritis. ScientificWorldJournal. 2003;3:640-646. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1100/tsw.2003.49
7. Kawamoto M, Page E, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Use of Unvalidated Urine Mycotoxin Tests for the Clinical Diagnosis of Illness — United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015 Feb 20;64(6):157–158. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25695323/
8. McKeon HP, Hoogenveen R, Sopel MM, et al. Exploring the relationship between daily intake and urinary excretion of the mycotoxins T-2 and HT-2 toxin in humans. Food Chem Toxicol. 2025 Jul:201:115491. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40306543/
9. Garg K, Villavicencio-Aguilar F, Solano-Rivera F, et al. Analytical Validation of a Direct Competitive ELISA for Multiple Mycotoxin Detection in Human Serum. Toxins (Basel). 2022 Oct 25;14(11):727. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36355977/
10. Vojdani A, Thrasher JD, Madison RA, et al. Antibodies to molds and satratoxin in individuals exposed in water-damaged buildings. Arch Environ Health. 2003 Jul;58(7):421-32. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15143855/
11. Brasel TL, Campbell AW, Demers RE, et al. Detection of trichothecene mycotoxins in sera from individuals exposed to Stachybotrys chartarum in indoor environments. Arch Environ Health. 2004 Jun;59(6):317-23. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16238166/
12. Campbell AW, Weinstock LB. Molds, Mycotoxins, the Brain, the Gut and Misconceptions. Altern Ther Health Med. 2022 Mar;28(3):8-12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35353713/
13. Cruse G, Bradding G. Mast cells in airway diseases and interstitial lung disease. Eur J Pharmacol. 2016 May 5:778:125-38. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25959386/
14. Theoharides TC, Kavalioti M, Tsilioni I. Mast Cells, Stress, Fear and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jul 24;20(15):3611. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31344805/
15. Pandolfi F, Franza L, et al. Interleukin-6 in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jul 23;21(15):5238. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7432115/
16. Yu Z, Liu J, et al. Role of Interleukin-6 in Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: Focus on the JAK/STAT Pathway and Macrophage Polarization. J Inflamm Res. 2025 Aug 13:18:10953-10967. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40827265/
17. Janeway CA Jr, Travers P, Walport M, et al. Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease. 5th ed. Garland Science; 2001.
18. Abbas A, Lichtman A, Pillai S. Cellular and Molecular Immunology. 9th ed. Elsevier; 2016.