Infection/Immune Testing
Poor Immunity & Underlying infections-
including Lyme & Coinfections, Mould/ Mycotoxins, CIRS, MARCoNS/ MCAS
The amount of times we have seen patients come in with multiple "unrelated" conditions and have tested positive to an underlying infection makes our head spin!
When a microorganism enters an individual's body, a normal functioning immune system will elicit physiological changes such as fever, increased white blood cell count and our immune systems start to kill off the infection.
Sometimes lesser symptoms show themselves and last over a longer period of time. Common symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fatigue, persistent cough, and low-grade fever. Patients with these subtle signs and symptoms fall classically in a state of subclinical infection, and this is where we would consider immune boosting due to poor immunity.
When immune dysregulation occurs, we can suffer from something called a stealth infection, or in the case of mould, Biotoxin illness.
Stealth infections and biotoxin illness occurs when the microorganisms are undetectable by regular laboratory tests or by the immune system. The body doesn't recognise the infection and doesn't know how to elicit an appropriate immune response to kill the invading microorganism. However, the organism is still active in the body and secrete toxins steadily overtime, as well as hijack the inflammatory responses of the body into overdrive.
These infections often affect multiple systems in the body, therefore can be misdiagnosed as other conditions or missed all together. Some common symptoms and conditions associated include:
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Chronic fatigue
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Brain fog
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Symptoms that seem to happen in a cyclical nature (eg. flare up every 5 days- can be related to bacterial breeding cycles)
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Respiratory/ sinus conditions
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Fibromyalgia
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Joint and/ or muscle pain
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Nerve tingling/ pain
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Static shocks
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Fluid retention
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Hormonal/ thyroid imbalance
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Mental health imbalance- including anxiety, depression, PTSD
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MS-like symptoms
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Cardiovascular disease
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Liver and kidney dysfunction
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Certain cancers
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Gastrointestinal symptoms
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Multiple chemical sensitivities
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Multiple food intolerances
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Autoimmune disease
What are my testing options?
Mycotoxin Profile- Urine
Mycotoxins (toxins from mould) are some of the most prevalent toxins in the environment. Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by fungi like mould, which can infest buildings, vehicles, and foodstuffs. Most mycotoxin exposures in North America, Europe, and Australia are through airborne exposure.
Food may be a major source of mycotoxins in third-world nations that lack government inspection of foods, especially the grains such as rice, corn, wheat, rye, and barley. Many grains that are harvested have been found to be contaminated with mycotoxins but little of such harvests are discarded and are frequently sold for animal feeds such as dog food or feed for cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and horses.
Fungi can grow on almost any surface, especially if the environment is warm and wet. Inner wall materials of buildings, wallpaper, fibre glass insulation, ceiling tiles, and gypsum support are all good surfaces for fungi to colonize.
These fungi then release mycotoxins into the environment causing symptoms of many different chronic diseases. Diseases and symptoms linked to mycotoxin exposure include fever, pneumonia-like symptoms, heart disease, rheumatic disease, asthma, sinusitis, cancer, memory loss, vision loss, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, depression, ADHD, anxiety, and liver damage. With the MycoTOX Profile we can identify mycotoxin exposures and make recommendations for detoxification treatments that have been effective.
Click here to view information about Great Plains Mycotoxin Profile
Mould Illness/ CIRS/ Biotoxin illness testing- Blood test
These tests are a set of biomarkers to test the extent of inflammation and negative physiological changes in the body that can occur from Mould and Lyme related illnesses caused by an underlying syndrome called CIRS- Chronic inflammatory response syndrome.
The markers that can be tested are- C3a, C4a, Leptin, MMP-9, VIP, MSH, VEGF, ADH, TGFB-1, PAI-1
Click here to read more about CIRS
Lyme Disease and Coinfection Testing- Blood test
These are the list of the Infections that are not commonly testing for in Australia that we can test for using Functional Pathology Labs:
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Borrelia
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Mycoplasma pneumoniae
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Chlamydia pneumoniae
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Anaplasma
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Coxiella
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Bartonella
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Babesia
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Toxoplasmosis
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Brucella
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Other more common infections such as EBV, CMV and Herpes family infections can be tested, but as they are under Medicare, you may choose to get these tested with your primary GP.
We use a range of labs, depending on what will suit each individual best - Australian Biologics, Vibrant Wellness. Igenex, Nutripath
MARCoNS- Sinus Swab
MARCoNS- "Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Coagulase Negative Staph", is an infection that may be present in more than eighty percent of people having mould toxicity and chronic inflammatory conditions.
In most cases, this infection have a protective shield around them called a "biofilm" that they have created around themselves, giving them a resistance to antibiotics. This biofilm protects certain bacteria, allowing it to grow and multiple and make it difficult to eradicate.
In some cases, MARCoNS can cause a person who no longer suffers from mould toxicity or Lyme to have persistent inflammation and symptoms, despite having treated all other aspects of the illness. This test can look at both bacterial and fungal colonisation in the nose.
Click here to view sample report
MCAS testing- Blood and urine
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a condition where a patient may have a normal level of mast cells present, but these cells may be over-responsive or overreact to the body.
Symptoms are usually related to the excess and episodic release of inflammatory mediators from mast cells.
A common presentation is recurrent anaphylaxis where no trigger or cause can be identified.
It is often a challenging condition to detect because the inflammatory mediators may only be released during an episode, then return to normal levels.
Click here to view testing details
To work with Jess to do a thorough investigation into your health and choose the right testing for you, as well as an individualised treatment plan, book a session below to get started on your journey to great health