If you are experiencing health issues and have been exposed to mold in your home or workplace, or you think you may have a mold issue in one of your indoor environments, it is hard to know where to turn for initial symptom assessment and testing without spending lots of time and money on doctors visits that often don’t yield conclusive information. Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) Testing, an online self-assessment of your ability to discern black/white/gray contrast, can help. The test was useful to me in facilitating a connection between my environment and my illness and has continued to be helpful for me in evaluating the effectiveness of my various treatments and new living environments. Thus, I would like to share the details of VCS testing with you today.
Whenever mold exposure is a health concern, the obvious first step should be to address your environment and to figure out whether it has a problem. There are few tools as helpful as environmental testing with EC3 Mold Screening Test Plates to determine this. These biologically-based Petri dishes are conclusive in determining the presence of mold. But, when it comes to your body and knowing whether or not it has been or is being affected by mold, there can be confusion and conflicting information. That is where some online tools and self-screening tests can be very useful. While none of these are conclusive without a doctor’s further testing and diagnosis, they can combine circumstantial evidence that can collectively be relied on to make the difficult and elusive mold diagnosis. Getting diagnosed early can save valuable time and money and is priceless in helping the family manage through any mold hardships impacting their lives.
In my opinion, the best place to start, especially if you are considering medical treatment, is the Free Sinusitis and Mold Sensitivity Evaluation available for FREE at SinusitisWellness.com. It includes questions about both your medical history and home and work environments. Your responses will help to generate valuable information about whether or not your symptoms point to mold as the possible culprit for your health issues. This valuable information can then be used to seek further medical help, or to take practical steps in mold hygiene, or for useful products and follow-up. Since I have already featured this evaluation in a previous post, today I am going to shift my focus to VCS Testing, another self-screening tool, and what it can offer in terms of possible mold exposure insight.
What is the Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test?
The VCS Test is not an eyesight or visual acuity test, but rather a test to see how discretely you can distinguish black/white/grey contrast. Contrast sensitivity testing has been historically useful in cases of cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and a number of other vision-related concerns. Now, thanks to the research and validation done by Dr. Hudnell, PhD neurotoxicologist of the US EPA, and Dr. Richard Shoemaker, it has also been proven useful in determining potential biotoxin illness. So, while there are no routine lab tests to measure biotoxins, these doctors found that you can measure their effects on the human body, with VCS testing. While not conclusive, The VCS demonstrates deficiencies and specific deficits in people exposed to biotoxins.
But, how?