2.3 Additional Signs of Increased Sensitivity

ven if you are not in a known high-risk group, your body may still give you clues that something in the home deserves a closer look.

In this lesson, we’ll look at a few additional signs of increased sensitivity, including whether symptoms seem worse at home, improve when you leave, or return when you come back. We’ll also introduce two simple screening tools that can help you organize what you are experiencing.

These signs and tools do not diagnose illness or prove that your home is the cause. They are simply additional pieces of information that may help you decide what to do next.

Lesson at a Glance

Not everyone who is affected by a home will already have a diagnosis or known risk factor. Sometimes, the first clue is simply a pattern in how you feel.

One of the most useful questions to ask is:

Do you feel different when you are in the home compared with when you are away?

You may notice that certain symptoms become worse while you are at home, improve after you leave, and return again when you come back. That kind of pattern does not prove that the home is the cause, but it can be an important clue worth paying attention to.

Some symptoms people commonly notice may include:

  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Congestion
  • Coughing
  • Wheezing or shortness of breath
  • Eye or skin irritation
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Dizziness
  • Other symptoms that seem to change depending on where you are

The key is not just whether you have symptoms. It is whether there is a repeatable pattern.

Look for a Pattern

Ask yourself:

  • Do symptoms become worse after spending time in the home?
  • Do they improve when you spend time somewhere else?
  • Do they return after you come back?
  • Do certain rooms or areas seem to make symptoms worse?
  • Are other people in the home noticing similar changes?

A pattern like this can be useful information to share with your healthcare provider.

Notice the Pattern: Do You Feel Different When You Leave?

Biotoxin Illness Symptom Cluster

The Biotoxin Illness Symptom Cluster was developed by Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker as part of his work with patients experiencing chronic inflammatory illness related to biotoxin exposure. His method groups commonly reported symptoms into clusters and then uses the number of positive clusters as a screening score.

Rather than looking at one symptom at a time, the tool looks for patterns of symptoms that occur together. In the Shoemaker framework, a higher number of positive symptom clusters may suggest that further evaluation for a biotoxin-related illness is worth discussing with a healthcare provider.

The tool is not designed to diagnose you and should not be used by itself to determine whether mold, a water-damaged building, or another exposure is causing your symptoms.

Instead, it can help you:

  • Organize your symptoms
  • Recognize patterns you may have overlooked
  • Track whether symptoms are changing
  • Create a score that can be compared over time
  • Have a more focused conversation with your healthcare provider

The goal is not to label yourself with an illness. It is to gather another useful piece of information as you look at the bigger picture.

Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS)

The Visual Contrast Sensitivity test, or VCS, is another screening tool used in the Shoemaker approach to evaluating possible biotoxin-related illness. Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker incorporated VCS testing into his diagnostic framework as an early screening step and as a way to track changes over time.

The test measures how well you can see subtle differences between light and dark patterns. This is different from a standard eye chart, which mainly measures how clearly you can see letters or objects.

A reduced VCS score can occur for many reasons. It is not specific to mold exposure or CIRS, and a failed VCS test does not prove that your home is making you sick. Other medical conditions, medications, age, eye problems, and different environmental exposures can also affect contrast sensitivity.

Within the Shoemaker framework, the VCS test is used as one piece of a larger screening process, along with symptoms, medical history, laboratory findings, and information about possible exposure.

The VCS test may help you:

  • Identify another possible sign that further evaluation may be helpful
  • Track changes in visual contrast sensitivity over time
  • Compare results before and after changes in exposure or treatment
  • Provide additional information to discuss with your healthcare provider

The important thing to remember is that the VCS is a screening tool—not a stand-alone diagnosis.

Key Takeaways

  • Symptoms can sometimes provide useful clues about how your body is responding to the home.
  • Pay attention to whether symptoms get worse at home, improve when you leave, or return when you come back.
  • A repeatable pattern can be important, but it does not prove that the home is causing the symptoms.
  • The Biotoxin Illness Symptom Cluster tool can help organize symptoms and identify patterns.
  • The VCS test can provide another piece of screening information.
  • Neither tool can diagnose mold illness or prove that a building is making you sick.
  • Use these tools as part of the bigger picture along with your symptoms, medical history, and what is known about the home.
  • If the pattern or screening results raise concerns, consider discussing them with a healthcare provider.

Look for patterns, not just individual symptoms.

Next Steps

You have now looked at several parts of your personal risk:

  • Whether a healthcare provider has identified a medical concern
  • Whether you or someone in your household may be in a higher-risk group
  • Whether your symptoms seem to change depending on where you are
  • Whether screening tools suggest that further evaluation may be helpful

The next step is to put those pieces together.

In the final lesson of this section, we’ll help you look at your overall personal risk and decide how much weight it should carry in the larger Leave or Stay decision.