Sneezing on warm summer evenings, or a stuffy nose in a damp bedroom? Cladosporium is the mould whose spores are most common in European air, and it also grows on cold, damp surfaces at home. Our test checks for IgE sensitisation to Cladosporium as a whole extract and as a single protein, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to the other moulds, mites and pollen.
Cladosporium is a group of dark, olive-green to black moulds. Cladosporium herbarum is the species allergy labs use. Outdoors it lives on leaves and plant debris, and its spores are usually the most numerous fungal particles in the air in Europe, from Finland and Ireland down to the Mediterranean.
Indoors, it is one of the dark moulds that grow where warm air meets a cold surface: window frames, shower sealant, the corner behind a wardrobe. So it can be both an outdoor summer trigger and an indoor, year-round one.
Reports look a lot like hay fever: sneezing, a runny or blocked nose and itchy eyes. Outdoors, symptoms often build in mid-summer and on warm evenings, when the grass pollen season is winding down. Indoors, people describe a stuffy nose that is worse in one room, or worse in autumn and winter when windows stay shut.
Mould sensitisation is linked in research to asthma, so some people also notice a cough or wheeze. Chest symptoms are a topic for a doctor, whatever a test shows.
IgE to Cladosporium shows that your immune system recognises it. It does not show how strongly you would react, or whether your home has a mould problem. Some people have mould IgE and no symptoms at all.
Some mould proteins look alike across species, so a result to one mould can come with results to others. A Cladosporium-specific protein on the panel helps a doctor see whether Cladosporium itself is the likely target.
The lab measures IgE to Cladosporium herbarum in two ways: as a whole extract and as one single protein, Cla h 8. Alternaria, Aspergillus fumigatus and Penicillium are on the same panel, so you see your mould results side by side with house dust mite and pollen, as part of 300 allergens and allergen components.
Each value gets a class from Negative to Very high on the lab report. Treat the pattern as something to discuss with a doctor, especially if you have chest symptoms.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
Outdoors in northern and central Europe, Cladosporium spores are highest from about May to September, peaking in July and August, often on warm, dry afternoons. Indoors, it can grow all year wherever surfaces stay damp.
Often, yes. Cladosporium is one of the dark moulds that grow on damp sealant, window frames and cold walls. Other species can look similar. The test measures IgE in your blood, not which mould is on your wall.
Yes. Mould and pollen sensitisation are separate, and the seasons overlap in summer. Testing both in one sample shows which ones your blood shows IgE to.
