Diagnosis
To find out if histoplasmosis is the cause of your symptoms, your healthcare professional gives you a physical exam. You're asked about your medical history and whether you've recently gone to a place where the disease is common.
Your healthcare professional may recommend one or more of the following tests as well:
- Blood or urine tests.
- Tests of a saliva and mucus sample coughed up or removed from the lungs.
- An imaging exam such as a chest X-ray or a CT scan of the lungs.
- A procedure to remove a small piece of lung tissue, called a biopsy.
- Bone marrow tests.
Treatment
Most often, treatment isn't needed for mild histoplasmosis. But if your symptoms are serious or if you have chronic or disseminated histoplasmosis, you'll likely need treatment. This involves taking one or more medicines that treat infections caused by fungus. These medicines are called antifungals. If you have a serious form of the disease, you might need to keep taking medicines for three months to a year.
Preparing for your appointment
You're likely to start by seeing your primary healthcare professional. Then you might be referred to a specialist in infectious diseases. Depending on your symptoms and how serious your infection is, you also might see other healthcare professionals. These could include a lung specialist called a pulmonologist and a heart specialist called a cardiologist.
What you can do
Make a list of:
- Your symptoms. Include any that don't seem related to the reason for your checkup. Note when your symptoms began.
- Key personal information. Include whether you've been to areas where you might have been exposed to the fungus that cause histoplasmosis. For example, mention if you've been to places with lots of birds or bats.
- All medicines, vitamins or other supplements you take. Include the amounts you take, called the doses.
- Questions to ask your healthcare professional.
For histoplasmosis, questions to ask your healthcare professional include:
- What's the most likely cause of my symptoms?
- How could I have gotten this infection?
- What tests do I need?
- Will I need treatment and, if so, which do you recommend?
- What side effects can I expect from treatment?
- I have other health conditions. How can I best manage these conditions together?
- Are there printed materials I can have? What websites do you recommend?
What to expect from your doctor
Your healthcare professional likely will ask you questions such as:
- Do you have symptoms constantly or once in a while?
- How serious are your symptoms?
- Do you work outdoors?
- Have you spent time in areas with a lot of birds?
- Have you spent time in caves or other areas where bats might live?
