How To Test Arsenic Levels In Body

So, my friend Dave—you know the type, a self-proclaimed health detective—called me the other day. He’d just bought a bag of "herbal" rice from a sketchy online vendor, and after his third bowl, he started googling side effects. Naturally, he convinced himself he had arsenic poisoning. He asked me, “How do I test for it? Do I pee on a stick?” Spoiler alert: it’s not that simple. But his panic got me thinking—how do you actually test arsenic levels in your body?

First off, let’s get real: arsenic is everywhere. It’s in groundwater, rice, apple juice, and even some pesticides. The body’s pretty good at flushing out small amounts, but chronic exposure can be nasty (think nerve damage, skin lesions, and cancer risks). So if you’re worried—maybe you live near an old orchard or you’re a committed brown-rice lover—you’ll want a proper test. But forget the pee stick. That’s just wishful thinking.

The Two Main Tests: Pee vs. Hair & Nail

You’ve got two big options: urine tests and keratin tests (hair or toenail clippings). Urine tests are your go-to for recent exposure—like if you drank contaminated water yesterday. They measure what’s currently sloshing around your system. But here’s the catch: you have to avoid eating seafood or seaweed for 48 hours before the test, or you’ll look like a toxic waste dump thanks to less-harmful organic arsenic.

Hair or toenail tests are for the long haul. They show accumulation over the past few months. Gross but cool, right? You literally mail in a lock of your hair or a clipped toenail to a lab, and they check for inorganic arsenic embedded in the keratin. The downside? You have to wait for results, and it’s not cheap—usually $50 to $150 without insurance.

The Real Procedure (No, They Don’t Draw Blood)

You might think a blood test is standard, but blood arsenic disappears fast—like, within hours of exposure. Doctors rarely use it unless you’ve had a sudden, severe poisoning. So, for most of us, it’s either a clean-catch urine (less weird than it sounds) or a salon-worthy sample of your hair. Pro tip: If you’re doing a nail test, don’t paint your toenails for a month before. Nail polish can contaminate the sample. Yep, that’s a real lab request.

Premium Photo | Blood sample for arsenic level test for the diagnosis

You’ll need a doctor’s order for most tests because labs don’t just take walk-ins. But doctor visits are a pain—and expensive. Some online services (like Direct Labs or Everlywell) let you order test kits without a doc, though they’ll still ask you to confirm your location and identity. Just don’t buy a $10 test on Amazon. Those are often scams that measure arsenic in your water, not your body. You’ll end up like Dave, panicking over nothing.

Interpreting the Results: The Numbers Game

When you get your results back, they’ll show micrograms per liter (urine) or micrograms per gram (hair). A normal urine level is under 50 mcg/L for total arsenic, but if you ate sushi last night, that number could spike to scary levels—temporarily. For hair, anything above 1 mcg/g is considered suspicious.

Premium Photo | Blood sample for arsenic level test for the diagnosis

Here’s where it gets ironic: most “high” results are actually false alarms because of that organic arsenic in fish. You’ll need a follow-up test that specifically looks for inorganic arsenic (the bad kind). If that’s elevated, your doctor might order a 24-hour urine collection. Yes, you have to pee in a jug for a whole day. Fun times.

Should You Even Bother?

Unless you’re working in a smelter, living near a superfund site, or eating three pounds of rice daily, your risk is probably low. Dave’s “herbal” rice turned out to be regular jasmine rice. He spent $120 on a test that showed normal levels. Classic overthinker. But if you experience symptoms like chronic fatigue, “pins and needles” in your hands, or unusual skin changes, it’s worth checking with a primary care doc—not Google.

In the end, testing arsenic levels is more about peace of mind than paranoia. Just remember: urine for recent hits, hair for history, and always skip the Amazon test kits. And if you’re Dave, please stop buying food from vendors whose websites look like a 1998 Geocities page. Your body—and your wallet—will thank you.