> it was very hurtful that reddit posts with requests for help identifying objects were regularly deleted from the major microscopy communities. They simply refused any discussion or assistance with DIY microscopy related to any human disease

Unfortunately, this is the only way to keep a hobby subreddit on topic. Once a subreddit becomes known as an outlet for non-hobbyists looking for one time assistance, the same requests get posted over and over again until the people who want to discuss the topic get fed up and leave.

Mold topics are particularly sensitive on Reddit because mold exposure is a huge red herring theme on TikTok and social media. People with difficult to diagnose medical conditions will often go through a phase thinking that mold exposure must explain everything and there are thousands of TikTok accounts and Facebook groups that will tell them it's the only explanation.

I understand that one cannot expect a reddit hobbyist community to compensate for a medical system that has already "failed" the patients. But if you feel your disease is progressing despite the medications the doctors give you, you will desperately try every single thing that people post on social media.

The cycle of "long covid > mold > lyme > candida > parasites" can only be broken by clever people building better, cheaper analytical methods for detection of these diseases.

Doctors really should show some humility and remember that 200 years ago it was an innovation for them to wash and disinfect their hands, and the guy who told them, Ignaz Semmelweis, was "red herring" chased into psychiatric asylum.