tb tests

[suziquzi99]

Hey everyone. Back from surgery. I haven't been able to sit at the computer so I have been gone for a while. Anyway, I started my apprenticeship job. Everything is going great. 4 days in and I can't wait to start school in Jan. We had a tb test done today. I have had one before but its been at least a decade. Mine is red where the needle was put in. I'd say maybe .5mm. Everyone else's has went down. Should I be worried? My scrapes haven't healed well since surgery so I'm thinking maybe my condition is having an effect on other healing. They do not read the results until Sat. Any thoughts??

 

[reaper]

Don't worry about it.

 

[Hastings]

Hey everyone. Back from surgery. I haven't been able to sit at the computer so I have been gone for a while. Anyway, I started my apprenticeship job. Everything is going great. 4 days in and I can't wait to start school in Jan. We had a tb test done today. I have had one before but its been at least a decade. Mine is red where the needle was put in. I'd say maybe .5mm. Everyone else's has went down. Should I be worried? My scrapes haven't healed well since surgery so I'm thinking maybe my condition is having an effect on other healing. They do not read the results until Sat. Any thoughts??

Here's why you shouldn't be worried (I made the same mistake.)

They don't measure the area of redness. They measure the area that is raised. It can be a circle of red a quarter's size, and the test is negative if it's not raised.

 

[LucidResq]

No promises, but the way you described it doesn't sound like you should be concerned. Positive results are palpable raised areas of 10-15 mm.

 

[Ridryder911]

As others described but a good common guide is if it was + one would definitely know it. It is red, severely red and painful.

R/r 911

 

[marineman]

I have a reaction (irritation) to the test every time I get it and the first time I swore it was a positive test but that was before I knew exactly what they look for. Sounds like you have that rather than a positive test, no worries.

 

[tydek07]

Like everyone else has said... doesn't sound like you have to be worried. Heck, some people show false positive to that test all the time. I know a person who shows false positive, so they have to do a chest x-ray on him every year instead of wasting their time with the traditional method.

 

[BossyCow]

As long as the redness is located around the actual puncture area you are probably okay. But, extreme reactions to the skin tests have been reported. I have a dime sized raised scar on my right forearm from my last TB skin test. I am highly allergic to them and have to get chest x-rays instead now.

Whoever reads the test results should be able to differentiate between a positive reaction and an allergic reaction as they look quite different.

 

[suziquzi99]

Thank you all for your comments. It is negative! It is still visible. Looks more purple but no pain and not raised. It seems to be with age I notice every thing more on my body than in my twenties. Scared myself for nothing.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Well that's good, glad to hear you don't have TB!

 

[mycrofft]

PPD tests: done 'em and read 'em by the hundreds

1. Your first "reactive" (not called "positive" anymore) reaction will not be very imprssive unless you are fighting TB vigorously right now.
2. Redness is not the criterium for reactivity, nor is elevation, but induration is.
3. A reactive TB test is not usually an allergy, (almost never ever) but a revelation that your body has antibodies in plenty against TB.
4. Each subsequent test after a reactive one will be more reactive, especially if TB is causing yor antibody titres to rise. Once you are confirmed as "reactive", you should have the chest xray instead.
5. No, testing once or twice "too close together" with modern PPD solution will not cause a "reactive" result unless you are already circulating antibodies.
6. A confirmed (read by a pro) "reactive" test means you almost certainly have TB in your body somewhere, but as in the majority of people with normal immune systems your body is handling it, walling it into a tubercle and sending out antibody "watchdogs". Very most likely will never ever go as far as to cause one cough and therefore extremely difficult to transmit. But if we told everyone who tested "reactive" that they had TB infection, they'd freak.

We don't tell people who have had chickenpox they are herpes carriers but
they are. We don't remind people with successful oral polio immunization that they are carrying "tame"polio in their central nervous system. Don't worry, be happy, get the appropriate tests and seize the day.

PS: I was told health care workers in correctional situations by year twenty of employment had a better than even chance of testing "reactive". I get erythema from the injection medium but no induration, and I've been crowded in with tuberculars lots of times without knowledge, as have we all. We're pretty tough birds!

 

[medic417]

I hate TB tests. End up getting tested about every 3 months because keep having patients with TB. But really every service should test at least every 6 months.