Question about T.B

[griffin 7]

GREETINGS!

IF YOU WORK IN ANY HEALTH FIELD IT IS A MUST TO HAVE A TB SKIN TEST....AND IF YOU HAD BCG IMMUNIZATION BEFORE THEN THEY WONT HAVE TO DO SKIN TEST BECAUSE YOU WILL TURN OUT TO BE POSITIVE BUT WILL ASK YOU TO DIRECTLY HAVE A CHEST X RAY.

Positive results may be due to a latent or active TB infection or occasionally due to a false positive. Positive results may also be seen in those who have received a BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin) vaccination. [This is a vaccine that is not used in the United States but is often routinely administered in other countries that have a higher incidence of TB.]

Positive results must be followed up by other tests such as chest X-rays to look for signs of active TB disease. If active TB disease is suspected, AFB cultures may be used to confirm the diagnosis.

[Jaylen Brit 0]

My brother, an EMT, says many MANY people carry inactive TB in their lungs their whole lives without any issues - I had no idea that was the case; quite a sobering thought.

Welshie if you dump alcohol for a few months you will probably lose weight, as its very sugary - think of the POSITIVE side gal!

(On the minus side once you startdrinking again your tolerance will be very low, been there done that, now I can't drink more than 2 drinks before I'm half cut - PLUS side tho: really cheap date )

[Welshcookie 17]

yeh....I have already cut out my usual bottle of wine a night and lost almost 2 stone over the past 2 and half months....with the help of South Beach lol...so when I do have a drink at the weekend I am a well cheap date already

[Fandango 1,440]

Aww Welshie, I'm sorry you have to go thru this...pills and no drinking for 9 mos? Well, just look at it this way...it's like having a baby

Seems harsh for such an extended pd of time, but at the end of the day, thank God it was caught!

Good luck with your TB pregnancy

[Welshcookie 17]

Good luck with your TB pregnancy

I am going to off to drink a bottle of vino now while my liver is up for the challenge

[Donna A 4]

im not sure of the treatment. i just know it takes a long time on antibiotics. my husband told me before but ive forgotton it.

[Lovetoteach 53]

Hey I'm really sorry to hear that, you've had enough problems. Let's hope and pray the x Ray turns out ok. It's true that having had the BCG can cause a positive reaction to the skin test.

Wishing you the best hun

Love Shona

[sparkofcreation 0]

Um, did you have the BCG vaccine as a child? I thought it was given to all British children. If so, why the bloody heck did they even test you? Any reputable doctor should know better than that! The test will always be positive in anyone who's been vaccinated (if not, it's because the vaccination has worn off), and it can be dangerous as well. At the very least, it's painful. Anyone who's been vaccinated is supposed to skip the skin test and get the chest x-ray.

You'll have to have a chest X-ray, that's probably as far as it will go.

In the US, the treatment is 6 months, but it's hell. You have to take the pill at the exact same time (within 30 minutes) every day. If you miss a day, you have to start over from 0. And you can't take any other prescription medications at all, or a lot of OTC ones, during the whole time. Including birth control.

I have a semi-abnormal reaction to the test from being exposed to very very very low levels of TB in a clinic where I used to work. In other words my test reacts instead of dissappearing, but it's not quite large enough to be considered positive. But I know all this because I was told that if I kept working there, in another year or two (we had to have the test once a year) it would probably become positive. (That, on the other hand, is not a bad thing: if you have a positive reaction without having TB, it means you're already resistant to it, like being vaccinated.)

Edited July 15, 2006 by sparkofcreation

[Welshcookie 17]

As I said in my opening post I was immunised and they did take that into consideration but the public health doc at the clinic told me that it is only generally effective for 15 yrs....I am 40 now and because of the size of the reaction site he is convinced that I have been in contact with TB since, also I have worked in the healthcare field for all my adult life so the risk goes up. Mostly ppl who have positive reactions due to BCG the reaction site measure anything up to 10mm...mine was almost double that.

I realise that I could go thro may life and never have active TB...but I have thought about it some and decided to go ahead with the treatment....it is a pain in the a$$ cos I have to go to the clinic, which takes almost an 1.5 hrs, every month for tests while I am on treatment. Hopefully I will get this chest x ray and the other doc will decide I don't need it...but as it stands now he has recommended me for it.

[Lovetoteach 53]

Only fifteen years immunity for that horrible scar-that's not good

Shona

[Kajikit 65]

Most people who've been exposed to TB never get it... I'd think that the doctor is seriously going in for overkill. At least get the x-ray and sputum test before you jump into treatment, so you know if there's any sign of an active infection. Otherwise you could spend nine months taking the icky drugs when you don't really need to...