Positive skin TB Test/Negative X-Rays

A

alphaflyfish

New member
I just got a TB test done, and my skin TB Test came out positive and I got chest x-rays done and they were normal/negative. My doctor just put me to a 9 months treatment medication. If my x-rays were negative why should i be treated for long 9 months? I have been reading articles with people in the same situation as me; and most of them don't say good things about the medicine. Should i go to get re-checked?

thank you,
 
It could have been a bad batch of med used for the test. Go to another area where you could get tested with a different batch of med and see if you are still positive.

This happened to my son. He was on a med for 6 months and then was suppose to take another med for another 6 months. At the end of the first round of med they told him to go on with his life, he did not need to take anymore med. I learned later a batch of med used for testing was bad.

I also tested positive via skin test, however, my grandmother died of TB when I was 4 years old. She was a snuff dipper/spitter and most likely I crawled around on the floor and was in contact with her sputum. The doctor said I could have had a light case of TB at that age and it was passed off as a cold. My lungs were clear but I had to get kidney x-rays off an on for a year.

TB can attack other organs, not only the lungs.

I understand that we all carry the TB germ in our body, it does not show up until it is activated for whatever reason.

A pregnant mother can pass the TB germ to her unborn baby.
 
Once you test postive on a TB skin test, you will always test positive. It only means that you have been exposed at some time in your lifetime. A chest x-ray is done to see if they can see any infection in your lungs. This helps determine if you have an active case of TB. Why was a skin test for TB done on you? Was there a possiblility that you may have been recently exposed? Patients usually begin a regiment of medication once it has been determined that the person suspected of having TB does indeed have an active case. You might want to question why you need to take medication?
 
I am in the exact same situation as you are. Had the possitive skin test/ negative chest x ray. Was told I had been exposed at some time and needed to go on the 9 months of meds. My mom is a registered nurse and had also tested possitive with the skin tests/ negative chest x ray. She has consulted with numerous doctors/ infection control specialist and they said that hers was not an exposure but a simple allergic skin reaction to the test. Neither of our test have a inderation that is raised at all... just red about the size of a nickel or quarter. Usually a true possitive test is raised. I have chosen to have another test in a month and get a second opinion from my primary physician because the test was origionally checked in the urgent care on a weekend. ( simple test check turned 4 hr wait!) Anyways I would not rush into taking the medication because I have heard multiple stories of these reactions that are said to be possitive but may only be allergic. Remember doctors are "practicing medicine"- theyre not perfect. Good luck with working out your tb test frustrations... I feel your pain. Take care.
 
Clear x-rays now don't mean they'll stay that way. Latent TB can become active at any time. (once active again you'll be contagious)

Isoniazid for 9 months is 93% effective in getting rid of TB. Take some b-vitamins, Iso sucks up b6 and that starts some of the side effects.
 
I do not have latent tb, and the dr never used that term with me or said that i had any thing close to the disease. He emphasized that I do NOT have the disease, therefore it could NEVER become active or contaigous. He simply said that i may have been exposed to someone at sometime that may have had it...An exposure is a far different thing than having an innactive case that could become active. Also it is possible to have an allergic reaction to the injection- I was told so by a doctor because mine was a small red spot, itchy, with no inderation. A true possitive test showing exposure has an inderation.
 
(Sorry, KSR23. I didn't mean for that post to come off so bluntly, it wasn't pointed at you - or anyone else.)

A TB blood test is available although not widely, check with your local health department, called QuantiFERON-TB Gold. (QTF-G)

Tests can be performed wrong, read incorrectly and other factors can influence testing like allergy, other illnesses, vaccines and time of exposure. These can lead to false-positive and false-negative skin tests.

That said, there is no such animal as "exposure TB" or "old TB". It's like being "a little pregnant" ;) if someone's skin test is truly positive, it can either active or latent, but they are infected.

CDC fact sheet on skin testing, including false-positive and false-negative results http://www.cdc.gov/TB/pubs/tbfactsheets/skintesting.htm
 
I have latent TB my test came out positive large red area and was raised. Was told that it was probably nothing but sent to infection control Dr. I was put on medication for 9 months now on my 4th month. I have no side effects (wish that I lost my appetite or weight loss) I was told that I will have only 2% chance at getting active TB when I'm in my later years after 50 and beyond. compared to a 1 in 10 chance in getting it.
 
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