I had my skin test for tuberculosis on monday, today i found that it is very positive, about 5 cm, 50 mm?

Question

Does that mean I have a tuberculosis? Is it treateble? May it be the reason of my cough and weariness? How often can I have x-ray in a year? X-ray is bad for the body, isn't it? ( I mean radation )

Answer 1

The xrays used today are very low exposure, as the film is ultra sensitive. You get the same amount by going out in the sun for a few minutes, and that is all over your body.

Tb is treatable, I hope you don't have the type that is drug resistant. IF they see anything on xray or you are very young and agree to take it easy on your liver, you may be offered treatment, which will last for 18 months or so.

Answer 2

It means that at some point you have been exposed to tuberculosis, not that you currently have it. Your skin test would also be positive if you had had the vaccine for tuberculosis at some point . . . because the vaccine works by exposing you to the organism that causes TB (cluing your immune system in to it, so that it's prepared when you meet a strain of it that TB both alive and pathogenic).
You may want to get a chest Xray if you are experiencing a cough (although more likely it's just the flu or a cold), or any other symptoms of TB. Most healthy people will not go on to develop the disease, but TB is a tricky one that can manifest itself years after a positive skin test, often when your body is in an immunocompromised state for whatever reason (AIDS, cancer/chemotherapy, etc.) TB also has a higher incidence among minorities (hispanics, Native Americans, Asians) than it does in white people.

Answer 3

A chest xray will confirm everything. And if you are positive for TB, there are drugs to treat it. But, you're TB test will always be positive from now on.

Answer 4

No, that only means that you have been in touch with that illness, that test have to be correlated with your symptons and blood test.