Tuberculosis: How You Can Find Out If You Have It

Tuberculosis is currently making a comeback in many western nations, including America. For many years, tuberculosis had been successfully controlled by doctors. This is no longer the case. Many new cases of tuberculosis are being diagnosed every day. Tuberculosis can be difficult to spot early in the disease process, however there are some tests available which can help determine if you have tuberculosis.

Symptoms of an early tuberculosis infection can be quite vague and nonspecific. A cough is the most common symptom experienced by a person with tuberculosis. It is quite common for this cough to produce a small amount of blood. Symptoms will progress, becoming worse over a period of weeks to months. Symptoms of tuberculosis can include a general feeling of fatigue, malaise, fever, and a lack of appetite. A person with a tuberculosis infection will appear to be chronically ill.

Okay, so what do you do if you suspect that you have tuberculosis? The only proper way you can make a diagnosis of tuberculosis is to see your doctor. Your doctor will take an extensive medical history, and do a physical examination. If you have been recently exposed to people who are known to have tuberculosis, you’re obviously at higher risk. Your doctor will need to know this. Recent travel to countries where tuberculosis is common is also something your doctor should know.

Once your doctor has spoken to you and has done the physical examination, there is a simple test to determine whether or not you have been exposed to tuberculosis. This test is known as the purified protein derivative test, or PPD. This test is administered by injecting a small amount of protein which is derived from the tuberculosis bacteria into the skin on the forearm. These proteins are harmless and cannot give you tuberculosis.

After the proteins are injected into the skin, the person being tested is sent home. They will then return to the clinic and have the test “read” several days later. A PPD test is positive when the skin in the area of the infection becomes a firm and hard. This means that your body has reacted to the tuberculosis proteins. This only happens when you have been previously exposed to tuberculosis.

A positive PPD test does not mean that you have active tuberculosis. It simply means that you have been exposed to the bacteria in the past. Once you have a positive PPD test, you’ll need to have a chest x-ray to determine if you have any signs of an active tuberculosis infection. These tests, in combination with a physical exam and any potential symptoms you may have, will tell a doctor if you have tuberculosis. People who have positive PPD tests are often advised to take antibiotics, even if they do not have an active infection. This is simply precautionary.

Once again, it is important to understand that the only way a diagnosis of tuberculosis can be made is to speak doctor. If you suspect that you may have tuberculosis, it is important to make an appointment with a doctor or nurse practitioner as soon as you can. Tuberculosis infections take a long time to become serious, however the sooner you know if you have an infection, the better chances you have of being successfully treated.