TB SKIN TEST

JaYY said:

I have to do this TB Skin test for my college... I did it like 7 years ago it was positive because
as a child i was given BCG. Now I do not want to do it again.. just want to directly do the chest
x-ray. But School say I need show them the documentation before doing the x-ray. The problem is
that I do not have any documentation.. I was wondering if I do the TB skin test again.. would it
be "serverly" positive ? Because As I understand .. The infection was "recalled" after the first
test which was 7 years ago. I have no other choice. Any input?

If you received the BCG vaccination then you should have the BCG scar on your arm to prove it to the
doctors. This should be all they need as proof. You might have to attend the skin test session, but
once there tell the doctor you've previously had the BCG vaccination and show him your mark.

(JaYY) said:

I have to do this TB Skin test for my college... I did it like 7 years ago it was positive because
as a child i was given BCG.

This, you assume, of course. There is no way to prove, even with a normal chest X-ray, that you also
haven't actually been exposed to tuberculosis and that your PPD is positive only because of the BCG.
This is why we don't use the BCG in the U.S. It doesn't help much with the spread of tuberculosis,
but it sure makes identification of carriers and decisions on prophylaxis more difficult.

Also, you didn't specify how many millimeters of induration you actually had to be considered
"positive." 5? 10? 15? 20?

Quoted message said:

Now I do not want to do it again.. just want to directly do the chest x-ray. But School say I need
show them the documentation before doing the x-ray. The problem is that I do not have any
documentation..

Unfortunately, that's not the school's problem.

Quoted message said:

I was wondering if I do the TB skin test again.. would it be "serverly" positive ?

Probably not. The thing is, though, were you my patient, you wouldn't be in this quandary. Had
you actually had a truly positive TB test (>10 mm induration, I would guess, without knowing
otherwise your circumstances) with a normal chest X-ray in the first place, I would have treated
you with 9 months of isoniazid and you'd be done with it. Then for college you'd have
documentation of a positive PPD, normal chest X-ray, and completion of prophylaxis, so you'd be
excused from a repeat PPD.

Quoted message said:

Because As I understand .. The infection was "recalled" after the first test which was 7 years ago.
I have no other choice. Any input?

Just go ahead with the PPD. I would guess that if your "positive" one from 7 years ago was only from
the BCG, it should be even less "positive" now and you might actually be off the hook. If it's
strongly positive and you end up going on prophylaxis, it might actually end up saving your life.

PF

NO BUDDY you are confusing bcg with smallpox vaccine... BCG do not have scars.

Quoted message said:

If you received the BCG vaccination then you should have the BCG scar on your arm to prove it to
the doctors. This should be all they need as proof. You might have to attend the skin test
session, but once there tell the doctor you've previously had the BCG vaccination and show him
your mark.

JaYY said:

NO BUDDY you are confusing bcg with smallpox vaccine... BCG do not have scars.

Quoted message said:

If you received the BCG vaccination then you should have the BCG scar on your arm to prove it to
the doctors. This should be all they need as proof. You might have to attend the skin test
session, but once there tell the doctor you've previously had the BCG vaccination and show him
your mark.

Have you ever received the BCG vaccine? Very few Americans have and so they are unfamiliar with its
results, but here in the UK it is routine for teenagers to be given it.

I have had the BCG vaccination as have my brother, sister and most friends. We ALL have the typical
vaccination mark of BCG on our arms.

Those of us born before 1970 also generally have had the smallpox vaccination and have the scar from
that too. The two scars look very different and anyone who knows anything about preventative
medicine can easily distinguish whether a vaccination mark is from smallpox or BCG.

[email hidden] (JaYY) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

NO BUDDY you are confusing bcg with smallpox vaccine... BCG do not have scars.

Quoted message said:

There are many vaccinations that produce scars, but BCG is not one of them.

Bacille Calmette-Guèrin is the standard vaccine for TB.

If you take the germs and crush them, and extract the juice with WATER, you get the OLD-STYLE
Tuberculin. This is used for the Tuberculin Tine Test. A tine is a TOOTH, like that of a plastic hair-
comb. It is dipped in the juice and pressed against the flesh without breaking the skin.

If you have TB ANTIBODIES, either from vaccination or from TB exposure, your system will be fooled
into thinking that the old-style tuberculin represents a TB attack. The antigens in the contaminated
skin summon the antibodies, and a pimple appears within three days at each point where a tine had
been pressed against the skin.

The trick is used on COWS as well. In some countries, only TT milk is allowed (TT-tested). That
means that the cows were never exposed to TB. Countries where the milk is not properly tested still
have TB outbreaks. It is present in the milk, and causes both lung TB (spread also by coughing) and
bone TB - and a few rarer variants.

It was pointed out that there are often FALSE POSITIVES.

It is true that there are also FALSE NEGATIVE results. I seem to remember seeing a Mayo Clinic
report quoting false negative in Addison's disease.

TB has the power to MUTATE, so when it is found, a MIXTURE of antibiotics is used for treatment to
ensure that all mutant forms are killed. With just a single antibiotic, some antibiotic-resistant
forms might survive.

My researches suggest that the Addison's disease form is a rare mutant TB that can live in the chemically-
hostile environment of the Adrenal Cortex. Normally, the steroids would kill germs. It is precisely
because the TB has found its niche in one adrenal that it chooses to invade the other also.
Addison's disease requires that over 90% of adrenal tissue is destroyed - and on BOTH glands.

I call this mutant Bacillus Tuberculosis Addisonii.

The loss of steroids in Addison's disease RAISES the T-cell count - which SHOULD lead to INCREASED
immunity. However, it seems that there is a "SHIFT TO THE LEFT" in the T-cell spectrum - too many
immature cells. So immunity actually DECLINES. This might explain the false negative.

When the cells have been washed out with water, they can also be washed out with ALCOHOL. This
liberates the alcohol-soluble protein. This NEW-STYLE Tuberculin is not used for a tine test.

In passing, I would mention that the researches of Drs. Cutler and Morton led to a CURE for bladder
cancer. Donald L. Morton's treatment by passing BGC into the empty bladder once a week for six weeks
cures 70 to 80 percent of cases.

This is the ONLY immunological treatment for cancer approved by the American FDA.

I suspect that the cure-rate could be increased to 100% if all those who were not cured were
VACCINATED with BCG, and if after a delay to let immunity develop the treatment was repeated.

Charles Douglas Wehner