What is the difference between Positive TB Skin Test and Negative TB Skin Test?

A positive TB skin test is going to look different from one person to another. Tuberculosis is known to be a contagious disease and it can be easily passed on from one person to another. The test will help determine if you are infected or not. A positive TB skin test means that your body has reacted with the tuberculin that has been injected under your skin.

If you do not get your skin checked within 72 hours, you may need to have the test done again. If you get a negative skin test, you would be required to have the test again after a few weeks to make sure that you will get a negative skin test again.

You are said to have a positive TB skin when the Mantoux tuberculin test result shows the presence of bacteria that causes tuberculosis. On the other hand, a TB skin test is said to be negative when the Mantoux tuberculin skin test result shows the absence of bacteria that cause tuberculosis. There is always a raised area in a positive TB skin test; while this is not always so for a negative TB skin test. This raised area is usually more than 5 mm to 10 mm in diameter when you are exposed to high risk and usually more than 15 mm when exposed to low risk. If at all, there is a raised area in the negative TB test, it would definitely be less than 5 mm in diameter. False positives can occur in a positive skin test if you had had the BCG vaccine lately, and it can’t be indicated in the test if the infection is dormant or active. False negatives can actually occur in a negative skin test, too for people that have HIV or that are very ill.

Positive and Negative TB skin tests are the possible results of the test that you will take to check if you are infected with the TB bacteria. If you have a positive TB skin test, this means that you have gotten infected. You would need additional tests to ensure what type of infection would need to be treated. When you have a negative TB skin test, this means that you are not afflicted with this condition. If you have symptoms that are similar to having the infection, there will also be other tests that will be required so that you can find the source. Normally, you will know if the results are negative if there is only a small bump. This can be seen on the spot where the fluid has been injected.

TB stands for tuberculosis. It is a rare condition where bacteria infects the body. Symptons of the condition include coughing, fever, and night sweats. There are tests that can be performed to identify if a person has TB or not.

This test is TST or Mantoux tubercullin skin test. After a person takes this test, they will either have a Positive TB Skin test or a Negative TB Skin test. A Positive TB Skin Test means that the person has the bacterial in their body. If a person returns a Negative TB Skin Test, it means a person does not have the bacteria in their body.

A positive TB skin test means that the person’s body has a trace of the TB bacteria. It is important that people who get a positive TB skin test will undergo further testing so that it can be checked to what extent the TB already is. For example, does the person have TB infection, or the person already has TB disease? This can be determined by further testing. When a person has a negative TB skin test, this means that the person’s body did not have any reaction to the test. It is not likely that the person has a TB infection or TB disease. No further testing is needed unless the person needs to be tested for other diseases.

Positive TB Skin test and Negative TB Skin test are used mostly to give the result of Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST). A positive TB Skin test means that an individual who has undergone the test has the tuberculosis bacterium in his or her body. On the other hand, a negative TB Skin test means that an individual who has undergone the test does not have the tuberculosis bacterium in their body.

The result of this test usually comes after 48 to 72 hours. During this test, a patient will be injected with a protein known as tuberculin. So if someone has been infected with the disease, the immune system will release certain substances towards the point of injection, thereby causing the area to swell. However, for someone who doesn't have the bacterium, the immune system will not be triggered to rush to the point of injection, so the area will not swell. The diameter of this swollen area is usually around 5 to 10 mm, and this shows the person is positive.