What will happen if I'm tested positive for TB?

Tuberculosis is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. It is a bacterial infection spread through the air, and most TB infections start in the lungs. TB is also contagious. A positive TB test means that TB bacteria has been detected, and it does not indicate whether the person has active TB or latent infection.

Additional investigation may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. This procedure includes a chest x-ray and a review of symptoms. If the TB test is positive, it merely means that the person responds to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Antibiotics treat TB. Without the appropriate treatment of TB, the person may die.

When you get a positive TB test result, this means that the TB bacteria has been detected in your system. The problem with this test is you will not know if the TB is active or if you have been infected before. In order to figure out what is going to happen next, people would need to undergo further testing.

TB diseases can also be diagnosed with the help of medical history, overall physical examination, lab tests, and x−ray. There are some people who are positive for TB and they would show symptoms of it but there are also some who may have it and not get sick. Still, this means that they can pass on the sickness to other people.

There are different kinds of tests to confirm whether you already have the bacteria causing the TB infection in you. For instance, you can be tested for tuberculosis using the TB skin test. For this test, a small amount of tuberculin will be injected into your skin. The effect of the reaction of this substance after two or three days will show whether you are positive or negative. Once you are tested, and you have a positive reaction to any of the TB tests, it means you have contracted the disease from someone with TB disease. At this period, your doctor will prescribe the right medications for you. This is very important as it will stop the infection from developing into what is known as TB disease. After taking the medications for some time, you need to visit your doctor to have another test to confirm if you are still positive or not.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air, and it is something for which you should see a doctor. If your tuberculosis test comes out positive, your doctor may give you a chest x-ray. They will check for abnormal spots on your lungs or any changes caused by TB.

You might also take a sputum smear test. Your doctor will take a sample of the mucus that comes up when you cough and test it for TB bacteria. Effects of active TB in diagnosed cases range from pleurisy, which is a condition of the lining of the lungs and coughing, throwing up blood, loss of appetite, fatigue that feels more like weakness, fever, weight loss, and night sweats.

If you get a positive result in your blood culture test, it typically means that there is bacteria or yeast in your blood. A positive TB test will be reported to the Department of Health and you will have to take a course of medication, and then have another chest x-ray to see if the medication has succeeded in treating the disease.