What does a positive TB test look like????

if it is positive there will be a quarter to a half dollar sized red mark. it will be very easy to see. Neg will look like nothing or a mosqueto bite.good luck, Denise

Your daughter will most likely test positive because most Gautemalan children get the TB vaccine. A positive TB skin test is measured by the raised amount, not the redness of the site. (10mm or above is considered positive.) Don't be alarmed if she is positive, most MD wait until 1 year after the immunization to test for TB. Danny was negative but we did not test him until he was 18 months. \Hope this helps (as a public Health nurse, I've read hundreds of TB tests!) Mary, mom to Danny and Ricco both from Guatemala

It looks like a bubble. Most other countries give the TB vaccine. The US doesn't becuase the chances of it are so low compared with the soct of the vaccine. My husband tested positive when we did our physicals for the adoption because he had the vaccine in Spain so they had to do a chest x-ray which was negative.

My daughter did test positive and it looked just the way the others have described. Our pediatrician (an infectious disease pediatrican) told us that from now on she will need to have x-rays of her lungs instead of the needle test because she will always test positive and her reaction will get worse with every test. He said the only way to know for sure that she doesn't have TB is to see that her lungs are clear on the x-ray. When we had her needle test with our family physician and it showed positive, they immediately put her on medication and referred us to the infectious disease pediatrician. Needless to say, he took her off the meds because it wasn't necessary. Just a little added info for you, based on our experience. Treasures <><

Hi Barbara, Here is an article from WebMD.com, there is a picture showing someone measuring a skin reaction. Hope this helps.[url="http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw203560.asp"]http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw203560.asp[/url] Craig

Since our son had the TB vaccine, our pediatrician read the results himself instead of having the nurse check it as they usually do. He measured the reaction area. He told us the reaction is a smaller area when vaccinated than if he was truly positive. Hope that helps. Suzanne