tb question

[bedbug]

i had a tb test about a yr ag and it came up negative, and there is this guy that im kindve seeing and i just found out that he has had tb the past 2months but is taking meds for it.. should i be concerned do to my own health issue

[caregiver222]

Provided you have a normal immune system TB often goes into remission and you may NEVER develop an active case. Surgical removal of the encapsulations should theoretically remove the risk, however there may be more than one encapsulation, and finding them is difficult, if not impossible. The bacteria can be killed if the encapsulation is identified and opened. In 1904 the nobel prize was awarded for the discovery that untraviolet radiation would kill TB bacteria. These little buggies become encapsulated in biofilms and antibiotics do not always penetrate these films. Theoretically the administration of anti-cholesterol medications (which break down these films) and antibiotics should increase the effectiveness of the antibiotics. There is also a phage that is specific to the TB bacteria, but it is unavailable in this country. As you know the original research that resulted in an antibiotic cure was largely conducted at Rutgers. Recently a brilliant woman physician at Rutgers developed what she calls "quorum theory" to explain why latent bacterial infections become active and life threatening. Scientif American did an article a ways back on this. Exercise, keep your immune system up, eat nutritionally and don't worry so much!  :)

[bedbug]

if i were you i would get retested and find out for yourself... as you should be tested once a yr any how and if i were you i would

[RockRose]

caregiver - hmmmm.  I've always thought I had latent antibodies,  but not a tiny amount of bacteria still present.

This website backs up what your experience tells you:

http://health.rutgers.edu/Immunizations/TB.htm


But then I'm confused about  some of it.  It seems that in the first five years,  I was at much greater risk of developing the disease,  and the chances that my body will have defeated it are significant.  BUT,  I will always test positive all my life.  

I think my first postive showed up when I was about 12.  I'm 48 now,  and the website indicates,  as my docs have said,  that I shouldn't retest.

Am I just waiting to get the disease?  Funny,  my lungs hurt just now.  : (

[caregiver222]

I spent a full year researching TB 12 hours a day at Columbia University Medical library and I am probably the first person in  fifty years to have read most of the stuff, which dates from the 1920's. I was involved with a group that was providing protocols for the treatment and isolation of TB in the federal prison system. TB was practically eliminated, but has made a comeback with a vengeance. During the 1920's there was a line at TB wards and newspaper that crossed this line were never allowed back. I have one study at my office that demonstrated that a newspaper coughed upon by someone with TB could cause tuberculosis over a year later. The test involved grinding the area of contamination and injecting it into guinea pigs, who develop TB in the same manner as humans. On the other hand I am always (contrary to popular belief) open to constructuive criticism and if there is anything specific I have written you find fault with pleae let me know.

[bedbug]

i went to my doc yesterday the 9th and he told me there is to types of tb and the type this guy im kindve seeing has the type 2 as he was tested postive in his tb but with no signs (what a relief).. my grandfather had it when i was little but he didnt die from that.. but my older sister got it from him, and there was this little girl that i took care of 18yrs ago and she caught it the yr prior....

[RockRose]

Caregiver - I think some of your details are wrong,  but I could be wrong.

I always test positive on the TB tine test - because,  as the doctors say,  I have antibodies for TB.  Because I've been exposed to it,  or at one point had it (I didn't,  just an exposure) so the antibodies are always there.  The bacteria doesn't "encapsulate",  in fact,  it's the antibodies that are formed to fight the bacteria that still exist in my body,  not the bacteria.

Or that's the way it's been explained to me by doctors who have told me that when I need a TB test for a job,  skip right past the tine test and go straight to the X ray,  because the tine is a waste of time for me.

[caregiver222]

During the 1920's almost all medical health professionals tested positive for TB. Once you have TB it becomes encapsulated and never goes away. It only goes into remission. It is a nasty disease. That being said, TB is not always contagious if properly treated. You are prudent to be concerned, however if his infection is being treated, the risk should be minimal. If you are serious about this gentleman and he about you, ask him to sign a medical release permitting you to query his physician about his treatment and prognosis. As far as a "chest x-ray" goes, TB does not only infect the lungs and does not always show up on an x-ray. An x-ray will NOT tell you for sure if you "have it".

[Barbarella]

YES!  I had TB when I was 3 yrs old and almost died.  Tell your doctor he/she will give you a tine test (skin TB test) don't be alarmed if it comes out positive because only being around a person with TB can give you a positive TB test which does not mean you have the disease but were in contact with the TB germ.  The next step your doctor will do is order a chest Xray, that will tell for sure if you have it.