Tuberculosis Confirmed: Start Spreading the News
Editor's Note: WebMD Staffer Leona Perry has been taking the story of tuberculosis patient Andrew Speaker a little more personally than the rest of us here at WebMD. Her sister Renee was diagnosed with tuberculosis in late 2004 and it put their family into a difficult medical situation. Leona told her story; now it's Renee's turn.
Once I was diagnosed, I had to start spreading the news.
My boyfriend, everyone at work, and anyone I had come in contact with since I had the cough had to be tested. The people I was in contact with everyday, if they came back negative on the first test, were required by law to return in three months to be tested again. The Health Dept did this because if you had just been exposed to the disease, you could test negative the first time, and positive later.
I had been sent for a lung x-ray the same day the doctor had given me the skin test. Those were sent to the Health Dept, where they verified that I did indeed have something growing in my lungs.
I had to go to the Health Dept everyday and cough up as much stuff out of my lungs as I could so they could test it to see if it was indeed TB. I was told that the lab would not have results for at least a month, because they had to take my samples that I gave them and grow the TB in a dish. Apparently, it takes at least that long for the culture to grow into something they could see with the microscope. They go ahead and treat you as if you have the disease though because if gone untreated you can die.
Previous: Tuberculosis: The Cough That Never Ends
Next: Tuberculosis Diagnosed: The Road to Recovery
More Information About Tuberculosis(TB):
Technorati Tags: tuberculosis, TB, Andrew Speaker, public health
Once I was diagnosed, I had to start spreading the news.
My boyfriend, everyone at work, and anyone I had come in contact with since I had the cough had to be tested. The people I was in contact with everyday, if they came back negative on the first test, were required by law to return in three months to be tested again. The Health Dept did this because if you had just been exposed to the disease, you could test negative the first time, and positive later.
I had been sent for a lung x-ray the same day the doctor had given me the skin test. Those were sent to the Health Dept, where they verified that I did indeed have something growing in my lungs.
I had to go to the Health Dept everyday and cough up as much stuff out of my lungs as I could so they could test it to see if it was indeed TB. I was told that the lab would not have results for at least a month, because they had to take my samples that I gave them and grow the TB in a dish. Apparently, it takes at least that long for the culture to grow into something they could see with the microscope. They go ahead and treat you as if you have the disease though because if gone untreated you can die.
Previous: Tuberculosis: The Cough That Never Ends
Next: Tuberculosis Diagnosed: The Road to Recovery
More Information About Tuberculosis(TB):
Technorati Tags: tuberculosis, TB, Andrew Speaker, public health
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