I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the TB Blood Test. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
As a registered nurse in charge of infection control, I have given more TB injections than I can count. I did them every single day I worked for years. The problem with the skin test are plentiful though. For one, you have to come back 3 days after getting the injection to show the nurse or doctor your arm to have them check for results. Those results are subjective, leaving your results truly open to interpretation. And, the results are just not accurate due to history of exposure, certain vaccinations in foreign countries, and more. Oh, and did I mention that some people had a reaction of itchy skin to the skin test? Yeah, not a fun thing for them!
That is why I was so happy to hear about a new TB (tuberculosis) test! Now, there is a blood test that you can get to test for a TB infection. On my current medication, I have to have a yearly TB test and I can tell you that I would much rather have the blood test. It is objective leaving no room for error. It doesn’t require me to trek back to the doctor’s office in 3 days to be read. It is just a much more efficient way of doing the same thing… test for TB!
A few other things I like about the TB blood test are that it only takes 3ml of blood so hardly anything to worry about there. Plus, anyone can get it despite their age or immunity (something that speaks to me as someone who is immune compromised). There are no cross reactions with a previous TB injection so there is no need to worry about a false-positive and expensive chest x-rays to rule out TB. I have been there and it was costly!
The TB blood test is not only easier, more efficient, and more accurate, but it can save you time too. Can you see the benefits?!? Which test for tuberculosis would you choose? I will be choosing the blood test to test for TB from now on.
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