Freaking out about my PPD!

AnonRNC · Aug 21, 2012

PPDs are meant to be read 48-72 hours after placement. The swelling you have now may be resolved by then.

LisaFlory · Aug 22, 2012

If it stays raised, you will probably have to get a chest X-ray to make sure you don't have TB. If your chest X-ray is negative for TB, then you probably just had a bad reaction to the TB solution.

Brekka, ADN, RN · Aug 22, 2012

What Anon said. Besides, from my experience, a positive PPD is still not a big deal. I go in yearly for chest X-rays and during the year if another is indicated, and my employer covers the cost.

bubblejet50 · Aug 22, 2012

Mine got really red and itchy but never raised. Its been getting more red everytime I get done the last 4 years. It could be an allergic reaction. See if the bump goes down at all.

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Aug 22, 2012

Same thing happens to me. I finally learned to wait till the max amount of time to read the test and at that time, the redness becomes almost minimal. The only s/s I have is the readness--no raised area, heat, etc. Give yourself the maximum amount of time to have the test read; the redness should resolve by then...if not, you will get a CHX.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 22, 2012

As I tell my patients: as long as you're not having a severe or life-threatening reaction to the PPD, try to ignore whatever the site does/looks like for the next 48-72 hours, since it's going to change quite a bit before it's time to be read. The closer you can go to 72 hours, the better. Don't attempt to self-read it because you will only work yourself into a frenzy. Try to stay calm and wait until you have it read.

Also, a positive PPD is not necessarily a clinical death sentence--they'll follow-up with a chest X-ray. If that turns out positive...then you may have to worry about rescheduling clinicals. But many people who have positive PPDs end up having negative X-rays.

If you are still very concerned, then the best person to get advice from is your healthcare provider.

PalmHarborMom · Aug 22, 2012

My daughter is in a medical magnet program at her highschool and they have to get 2 TB tests when school starts. One of the girls in her class had a reaction to the nurse not doing the test correctly, she inserted the needle into the muscle tissue. It caused a reaction but when re-tested she was fine.

afrinurse · Aug 22, 2012

A few years ago I started to have reactions to the PPD test. I got a chest X-ray and it was negative. Apparently I may have developed an allergy to the ppd serum. There is now a tb blood test that can be done for screening purposes so that you don't have to get repeated X-rays!

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Aug 22, 2012

Calm down, no need to panic. I 'converted' to positive in 1986. Probably exposed to an undiagnosed patient in ICU - TB is endemic in my part of the country. I took prophylaxis meds for 6 months.... never had any active s&s and have had no problems since then. Just have to do the annual CXR instead of PPD.

2BRN123 · Aug 22, 2012

Mine was big and raised right after it too. And then it flattened out and disappeared. There was almost no indication that I had even had the test done by the time I went to get it read. Nurse chocked it up to being sensitive to the delivery solution.

1wellnessnurse · Aug 22, 2012

Well it is 8/22 so you probably know if you have had a conversion yet. If you did convert, I would recommend getting the quantiFERON gold test (blood test). It tests for TB specifically unlike the PPD (it is possible to have a + PPD and no exposure to TB).

Also it is a good idea to hang on to (and make copies) of your documentation showing a + PPD. You will need it for virtually every job you apply for in the future.

Best of luck!