Tuberculin Skin Test

[Ronny_Cari 8]

Hello everyone! So I just got my medical examination for AOS last monday and tuberculin skin test is included. The induration of the skin test site as of now is like almost an inch. Should I be worried? I know that I am 100% healthy and never had TB before. I would really appreciate your comments. I will go back to the doctor tomorrow for the TST reading, I am hoping that this is just a false positive result since I had a BCG vaccine from the country where I was born. Thank you in advance for your comments and have a nice day!

[Boiler 43,433]

You might ask him why he wasted time and money doing a test when that would be the result.

Makes you wonder about their competency as Doctors.

[CowBoE 429]

Hello everyone! So I just got my medical examination for AOS last monday and tuberculin skin test is included. The induration of the skin test site as of now is like almost an inch. Should I be worried? I know that I am 100% healthy and never had TB before. I would really appreciate your comments. I will go back to the doctor tomorrow for the TST reading, I am hoping that this is just a false positive result since I had a BCG vaccine from the country where I was born. Thank you in advance for your comments and have a nice day!

Yes this occurs too often to those immigrants that had the vaccine back in their country.

They may have you go to public clinic for medication and have you also get chest x-rays.

But chest x-ray should positively prove that you don't have TB, and most immigrants in this case don't have TB.

My ex went through this, and there was never a time when they brought up immigration issue because of this.

You have nothing to worry about...other than just following through on confirmation tests

to prove that you don't have TB.

[CowBoE 429]

You might ask him why he wasted time and money doing a test when that would be the result.

Makes you wonder about their competency as Doctors.

It's probably not the doctor. Doctor probably knows this as this occurs commonly

to many immigrants, particularly from Asia.

It's the busted system...we have money to waste in US.

Actually...may be doctor is in this too, because he'll make few bucks off this.

[Boiler 43,433]

UK as well.

[Ronny_Cari 8]

You might ask him why he wasted time and money doing a test when that would be the result.

Makes you wonder about their competency as Doctors.

They didn't even ask If I had BCG vaccine, I just happened to find out when I researched more about TST that once a person got the BCG vaccine, the TST will be positive.

Thank you for your comment. :-)

[Ronny_Cari 8]

Yes this occurs too often to those immigrants that had the vaccine back in their country.

They may have you go to public clinic for medication and have you also get chest x-rays.

But chest x-ray should positively prove that you don't have TB, and most immigrants in this case don't have TB.

My ex went through this, and there was never a time when they brought up immigration issue because of this.

You have nothing to worry about...other than just following through on confirmation tests

to prove that you don't have TB.

Thank you for your comment. :-) I now expect that they will ask me to do an x-ray exam to make sure everything is ok. :-) I am just wondering why they didn't ask me if I had BCG exam since they know that I will have to have skin test done. But tomorrow I surely will tell them about it. :-) Have a wonderful day!

[genddob 10]

Yes it's normal. I have had BCG and have huge reaction to TST so no longer get them. For the AOS medical I had the Quantiferon Gold blood test drawn instead which gives definitive no (but I'm pregnant and didn't want CXR which is much cheaper usually).

[Ronny_Cari 8]

Yes it's normal. I have had BCG and have huge reaction to TST so no longer get them. For the AOS medical I had the Quantiferon Gold blood test drawn instead which gives definitive no (but I'm pregnant and didn't want CXR which is much cheaper usually).

Hello, was the Quantiferon Gold blood test painful? And when they found out that your TST was positive, did they ask you to do the x.ray? I really appreciate your comment. :-) Thank you.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Mari_Ron

[lesthatsri 9]

I had to take my medical examination in Indiana because I was doing AOS from a J-1 visa. When I did my medical examination I didn't have vaccination records from my home country but I knew that I got a vaccination for TB. Anyway, I went to the Allen county Health Department to get this process done. The doctor had to apply all the vaccines to me again and do the skin test. My skin test was positive and they sent me to a clinic to take $10 chest x-ray. The chest X-ray proved that my "TB" was latent, which was good enough for my medical examination. I got my form completed, sealed and mailed with the I-485 package.

I asked the doctor if a TB vaccine could show this result, and she said yes, however, since I didn't have any records she couldn't assume it. She told me that this result was not going to have any negative impact on my application. After that, she told me that I needed to follow a treatment with rifampin (powerful antibiotic to treat latent TB) for four months, which was covered by the state. Unfortunately I had to stop the treatment because the side effects were too negative on me.

[Ontarkie 13,915]

~~One duplicate post removed~~

[Ronny_Cari 8]

I had to take my medical examination in Indiana because I was doing AOS from a J-1 visa. When I did my medical examination I didn't have vaccination records from my home country but I knew that I got a vaccination for TB. Anyway, I went to the Allen county Health Department to get this process done. The doctor had to apply all the vaccines to me again and do the skin test. My skin test was positive and they sent me to a clinic to take $10 chest x-ray. The chest X-ray proved that my "TB" was latent, which was good enough for my medical examination. I got my form completed, sealed and mailed with the I-485 package.

I asked the doctor if a TB vaccine could show this result, and she said yes, however, since I didn't have any records she couldn't assume it. She told me that this result was not going to have any negative impact on my application. After that, she told me that I needed to follow a treatment with rifampin (powerful antibiotic to treat latent TB) for four months, which was covered by the state. Unfortunately I had to stop the treatment because the side effects were too negative on me.

Hello. :-) Did you have to finish the treatment first before they gave you the result of the exam that is in the sealed envelope? I really think I got this reaction because of the BCG that I had. I am hoping that the X-ray will be that cheap here if I have to do it. Crossing my fingers that everything will be okay. :-) Thank you for your comment, it really helps. :-)

[NikeS 49]

@OP the civil surgeons offer the TST more often than the blood test which is more specific. I tested positive to the TST as I had been vaccinated back home as well. I gave the doctor this history but because USCIS asks that the test be done, they follow those instructions. My induration was large -20mm and I did an additional chest x-Ray which cost $100 but I got the all-clear. It is what it is.

[Ronny_Cari 8]

@OP the civil surgeons offer the TST more often than the blood test which is more specific. I tested positive to the TST as I had been vaccinated back home as well. I gave the doctor this history but because USCIS asks that the test be done, they follow those instructions. My induration was large -20mm and I did an additional chest x-Ray which cost $100 but I got the all-clear. It is what it is.

I am happy for you that you got it all cleared, hope mine too. Will go back to the clinic tomorrow so I really am hoping everything will be ok. The induration of mine is large too, so I expect that they will ask me to do the x-ray. Thank you. :-)

[britishdakota 18]

UK as well.

Did you have a medical done in the UK? Do they bother with the TST or just do an xray?