Mantoux, a negative reaction: good or bad?

How can a child's body respond to a Mantoux test? Usually, after its introduction, a papule appears on the skin. What should parents do if the child has a negative reaction to the Mantoux test?

What is a Mantoux test?

This is a known method for determining tuberculosis. It is with his help that they check if there is an infection in the child's body. This procedure is carried out for the entire younger generation up to the age of 17 years. According to WHO, Mantoux test is carried out in countries in which an unfavorable situation with tuberculosis has been created. It is used in the following situations:

• for diagnosing children newly infected with tuberculosis;
• for the selection of children for the revaccination of BCG;
• in order to identify the infected a year ago, with the growth of infiltration more than 6 cm;
• in establishing tuberculosis.

As a result, children are selected for revaccination among such age groups: pre-school kids( 6-7 years) and 14-year-old schoolchildren.

Revaccination is only done to healthy children with a negative Mantoux reaction.

Initially, the drug is administered to babies over the age of one year. Until this period, the sample is not injected because of the characteristics of the baby, whose body is sensitive to many irritants. Therefore, the result of the sample may be inaccurate.

Is the drug safe?

Why does Mantoux react negatively? A test in children is the most common manipulation. This drug is considered harmless to the child, but now there are babies who are hypersensitive to tuberculin. Therefore, the immune system can not give the right answer.

The drug is not related to antigens. However, some children after his introduction complain of poor health, and others do not remember the trial.

Currently, the diagnosis of tuberculosis in other methods is not informative, so it is the Mantoux test that can detect the disease in the early stages. Thanks to her, many children continue to live.

How often is the sample made?

The sample is made not more than once a year. If the manipulation is carried out more than once in 12 months, the sensitivity of immunity to tuberculin may increase, which will lead to an incorrect result. And if the Mantoux reaction is negative, is it good or bad? The answers to these questions are often of interest to parents of children who have such a reaction.

Mantoux does not need to be tested, most parents and children know about it. In no case should it be patched, combed or manipulated by other methods. If the skin is irritated, then there may be a positive reaction of the body to the sample, which will be an inaccurate result. Therefore, a repeat procedure can be performed.

After the introduction of the drug, the child must limit the intake of certain foods( citrus, chocolate).

If the water accidentally gets into the injection site, the parents should gently blot it with a towel and report the situation to the doctor during the examination.

If the Mantoux test is flushed?

If the child has a negative Mantoux reaction, then the parents think that they should not worry. Depending on the size of the papule, the result can be as follows:

• positive;
• negative;
• questionable;
• is false positive.

Usually, a specialist measures the formed seal under the skin, not around it. Redness can be of different sizes and does not affect the result at all. Regardless of the diameter, this is not considered a sign of infection with tuberculosis.

What influences the Mantoux test?

What does this mean - Mantoux's reaction is negative? The result can be affected by:

• allergy;
• individual features of the body;
• is a disease that has a chronic course;
• vaccination;
• previously transmitted infectious diseases;
• unbalanced power;
• age less than 3 years;
• accommodation in an ecologically unfavorable area.

When a child has a negative reaction, the following factors affect it:

• incorrect injection of the drug;
• violations during transportation and storage of the drug;
• incorrect interpretation of the result;
• low quality medical instrument.

Mantoux negative reaction - good or bad?

If the child has a negative result, there is no redness at the injection site or less than 1 ml. Below is a photo of Mantoux's negative reaction.

In some situations such a test can be considered normal, but it does not happen in all cases. If redness is not found, then the immunity of the child did not respond to the introduction of tuberculin.

A complete lack of response to a Mantoux test may occur in the following cases:

• The drug that was injected during the test was spoiled for transport, or the rules of the procedure were violated by medical personnel. Therefore, the papule is completely absent. If the child has a few years of a negative reaction, then he needs a revaccination of BCG.
• Negative Mantoux reaction per year. A small number of people in the world have a strong resistance of the immune system to the stick of Koch. Therefore, the papule does not arise from such a baby in a year, not in two, or in 14 years. If the parents do not have a scar from BCG, then the child also falls into this number.

If the result is negative, then perhaps the body is weakened and could not react with tuberculin. Therefore, it is impossible to say unambiguously that this is good. This can indicate both normal health and problems in the body. Evaluation of this situation can only be done by a doctor based on the child's medical history.

There are several reasons why a child's reaction will be weak:

• If there is a tuberculosis infection, the test should be administered after another 10 days.
• The baby is small, so its immunity slows down reacting to the introduction of tuberculin.
• Unstable state of immunity( HIV-infected child), which may be the reason for a negative reaction to the administration of the drug. In this case, increase the dose of the drug to obtain an accurate result.

Adverse Reactions

Why does Mantoux react negatively? When the drug, which is intended for Mantoux test, is correctly transported and stored, no negative reactions should be observed in the child.

In some cases, the child is allergic to the drug. The causes of this condition can be related to the child's body and the quality of the drug. In the first case, the causes are individual characteristics and a genetic predisposition to allergies. In the second case, this may be an industrial marriage of the drug.

The child, together with a positive reaction, may manifest:

• nausea and vomiting;
• high body temperature;
• general weakness;
• skin itching.

The cause of the allergy may be a previous infection. When a child has a negative reaction to the sample, it should be shown to the doctor. If you find an allergy to the drug, you should not refuse to diagnose the disease, because there are other methods for determining it.

Is it possible to abandon the Mantoux test?

Tuberculosis is a dangerous disease that leads to death. Infection occurs regardless of the setting of BCG, so tubdiagnostics is so common among children and adults.

The Mantoux test helps to identify the disease in the early stages and identify problems with the immune system. Refusing for some reason from this procedure, parents put the child's life in danger.

If the child has a negative reaction during Mantoux, this is in many cases considered a good result. However, doctors advise parents to go through with the child the necessary examination and make a revaccination of BCG.

If the child has inherited resistance from the parents to Koch's wand, then he may not worry about getting infected with a disease like tuberculosis.

To get the exact result of a Mantoux test, you need to take care of the place of the sample correctly, not allowing it to comb. Before the procedure, the child must be healthy and then do not need to re-examine him after the result is announced.