Freaking out about my PPD!

I've never had a reaction to one before! It's been 24 hr and I have a raised, red lump. If I hold it up to the light I can see the borders the size of a quarter. It's not blistery-looking or a pustule, it kind of resembles a mosquito bite. It's harder and warmer than the surrounding skin but it's not "knotty."

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had a similar experience with their PPD? Obviously, there's nothing I can do until the nurse reads my results tomorrow, but I'm freaking out because clinicals start next week.
PPDs are meant to be read 48-72 hours after placement. The swelling you have now may be resolved by then.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Years ago I had a positive reaction to a PPD. A large red bump appeared on my arm. I had not had any exposures so I was alarmed. Theemployee health nurse asked me if I had been around any horses. I had My daughter had started horseback riding lessons and I was at stables several times a week. My positive reaction was contributed to my exposure to horses, I quess the she was right I have had many PPD since then and none of them has been positive.