How can a child's body react to the Mantoux test? Usually, after its introduction, a papule appears on the skin. What should parents do if their child has a negative reaction to the Mantoux test?
What is a Mantoux test?
This is a well-known method for detecting tuberculosis. It is with its help that they check whether there is an infection in the child's body. This procedure is carried out for the entire younger generation under the age of 17 years. According to WHO, the Mantoux test is carried out in countries where an unfavorable situation with tuberculosis has been created. It applies in the following situations:
- for diagnosing children with TB for the first time;
- to select children for BCG revaccination;
- in order to identify those infected a year ago, with an increase in infiltration of more than 6 cm;
- when establishing tuberculosis.
As a result, children are selected for revaccination among the following age groups: preschool children (6-7 years old) and 14-year-old schoolchildren.
Revaccination is given only to he althy children with a negative Mantoux reaction.
Initially, the drug is administered to older babiesof the year. Until this period, the test is not injected due to the characteristics of the baby, whose body is sensitive to many irritants. Therefore, the test result may not be accurate.
Is the drug safe?
Why does a negative Mantoux reaction occur? 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 cannot give the correct answer.
The drug has nothing to do with antigens. However, some children after its introduction complain of feeling unwell, while others do not remember the test.
Currently, the diagnosis of tuberculosis by other methods is not informative, so it is the Mantoux test that can detect the disease at an early stage. Many children continue to live thanks to her.
How often is the sample done?
Test is done no more than once a year. If the manipulation is carried out more than once every 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 very often of interest to parents of children who have such a reaction.
Mantoux test does not need to be wetted, most parents and children know about it. In no case should it be sealed with a plaster, combed or affected by other methods. If the skin is irritated, it may causea positive reaction of the body to the sample, which will be an inaccurate result. Therefore, a second procedure can be carried out.
After the drug is administered, the child should limit the intake of certain foods (citrus fruits, chocolate).
If water is accidentally spilled on the injection site, parents should gently blot it with a towel and report this situation to the doctor during the examination.
If the Mantoux test turns red?
If a child has a negative Mantoux reaction, then the parents believe that they should not worry. Depending on the size of the papule, the result may be:
- positive;
- negative;
- doubtful;
- false positive.
Usually, a specialist measures the resulting seal under the skin, and not around it. Redness can be of different sizes and does not affect the result at all. Regardless of the diameter, it is not considered a sign of TB infection.
What affects the Mantoux test?
What does it mean - the Mantoux reaction is negative? The result can be influenced by:
- allergy;
- individual characteristics of the body;
- diseases that have a chronic course;
- vaccination;
- previous infectious diseases;
- unbalanced diet;
- under 3 years of age;
- living in an ecologically unfriendly area.
When a child has a negative reaction,then the following factors influence it:
- incorrect drug administration;
- violations during the transportation and storage of the drug;
- wrong interpretation of the result;
- low quality medical instrument.
Negative Mantoux reaction - good or bad?
If the child has a negative result, then there is no redness at the injection site or it is less than 1 ml. Below is a photo of a negative Mantoux reaction.
In some situations, such a test may be considered normal, but this does not happen in all cases. If redness is not found, then the child's immunity did not respond to the introduction of tuberculin.
Complete lack of response to the Mantoux test may appear in the following cases:
- The drug that was administered during the test turned out to be damaged during transportation, or the rules for the procedure were violated by medical personnel. Therefore, the papule is completely absent. If a child has had a negative reaction for several years, then he needs BCG revaccination.
- Negative Mantoux reaction per year. A small number of people in the world have a persistent immune system resistance to Koch's wand. Therefore, a papule will not occur in such a baby either in a year, or in two, or in 14 years. If the parents do not have a BCG scar, 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. SoIt is impossible to say unequivocally that this is good. This can indicate both normal he alth and problems in the body. Only a doctor can assess this situation based on the child's medical history.
There are several reasons why the reaction of the child's body will be weak:
- If TB infection occurs, the sample should be administered after another 10 days.
- The child is small, so his immune system reacts slowly to the introduction of tuberculin.
- An unstable state of immunity (HIV-infected child), which may be the cause of 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 a negative Mantoux reaction occur? When the drug, which is intended for the Mantoux test, is properly transported and stored, then no negative reactions should be observed in the child.
In some cases, the child is allergic to the drug. The causes of this condition may 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, it may be a manufacturing defect of the drug.
A child, along with a positive reaction, may show:
- nausea and vomiting;
- high body temperature;
- general weakness;
- itchy skin.
The cause of allergies canbecome a previous infection. When a child has a negative reaction to the test, then it must be shown to the doctor. If an allergy to the drug is detected, one should not refuse to diagnose the disease, because there are other methods for determining it.
Can I refuse the Mantoux test?
Tuberculosis is a dangerous disease that leads to death. Infection occurs regardless of BCG, which is why tuberculosis is so common among children and adults.
Mantoux test helps to identify the disease in the early stages and identify problems with the immune system. By refusing this procedure for some reason, parents endanger the child's life.
If a child has a negative reaction during Mantoux, then in many cases this is considered a good result. However, doctors advise parents to go through the necessary examination with the child and do BCG revaccination.
If a child has inherited resistance to Koch's wand from parents, then he may not worry about contracting a disease such as tuberculosis.
To get an accurate result of the Mantoux test, you need to properly care for the sample site, preventing it from combing. Before the procedure, the child must be he althy and then he will not need to be re-examined after the result is announced.
