I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the TB Blood Test. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
My family loves to visit the local theme parks, if we could make Disney World our home we totally would. As much as we love visiting the parks there is one thing about it that we don’t care for, bringing home illness. People travel to our town from all over the world, bringing with them colds and other nasty bugs. I take my family’s health pretty seriously and so does our pediatrician, who, because we live in such a transient area, tests his patients for TB every year at their annual check-up.
This is how the current TB testing goes: after their annual appointment the nurse comes in the room with a needle, kid proceeds to freak the heck out. You hold your child still while the nurse injects a small amount of fluid directly under your child’s skin. The test doesn’t really hurt but it looks scary and leaves behind a little bump under their skin. At this point the biggest challenge, especially for those of us with toddlers, is keeping their hands off of the test site! It’s very important to the test results that your child not mess with the bubble for the first 24 hours…but of course the bubble is on their forearm so why wouldn’t they mess with it??
Anyhow! On your way out the door the nurse hands you a postcard. On the postcard you’ll see photos of various results of the test. Your job now is to put the postcard in a safe place and in 72 hours (not less and not more!) observe the injection site and compare it to the photos on the card. You mark the photo that it looks like and plop the postcard in the mail. And did I mention that a previous TB vaccination can cause the screener test to appear positive?
This type of TB screening is a real hassle!
Yes, I have lost the postcard but what’s worse is that one year my second child actually had a positive reaction to the screener. I don’t know what caused it but his injection site turned red and swelled up, and 72 hours later it was so bad I checked the photo that read “do not mail postcard, call your doctor immediately.” Of course this happened on a Sunday and I couldn’t reach the doctor until Monday. I was a newish mom and really worried! Should I take him to the hospital? How on earth could he have contracted TB? He seemed so healthy, why didn’t he have symptoms?
Thankfully my son experienced a false positive. Now, imagine if you could skip all of that hassle and the false positives. Imagine if one simple blood test could give you definitive answers in the same time period it takes to do a visual observation on a screening test? Most of our kids already get routine annual bloodwork, it would only take a few seconds more to get the blood needed (just 3ml!) for REAL answers.
The TB Blood Test is a huge advancement over the standard skin test, which is 110 years old! Whereas the skin test relys on visual interpreteation, the TB Blood Test offers completely objective results. Not only is the TB Blood Test more accurate, there is no follow-up visit or postcard to send in.
With the TB Blood Test you get the most accurate results available, you get convenience, and you get peace of mind. The more accurate the test, the less hassle for your family, and the sooner you can start treatment if your results are positive. Rest easy knowing your family is safe, learn more about the TB Blood Test today.
