TB TEST ! PLEASE HELP MeT_T?

I have had a tb skin test on this wednesday, now I have a big red and raided spot (2cm)on my arm at the site of the test. I need to go to the hospital in 1:30 p.m today (7/27/07)to check if I'm positive or negative...(I think I'm positive)
I am hoping to be a volunteer at a hospital and they do tb tests before starting so Is there any way that I can make this go away? or make it smaller? before I go to the hospital?
Can I put an ice pack on top of it?

A TB test (PPD) is considered positive in non-immunesuppressed people if greater than 15mm induration. Induration is the red and raised. Did you mean 2cm or 2mm? It should not be itchy or anything like that.

Tuberulosis is caused by a bacterium, not a virus. A positive PPD only indicates you have been probably infected with Mtb (the bacterium organism that causes TB), it doesn't mean you have the disease. Sometimes there are false positives caused by a cross reaction with a non-TB causing infection, or if you have had BCG vaccine (only from another country). If you have been infected, it is important for you to get treatment to prevent you from progressing to TB disease.

Edit: There is a difference between TB INFECTION and TB DISEASE. On average, about 10% of people INFECTED with TB will ever get the actual DISEASE (i.e., getting sick, coughing blood, night sweats, etc.)

I doubt that you have TB. It's supposed to get a red bump and be a certain size. I think 2 cm is normal. Anything more than that indicates the Tuberculosis disease or virus. (There are both kinds.) Sometimes a person is allergic to the serum they shoot under the skin for the test. If they are concerned about the site, they will have you get a chest x-ray and ask you some questions. I'm sure you're fine, though.

If you have the BCG test as a child (I did, in the UK) tell them, as that can give a false positive. When I had my immigation medical (for my green card), I had a reaction that technically was positive. But they did a quick chest Xray & it was clear. The immigration rules for positive/negative are pretty conservative, so they tend to get plenty of responses like mine.

I'd had a (close) uncle in isolation with advanced TB in the UK, so I'd been seriously worried. But it was no big deal.

A reaction does NOT meen you have TB, it simply means that at some point you were exposed to it. So do not panic. You're immune system is simply saying "hey I've seen this before" An exray will teel if your sick and my guess is you are not.

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