Friday, May 16, 2008

What do you do if you think your child has been exposed to Tuberculosis, and what are the immediate symptoms

What do you do if you think your child has been exposed to Tuberculosis, and what are the immediate symptoms?
There is a little girl and her mother that live with my daughters fathers' sister, and I just found out that the little girls father has very bad Tuberculosis. The little girl visits her father quite often, so Im sure she has it. But these people are idiots, and havent gotten their kid checked yet! But my daughter goes to that house sometimes and is around the little girl and the other people in the house who were more than likely exposed. Im terrified now that my daughter has it! She has a doctors app. this Tuesday (a routine check-up) but I was wondering if anybody thinks I should take her to the ER, and if there are any symptoms I should be looking for. My daughter is 18 months old by the way. I have just always heard that TB is very contagious, so obviously, Im scared. Are kids very prone to this illness? Please help me with this somebody! I need some good advice! Thank you very much in advance.
Respiratory Diseases - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You can get a test but there's an incubation period.You need to have her tested again in 6 months.
2 :
TB is not one of those things you catch with instant exposure, like the flu or a cold. To catch TB it takes extended exposure to a person with active TB. I would definitely recommend getting your daughter a PPD, which is the test for TB. They will place a preservative under the skin of her arm and check it 48 hours later. Your normal doctor should be able to handle this for you. I would then ask his recommendations for the situation, pending how often she is there and for how long, etc. Likely hood is that your daughter is fine. If she had TB she should be coughing and possible a have a fever. But I would call you doctor for an appointment.
3 :
talk to the doctor not yahoo
4 :
First of all, this person with "TB" would not be home if he was contagious. If he did indeed have active TB, he was most likely treated until he was no longer infectious. And now he is completing his treatment as an outpatient (this can take a long time). The local health department is very vigilant about tracking TB patients and their job is to ensure compliance with the medication. A lot of this occurs behind the scenes and you may not be aware of it. Secondly, it is very hard to catch TB. You would need to basically live with an infected person for a prolonged period of time before you actually became infected. You can have TB but not be infectious. There is nothing wrong with you being around these individuals, they will not infect you. I suggest that you question this individual so you can get a straight answer regarding his diagnosis and treatment plan. Chances are, there is nothing to fear...
5 :
You may need to call the Centers for disease control or your local dept of human services......TB is very contagious and can be deadly if not treated

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