I-485 Medical Question

I

IL_LABOR

Registered Users (C)
My wife was tested positive for the skin test. The doctor is saying she needs chest x-ray and she will be on medication for 6 to 9 months. The report she will send to USCIS will mention that her test was positive and she is on medication.
Will this create any problem for her I-485 approval?
 
IL_LABOR said:
My wife was tested positive for the skin test. The doctor is saying she needs chest x-ray and she will be on medication for 6 to 9 months. The report she will send to USCIS will mention that her test was positive and she is on medication.
Will this create any problem for her I-485 approval?
Click to expand...


Absolutly Not, its common, and 90% ppl from south Asia have have gone throuth and x-ray done. including me.


read my exp
http://boards.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=175113

Good Luck
 
Crap

Hi IL_LABOR,

I got a RFE for my daughter on the TB test (my previous doctor didn't do the TB test before). Two days back, we did the test. Her skin test came positive and the chest X-ray came normal.

Remember, if you had BCG vaccination when you were young, then for most people, the skin test will come positive. In such cases, the positive skin test is good as the vaccination is working as expected.

Did you doctor decide for medication after chext X-ray or before? If he is deciding just based on the skin test, then you should not accept that. Ask for chest X-ray.
 
nsc_green_card said:
Remember, if you had BCG vaccination when you were young, then for most people, the skin test will come positive. In such cases, the positive skin test is good as the vaccination is working as expected.
.
Click to expand...

I also heared that but never confirmed, would u like to share the info and links to verify.

Or anyone else can put some light on it.
 
IL_LABOR said:
My wife was tested positive for the skin test. The doctor is saying she needs chest x-ray and she will be on medication for 6 to 9 months. The report she will send to USCIS will mention that her test was positive and she is on medication.
Will this create any problem for her I-485 approval?
Click to expand...

If the doctor was suggesting that your daughter need medication regardless of the x-ray results, s/he shouldn't be practicing medicine! I hope what the doctor meant is that your daughter needs medication IF the x-ray test shows some spots AND the diagnosis of TB is determined.
TB medication can be harmful, especially if it is given to people who don't have TB!
 
Topics related to BCG

Hi PrinceofJungle,

I am not sure, you can find any forum here related to BCG. But if you go to many medical sites like webmd.com, you will see some article related to this.

Basically,the vaccine contains a type of bacteria called BCG (bacille Calmette-Guérin) that is closely related to the bacteria that cause TB. When the TB antigens that are injected under the top layer of skin, and since the BCG bacteria is present in the body, the reaction may occur.

See this link for more details:

http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw203560.asp
 
nsc_green_card said:
Hi PrinceofJungle,

I am not sure, you can find any forum here related to BCG. But if you go to many medical sites like webmd.com, you will see some article related to this.

Basically,the vaccine contains a type of bacteria called BCG (bacille Calmette-Guérin) that is closely related to the bacteria that cause TB. When the TB antigens that are injected under the top layer of skin, and since the BCG bacteria is present in the body, the reaction may occur.

See this link for more details:

http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw203560.asp
Click to expand...

Thanks I read that and that part may help ppl to und if they have concers.

"A positive tuberculin skin test does not mean you have a contagious infection that is causing symptoms (an active TB infection). The test cannot distinguish between an active infection and an infection that cannot be passed to others (latent TB). It also cannot distinguish between a recent or past TB infection. In addition, it cannot distinguish between an actual TB infection and a previous vaccination. Further tests (such as a chest X-ray, a sputum culture, or both) are usually done to determine whether you have an active TB infection. For more information, see the medical tests Chest X-Ray and Sputum Culture. "



thanks again

Good Luck
 
The skin test will show up positive for TB in people who received the BCG vaccination (usually South Asians, Africans and Eastern Europeans). Chest x-rays are done to rule out TB, and should come back negative in these cases. If the x-ray is positive, then medication may be suggested.

You need to rule out TB before any medication is taken and/or noted in the report to USCIS

I had a positive skin test because of the BCG, and a negative x-ray (I received vaccination in my childhood in East Africa) for the I-485 medical.
 
re:

if a xray is +ve ,why does it mean that person has TB. i mean couldnt it be something else. some other infection .
i am asking this because i was given medication based on ab-normal xray. but actually my abnormality in xray is due to a nodule which is harmless and will stay always.
 
Medical question

Hi,

My story...

Skin test positive
X-ray normal

of course the doctor has not recommended medication but it seems they are supposed to report positive skin tests to the local health department???? and we keep getting calls from local health department motivating us to take medication so that it does not become active....does anyone had this kind of experience?

Thanks for your help
Goodyearahead
 
I140helppls said:
if a xray is +ve ,why does it mean that person has TB. i mean couldnt it be something else. some other infection .
i am asking this because i was given medication based on ab-normal xray. but actually my abnormality in xray is due to a nodule which is harmless and will stay always.
Click to expand...

It is not related to immigration - but many people seems to have apprehension about failing on TB skin test.

I don't know your case. However, my understanding based on talking to my medical doctor friends is that lesions caused by previous and current infections of TB are very easily recognizable to the trained eyes. Treated lesions last life time, and will be visiable in subsequent x-rays. It is not clear to me how you determined that "nodule" was harmless. Moereover,after x-ray being abnormal, a doctor would have confirmed it with other medical tests.

In any case, any one coming from poor developing country can get infection from any one without knowing it e.g, restaurant cooks, servants, by standing next to an infected person in train, bus or local trams etc. Since TB is now fully curable provided prescribed medicine course is completed, there is no longer any stigma attached to it (even Nelson Mendela got it in jail.). Some 50 odd years ago, people were isolated from rest of the population to avoid infection. Except having natural immunity in the body, there is nothing that any one could do to avoid it if you come in contact with infected person. No one brings infection on himself or herself, so one need not feel bad about it.

So, even if someone's X-ray comes abnormal, the person should be fine after going through the treatment (6-9 months). He would get his medical clearance after the treatment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi,

My story...

Skin test positive
X-ray normal

of course the doctor has not recommended medication but it seems they are supposed to report positive skin tests to the local health department???? and we keep getting calls from local health department motivating us to take medication so that it does not become active....does anyone had this kind of experience?

Thanks for your help
Goodyearahead
 
Here's an update on this whole TB issue. (This information was given to me by my husband, who is a doctor.)

Turns out that there are new guidelines for physicians: a positive skin test is now considered a sign of TB, and the individual should be treated.

I don't know what the legal/immigration implications of this will be, but I hope the info helps
 
In a normal person with no other underlying illness Positive PPD with a normal CXR is an indication for 6 months of treatment with Rifampcin if you are less than 35 years of age. That is the recommendation of CDC. If you do a search under my name I have posted some comments in this forum related to this. Whether the doctor has to report this to health department depends on the state regulations. If you are to worried then go to your city health department and get a letter that you do not have active TB. As far as taking medications no one can force you. You are not at risk of spreading TB if you have latent Tb which is what you have if ppd is postive and the cxr is normal and you have no symptoms.
 
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