Antipyretics for children are prescribed by a pediatrician. But there are emergency situations with fever when the child needs to be given medicine immediately. Then the parents take responsibility and use antipyretic drugs. What is allowed to be given to infants? How can you lower the temperature in older children? What medications are the safest?
Tuberculosis is a common and dangerous infection that requires long-term drug therapy. The Mantoux reaction is a diagnostic test, the purpose of which is to determine whether there is a tuberculosis bacillus in the child’s body. It is very important to obtain reliable test results, so you need to know whether Mantu can be wetted and how to eliminate all aspects that could distort the test results.
Tuberculin is used to carry out the reaction. This is the name given to the extract from destroyed and therefore safe mycobacterium tuberculosis. They are no longer capable of harming humans, but retain the antigenic identity of the causative agent of a dangerous infection. Therefore, the immune system reacts to this test as if active tuberculosis bacilli had entered the body.
Using a special syringe, tuberculin is injected intradermally into the area of the inner surface of the forearm. This provokes a local allergic reaction that develops within three days. After this time, the doctor should assess the size of the lump and the severity of hyperemia (redness) at the injection site.
What should you be wary of when assessing the results of the administered antigen? If there is no redness or swelling at the injection site or their diameter is less than 0.5 cm, this indicates a lack of immune protection against the tuberculosis bacillus. Most often, this reaction is observed in children who were not treated in the maternity hospital.
The size of the papule is more than 5 mm and the formation of an abscess at the injection site is alarming. It is important to understand that even with a positive tuberculin test result, it is impossible to conclude that a child has tuberculosis. It is necessary to consult a pediatric phthisiatrist and undergo all additional examinations.
Advantages of a test with intradermal injection of tuberculin:
- ease of implementation;
- speed of obtaining results;
- the information content of the test if it is carried out correctly and parents follow medical recommendations.
The disadvantage of the sample is its sensitivity to external and internal factors (exposure to water, health status, etc.) that can distort the results. Therefore, parents are often interested in whether it is possible to wet the injection site.
The influence of water on Mantoux
Tuberculin is injected into the skin, water comes into contact with the surface of the skin. Therefore, their interaction is unlikely, but possible under the influence of a number of factors. It is necessary to prevent the baby from overheating or staying in a stuffy, damp room for a long time. You should not visit the sauna, bathhouse or swimming pool, since under the influence of heat and moisture, the skin pores expand and moisture enters the skin.
It is important to constantly monitor the child to prevent scratching the injection site or trying to squeeze out the resulting “button”. All these circumstances can contribute to the penetration of moisture into the skin layer through enlarged pores or damaged skin epithelium. In this case, a false positive reaction is possible.
Other factors affecting the test result
External factors can cause irritation, damage and secondary infection of the skin. These include:
- Mechanical reasons (scratching, rubbing the injection site). It is unacceptable to apply a bandage or seal it with a plaster, as this leads to exposure of accumulated sweat and sebum to the site of tuberculin injection. It is better not to dress your child in woolen items with long sleeves or clothes made of coarse fibers that irritate the skin.
- Chemical agents. Lubrication with iodine and other antiseptic solutions, creams, contact with soap, shower gel can cause an allergic skin reaction.
There are a number of internal factors that can distort Mantoux's results. They affect the immunological status: preventive (the test is done before any vaccination or a month after it), exacerbation of chronic skin and infectious-allergic diseases.
Products that are allergens (fish, chocolate, citrus fruits, spices) may have an effect. Fever and poor general health against the background of any acute conditions are also a contraindication to the test.
Why can't you wet Mantu?
Distortion of results due to wetting of the injection site is typical for the Pirquet test. In this case, tuberculin is applied to the skin, then a scratch is made. The water that gets in will dilute the allergen and the results will be unreliable.
This does not happen when Mantoux is administered subcutaneously, but it is still advisable to avoid getting moisture at the injection site. Water contains various chemical impurities, including chlorine, and the presence of pathogens of various diseases cannot be ruled out. These components can enhance the local allergic reaction, distorting the test results.
How many days can you not wet Mantu?
The results of the immunological test are recorded after three days. Before the follow-up medical examination, it is better not to touch the Mantoux test at all; soaping the injection site or using a washcloth is strictly prohibited.
Also during this period you cannot visit the bathhouse and sauna. Humidity and high temperatures can trigger unexpected reactions and affect the results.
What to do if water gets into the tuberculin injection site?
It is advisable to be careful not to wet the injection site, but if this does happen, do not panic. Mantu can be gently blotted with a clean towel; no additional measures are required.
In most cases, accidental contact with water at the site of tuberculin injection has no effect. But if the test is positive, be sure to inform the doctor about the fact that water got into the injection site.
What to do to avoid getting Mantu wet?
Careful parental control of the child’s behavior is necessary from the moment the test is taken until its results are checked and assistance to the child during hygiene procedures (bathing, hand washing). For older children, the doctor and parents should explain the meaning of the procedure and the danger of moisture getting into the injection site.
The Mantoux test will not protect a person from becoming infected with tuberculosis. Its goal is timely diagnosis of tuberculosis infection in a child, which is currently very easy to contract and difficult to cure. The earlier the diagnosis is made, the more successful the treatment will be.
Moisture entering the site of an intradermal tuberculin test is unlikely to distort the true picture. But for your own peace of mind and confidence in the reliability of the results, you need to exclude any influence on the injection site, including the influence of water.
Useful video: Mantoux test (narrated by Dr. Komarovsky)
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