What is the Mantoux reaction in children? Everyone came across this name, but not everyone knows why it is needed and what is determined using it. From childhood, everyone remembers how they went all the way to the school doctor’s office to be pricked (it is not clear why). Maybe in order to temper willpower, struggling with an unbridled desire to comb the appeared "button"? No, Mantoux is not done at all for this. The essence of this test will be described below.
Mantoux reaction in children
The Mantoux reaction is nothing more than an immunological test that can help determine the presence of a tuberculosis infection in the child's body. The whole point is that tuberculin is injected into the body, and a kind of inflammation appears at its injection site, which is formed through the fault of blood cells, which are responsible for cellular immunity. Microbacterium enzymes attract lymphocytes to themselves, which are found in nearby blood vessels. By the way, lymphocytes are attracted only to those that previously encountered Koch's wand. Irritation on the skin will be much more noticeable if the child's body has already been infected with tuberculosis microbacteria. This means that the child has a positive Mantoux reaction, that is, Koch’s stick is present in his body. Very often, a positive reaction is confused with simple irritation, which arose because the child combed the injection site or simply moistened it.
The Mantoux reaction in a child is a bit of an allergy, since tuberculosis is more an allergen than an antigen. Every baby, starting from the age of one year, must go through this test every year, because only in this case it will be possible to detect a dangerous infection in time and take all necessary measures to completely eliminate it. However, there are also such groups of children who receive such tests twice a year. This refers to patients with diabetes mellitus, various blood diseases, having chronic non-specific diseases and others.
In what cases the Mantoux reaction in children can be false
From childhood, everyone remembers that Mantoux must never be wetted. There are even jokes, jokes and true legends about it, which very often are even funny and witty. Yes, it really can not be wetted, as this can lead to false results. In addition to wetting, Mantoux cannot:
- smear with brilliant green, iodine and other disinfectants and healing agents;
- allow direct sunlight to fall on it;
- glue an adhesive plaster on it;
- Mantoux reaction in children will be false even if the injection site is constantly touched or scratched. It is worth adding that the formed “button” sometimes itches very strongly and does not give rest day and night.
What to do if a child has a positive Mantoux
Do not panic ahead of time, as in most cases a positive reaction is false due to the fact that the child did not follow the rules described above (even if not out of malice). You need to start worrying when a second test gives a positive result. It is also worthwhile to be vigilant if the mantu does not show a positive result, but according to the data obtained, it can be concluded that the child has become more sensitive to tuberculosis (this means a big difference between new and old indicators). Tuberculosis is a terrible disease, which means that you should consult a doctor every time you suspect it.
You can’t think that the Mantoux reaction is someone’s useless invention, from which no one is of any use. In fact, it is very important and without it there would be much more people in the world who would have been ill with tuberculosis, which could entail unpredictable and very dangerous consequences.