In order to work with children, I needed to get tested for TB. Annoying but understandable. So in I went, cash in hand (if you don't have health insurance, you need to pay at the time of service). A small injection in my left arm and it was all over. Being an upstanding citizen who does not want to pass along communicable diseases, I asked the nurse, "What would I notice if there were to be a problem?" She first joked about creatures crawling out of the insertion point, then told me that if I had TB, the swelling would look like a spider bite and would itch terribly.
Thank you kind nurse, now I know and off I go.
Approximately one hour later I was in the library, riding the elevator down from the fourth floor. Then it happened; I felt an itch on my left arm. The whole world stopped for just a moment. Slowly I pulled the arm of my sleeve upwards to inspect, with laser-like precision, this most bothersome itch. Long story short, it was nothing. Just an itch, having nothing to do with TB. So, on the positive side of things, my TB test is negative. I walk away from this experience however, now knowing that I have hypochondriac predispositions. Hmmm, having no health insurance might actually be a bonus in this case. I can't drive myself nuts having Dr.'s do tests I don't actually need! What a money saver this could possibly be!
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