Your health care provider will inject a substance called tuberculin, or PPD, beneath your skin. If you are infected with TB, a lump will form where this shot was given within 3 days. This reaction is called a positive tuberculin test. It means that TB bacteria have invaded your body. However, if bacteria have attacked your lungs, the damage will show on a chest x-ray.
Sputum is material coughed up from the lungs.
It may include mucus and blood. A sample of sputum coughed up from the lungs can be viewed with a microscope to see if it contains TB bacteria. It may take up to 6 to 8 weeks for a sputum culture to give definite results. If you have active TB, you will be treated with medicines at home or in the hospital. You will probably be given several medicines, which you will need to take for several months.