| What
if you have TB? |
| |
 |
| TB usually affects the
lungs but any part of the body can be
affected too. |
|
Have you been coughing for more than three
weeks? Do you have blood in your sputum?
Do you have prolonged fever, night sweats,
poor appetite or weight loss? Have you been
in close contact with someone who was
diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB)?
If you have any of the above symptoms, you
may be having an active TB infection. You are
also more likely to develop TB if you are already
in poor health or have a poor immune system.
Consult a doctor without delay as most cases can
be cured with treatment.
Otherwise TB can be fatal or, if left untreated,
can result in debilitating complications.
TB is an infection caused by a germ called
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. It usually affects the
lungs, but any part of the body can be affected too.
In most cases, the lungs are affected first. When
a person with TB coughs or sneezes, the germs
are released into the air. People nearby may
breathe in those germs and be infected. TB usually
spreads between family members, friends and
people who live or work closely together.
Not everyone who breathes in TB germs will
develop the disease because the body’s immune
system can fight against the bacteria and stop it
from spreading by killing it or walling it off in the
lung. When that happens, the person may show
few or no symptoms at all and may not be aware
that he has the infection. However, the TB germs
are still alive and may be reactivated years later
when the body’s immune system weakens.
Reactivation of TB is more likely to occur in people
who take steroids or immune-suppressing medications,
are elderly, are malnourished, are diabetic,
have kidney failure, are alcoholic or have AIDS.
Active TB disease occurs in about 1 in 10 people
who breathe in TB germs. As their immune system
is not able to halt the spread of the bacteria, the
bacteria will multiply in the lungs and spread to
other parts of the body. As the bacteria multiplies
rather slowly, symptoms develop only six to eight
weeks after initial exposure to the germs.
A chest X-ray and sputum sample is taken. The
chest X-ray may show changes in the lungs due
to active infection or scars from previous infection.
The sputum sample will be sent to the laboratory
for cultivation of TB germs.
As it takes six to eight weeks for the sputum test
results to be out, treatment for TB may start before
that if a person shows typical symptoms and his
chest X-ray shows changes in the lungs.
A combination of anti-TB medications is used for
six to nine months as the bacteria takes a long time
to kill. Completing the full course of medication is
crucial for curing the disease and preventing the
development of resistant bacteria. |
