Treatment of Tuberculosis

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Treatment of tuberculosis is usually given to the patient soon after the signs of tuberculosis (TB) are detected. It is referred to the medical treatment of the infectious disease tuberculosis. Infection of tuberculosis if active can kill nearly two of every three people if it is left untreated. Before knowing about how it is treated, you must know what it means.

What is Tuberculosis?

Treatment of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is the disease caused by the bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It attacks the lungs and then if not treated on time can spread to the other body parts. TB can spread through the air if the person having TB of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes or talks. In case you think that you have been exposed to this illness, then it is advisable to visit the doctor and diagnose it immediately. It has been noticed that people having weak immune system usually get TB.

Causes

Usually, TB gets passed easily through the medium of air. Treating TB is possible only when its signs and causes are known. Most of the time, its causes are ignored thinking that it can be mild cough that comes and goes. However, this illness is not hereditary though it is infectious. A person can get affected only if he/she comes in contact with the affected person while sneezing or coughing. Usually, bacteria that cause TB come out in aerosol that can infect the person who inhales it.

TB Risk Factors

  • Alcohol
  • Low socioeconomic status
  • HIV infection
  • Health-care workers
  • Homelessness
  • Diseases weakening the immune system
  • Migration from a country with a high number of cases
  • Crowded living conditions

Symptoms of TB

  • Night sweats
  • Fever and chills
  • Coughing up blood or mucus
  • A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Weight loss

Treatment for Tuberculosis

Due to the emergence of Drug resistant tuberculosis, tuberculosis has become a huge problem as it fails to respond to antibiotics given for simple tuberculosis. Its basic reason is that it is incomplete and irregular treatment which is taken by the patients. However, TB can be prevented by taking medicines suggested by doctors on a regular basis and that too for a long time. The medicines needed to cure tuberculosis can be expensive and may not work quickly and can take more than 2 years to have a complete effect.

DOTS refer to directly observed treatment short course, which is one of the curative treatments for tuberculosis. It is a comprehensive strategy of primary health services around the world that detects and cures TB patients. The advantage of having such treatments is that:

  • It produces cure rate as high as 95 percent
  • It is available for free at all Health Centers
  • It guarantees faster and surer relief from the disease

What happens when People fail to Respond the Treatment?

There are some people who fail to respond to the treatment of TB. Patients are said to have failed treatment if they:

  • Do not respond to the treatment for cough and sputum production persisting throughout the treatment.
  • Experience a transient response to treatment which means that patient gets better at first, but then gets worse again, all the while on treatment.

Patients who don�t respond to the treatment can be distinguished from patients who relapse. A patient is said to have relapsed when he/she feels better while on treatment, but gets worse after treatment has been stopped. Usually, such condition of not responding is very rare as it implies the resistance at base line to all the drugs in the regimen.

Goal of Treatment of Tuberculosis

The overall aim for treating tuberculosis is to cure the individual patient and minimize the Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission to other persons. Thus, successful treatment of tuberculosis can be advantageous for the patient and the group where the patient resides. It is hence advisable to follow the doctor�s advice and have a regular checkup done as and when advised.

Note that TB if not treated properly can be deadly also. Usually, it gets cured by taking many medicines that too for a long period of time. Usually, people with hidden TB are advised to take medicines, so that the infection doesn�t get active.