Tuberculosis is an airborne contagious diseases which becomes fatal if left untreated. This is an infection of the lungs, but may spread to other organs, like spine, brain and kidney. This is the leading killer throughout the world. TB is less prevalent in America that it used to be, but this have been rising in the recent years.
What is an Active TB?
If an individual gets affected with TB, individual immune system cells usually support the infection and may cause tuberculosis bacteria to change into inactive form. This does not have any symptoms and is not contagious too. When the immune system becomes weak, infection becomes active, causes symptoms and is contagious too. Nearly, 3 – 5% people develop active tuberculosis in an year after receiving the positive diagnosis in the tuberculosis skin test. If immune system becomes weak, infection becomes active, contagious and symptomatic.
Symptoms of Active Tuberculosis:
Follow are the symptoms of active tubersulosis:
- Active tuberculosis begins with the bad cough, that produces blood tinged sputum or phlegm which lasts for 3 or more weeks.
- Chest pain
- Loss of appetite
- Night sweating
- Chills
- Fever
- Fatigue
Treatment for Active Tuberculosis:
Usually, tuberculosis is treated with antibiotics. For the first 6 – 8 weeks a combination of 4 drugs is given. This is followed by 2 medications for the duration of 6 – 9 months. Duration of the treatment depends upon the number doses given in a week. Doctor’s advice should be followed strictly, even after the symptoms subside. The complete course of the medicine is must for killing the tuberculosis bacteria. If the doctor’s advice is not followed, it may lead to ineffective treatment, prolonged illness and antibiotic resistant tuberculosis. Treatment options for this condition are less effective and have more side effects.
If proper treatment is given, prognosis for active tuberculosis is good. Many tuberculosis cases are treatable and curable, as long as medications are used according to the doctor’s prescription.
