Tuberculosis: causes disease
According to statistics, today from tuberculosis annually kills about 4 million people worldwide. This disease causes a bacterial infection. Infection is possible through airborne droplets when they cough or sneeze of an infected person rarely, through not boiled milk from cows affected with tuberculosis. Worsens the disease in spring and autumn, during these periods there is the greatest risk of infection.
TB may not manifest if the human body is able to cope with infection.
The real risk of this disease in most exposed people with reduced immunity, their body is unable to resist infection. There are other factors that can lower a body's resistance to tuberculosis infection. It's a bad diet, physical or nervous exhaustion, hard labour, bad sanitary and hygienic conditions.
TB spreads easier in cramped, damp, poorly heated and rarely ventilated rooms, including rented apartments, prisons, hospitals and shelters for the homeless. Drug treatment of diseases of the lungs, which lowers the vital resistance of the human body and parencymal its toxins, also contributes to the development of tuberculosis.
Increased risk of Contracting TB are:
- people who are often in contact with patients with active forms of tuberculosis;
living in overcrowded areas with poor sanitary conditions (poor people, prisoners, migrant workers, homeless);
living in countries with high incidence of tuberculosis among the population (in Latin America, Africa, Asia);
- people with weakened immune systems (especially HIV-infected and cancer patients);
- patients with diabetes;
- malnourished and often pereohlazhden people;
- use drugs intravenously;
- younger children.
To protect yourself from the risk of infection with tuberculosis, it is important to strengthen your immune system and lead a healthy lifestyle: eat right, take vitamins, and ventilate the room to observe it in purity, walk in the fresh air, do some sport, etc. All of these measures serve as a good prevention of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis: symptoms and signs of disease
Primary tuberculosis often has no symptoms, while infected may not look sick. Later you may experience the following symptoms:
- persistent cough, dry or with bloody sputum;
fever, constant temperature of the body;
- shortness of breath;
- chest pain;
- weight loss;
- lack of appetite;
- headache;
- increased perspiration (especially at night);
- fatigue and weakness;
- irritability;
- mood swings;
- decreased performance.
Periods of exacerbation may be replaced periodically with periods of calm, but if tuberculosis is not treated, it will progress, while respecting all functions of the body.
Possible manifestations of only one or two symptoms, and among them will not necessarily cough. But because the appearance of at least one of the above symptoms it is advisable not to self-medicate but to consult a doctor in order to diagnose possible TB and start treatment.
The diagnosis of tuberculosis
The most simple check for the presence of tuberculosis – Mantoux test. After 72 hours after the Mantoux test, it is possible to determine if there is in the human body tuberculosis infection. However, this method has a low accuracy. A microscopic examination of smears also cannot be the standard, because Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be confused with other species of bacteria and put the wrong diagnosis.
Often diagnose the disease helps the sputum culture, but TB bacteria grow not always, and therefore in this case there is a risk of false negative analysis. In most cases, for examination for tuberculosis is used in the examination of the patient and chest x-ray.
In specialized clinics, you can use a more modern method - determination of the titer of antibodies to tuberculosis. This method with high accuracy (about 75%) can detect whether there is immunity to tuberculosis, and to determine whether the vaccination is effective. The most modern method – polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This DNA diagnostics, where the samples taken sputum. The diagnosis result can be found already after 3 days, its accuracy ranges from 95 to 100%.
Tuberculosis: treatment of disease
To cure the disease alone is not possible, since uncontrolled medications from mycobacteria tuberculosis (Koch's Bacillus) is developing resistance to drugs. In addition, to cure the disease in this case will be much harder.
Treatment for regular TB takes at least six months, but can take up to 2 years. For the oppression of the infection therapy should be carried out systematically, then the disease cannot progress. When tuberculosis is discovered, the patient is placed in a hospital, where he spends about 2 months — during this period, the active selection of the tuberculosis bacteria is stopped. After the patient ceases to represent a threat to the health of others, his treatment on an outpatient basis.
The conventional treatment of tuberculosis is carried out in a specific pattern, which includes the following drugs: ethambutol, isoniazid, streptomycin, pyrazinamide, rifampicin. The doctor finds a combination of drugs that suffering from tuberculosis should take for 2-3 months, with treatment performed in a hospital.
If after this time the treatment was not effective, it made the necessary changes. In such cases, is replaced by one/several drugs or changing their method of administration (inhalation, intravenous). If after 2-3 months of treatment is positive effect in the next 4 months is prescribed only rifampicin and isoniazid. After a course of this treatment, the patient again undergoes tests. If found to be the tubercle Bacillus, then the disease moved into a drug-resistant form.
Treatment of TB, drug-resistant, last for years. Depending on what drugs resistant tuberculosis bacteria, the main medication add second-line drugs – capreomycin, ofloxacin, cycloserine, ethionamide, pas. These drugs are much more expensive than conventional drugs against tuberculosis. Treatment they can cost about $ 10 thousand dollars. Take these drugs should only be in the complex, otherwise the effect will be. It is important to remember that the uncontrolled treatment of the second row forms the full resistance of bacteria, which leads to absolute incurability of the disease.
Surgical intervention in the treatment of tuberculosis is very rare, since the efficiency of this method is very low. Some time ago an important element in the treatment of this disease was considered a Spa treatment. Currently, treatment in sanatoria only refers to additional funds to combat the disease. If the patient refuses hospitalization, when necessary, a medical facility can guide the patient through the courts for compulsory treatment in a tuberculosis clinic. This practice is used for the treatment of irresponsible patients and the health of the nation.
Great value in the treatment of tuberculosis has a balanced diet. In the diet of the patient should include fresh, steamed (or baked) fruit and vegetables, kaltsinirovannoj milk, whole bread, eggs, butter, nuts, cheese. Meat is best eaten in small quantities. Should be excluded from the diet canned food, white bread, coffee, strong black tea. Since a TB patient often loses appetite, it is recommended to take in food products, stimulating the appetite: fish oil, rose hips extract, yogurt, kefir. Smoking and alcohol is completely contraindicated.
TB drug treatment takes quite a long time. To get rid of tuberculosis, to facilitate and to Supplement this treatment with traditional medicine. In the room where the patient must always be fresh air. An important role is also played by psychological and mental factor. The patient himself must make efforts on the path to recovery.