Dorothy FarrarTuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) or consumption is one of the chronic infectious diseases caused by bacteria. Tuberculosis or TB is considered a highly infectious disease and is subject to a Germany-wide reporting obligation.
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is a chronic disease that can primarily affect the lungs but also other organs. It is one of the most common fatal infectious diseases worldwide. At the beginning of the onset of the disease, tuberculosis was called consumption due to its debilitating course.
Tuberculosis is a very serious disease due to the high risk of infection and the protracted course of the disease. If left untreated, tuberculosis can lead to death.
Causes
When people suffer from tuberculosis, it was caused by infection with mycobacterium tuberculosis by droplet transmission. In addition, there are other external and internal factors.In addition to an immune deficiency, which is an internal factor, but is caused by external factors, the high infection rate is also an important cause. Inadequate nutrition, age-related weakness of the organism, stress and increased use of drugs and alcohol, as well as a polluted environment are some of the causes of tuberculosis.
Certain pre-existing conditions such as infection with HIV, tumors and diabetes can weaken the body’s defenses to such an extent that tuberculosis can develop. In addition, drugs that lower an immune system are also considered to be a risk for tuberculosis.
Symptoms and course
Symptoms of tuberculosis include typical signs of a cold. In addition to increased sweating at night, there is a constant urge to cough, difficulty breathing and breath-related pain as well as the expectoration of blood and infectious, purulent secretions. Acutely, a hemorrhage can be a symptom of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis does not proceed in the same way, depending on the organs affected. In medicine, both open and closed tuberculosis are classified. Both stages are not always detectable.
In contrast to open tuberculosis, encapsulated inflammatory centers appear in the lungs after incubation, which contain the tubercle bacteria. In open tuberculosis, which can join closed tuberculosis, purulent secretions are coughed up from the lungs.
By coughing up, the tubercle bacteria get outside. The cough is associated with painful discomfort and can also be combined with the expectoration of blood. In the further course of tuberculosis, the bacteria lead to further inflammatory processes and can also manifest themselves in the spine, kidneys, liver in the brain and fallopian tubes.
When to the doctor?
Cough, night sweats and a slight fever indicate pulmonary tuberculosis, which must be clarified quickly. If the symptoms mentioned become stronger or are accompanied by greenish or bloody sputum, bleeding or severe sore throat, medical advice is required. A scratchy throat and chills also indicate tuberculosis. If the symptoms mentioned occur, a doctor should be consulted within the next few days. This applies above all to high-risk patients, for example people with a weakened immune system as a result of cancer, kidney disease or diabetes. An unhealthy lifestyle or poor living conditions are other risk factors that must be clarified quickly in any case.
The doctor can diagnose and treat tuberculosis directly based on a physical examination and a patient interview. If the symptoms still do not go away, the doctor must be informed. In addition to the pulmonary specialist, you can consult the family doctor or an ENT doctor. If the course is severe, inpatient treatment in the hospital is necessary.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of tuberculosis can be difficult if typical symptoms are absent. If there is suspicion, the doctor can question the patient as part of the medical history and check whether there are risk factors. Risk factors include cases of TB in the patient’s community, infection with , chronic illness, or alcoholism.
In order to ensure the diagnosis of tuberculosis, several complex examination procedures are possible. These include X-ray and CT . X-rays show foci of tuberculosis in the lungs and the stage of the disease can be determined. The type of lung attack also gives the doctor information about what form of tuberculosis it is.
A tuberculin skin test can be used to determine whether the patient is or has been infected with the causative agent of tuberculosis. The tuberculin skin test allows the doctor to diagnose the infection before symptoms even appear. However, the diagnosis with this test is not certain. The interferon gamma test reacts only when certain bacteria are present, and this test result is also rather vague.
In order to confirm the diagnosis, a bacteriological examination must be carried out in which cough secretions are analyzed for tuberculosis pathogens. The process is lengthy, however, because a large amount of bacteria must be present, which must first be cultured artificially.
When tuberculosis is diagnosed, the doctor must report the disease to the health department.
Complications
Tuberculosis can provoke various complications. First, the pathogen can spread throughout the body and affect other organs, the bones or the meninges. If the meninges are affected, tuberculous meningitis threatens, which can be fatal. People with a weakened immune system are at risk of circulatory collapse and other serious complications.
Pulmonary tuberculosis can cause the lymph nodes to swell, causing hormonal problems and pain reactions. The tuberculous foci of the disease can spread further via the lymph and blood vessels. Untreated tuberculosis can cause permanent organ damage.
If there are concomitant diseases such as HIV infection or an immune deficiency, tuberculosis is fatal. The disease often takes a severe course, which is associated with numerous complications.
Early and comprehensive treatment can avert these serious symptoms. The prerequisite for this, however, is a causal therapy for tuberculosis. If this is not possible, after a few months or years there will be an increasing number of complications, which also represent a psychological burden. Many patients suffer from depression or anxiety. Panic attacks and the development of chronic anxiety disorders are possible consequences.
treatment and therapy
In principle, the chances of curing tuberculosis are currently optimal. However, the extent to which these are successful depends on the resistance of the pathogen. Drug therapy for tuberculosis is based on anti-tuberculous antibiotics , which are administered at certain treatment intervals.
In medicine, both the so-called first-line and second-line drugs are generally used in this context for a period of 6 months. The latter medication is only appropriate in rare cases.
Only if the bacteria are insensitive to more than 5 types of medication are the extremely strong drugs of the second choice prescribed.An alternative treatment, which has been largely superseded by excellently effective medication, is the surgical removal of affected organs and tissue parts.
In addition, operations are only performed on patients for whom no medication promises a cure. In this context, these are so-called resistant tuberculosis cases.
Prevention
The best prevention against tuberculosis is vaccination. In addition, a healthy lifestyle, effective control of tuberculosis and comprehensive hygienic measures help prevent tuberculosis. The DOTS strategy (Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course) is of particular importance in this regard. This variant is intended to contribute to the early detection and resistance-reduced therapy of tuberculosis as part of tuberculosis-specific health management.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.