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Pulmonary tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is transmitted through the air.
The transmission of tuberculosis primarily depends on understanding its causative agent, which is the tubercle bacillus, also known simply as the tuberculosis bacillus. The main source of infection in tuberculosis is from patients who test positive for tuberculosis bacillus in their sputum. The respiratory tract is the principal route of transmission for tuberculosis patients. When patients who test positive for bacillus in their sputum cough, expel sputum, sneeze, or even speak loudly, they generate a large amount of droplets containing the tuberculosis bacillus. These bacteria can remain suspended in the air for a relatively long time. In poorly ventilated indoor environments, they may stay airborne for up to five hours. Healthy individuals can contract respiratory infections upon inhaling these bacteria. Furthermore, a very small portion of patients are infected through consuming milk or other dairy products from cows with tuberculosis.
Can people with tuberculosis drink alcohol?
Patients with tuberculosis should not drink alcohol. They need to rest well, enhance their nutrition, and abstain from smoking and drinking. Systematic and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment is necessary. With standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment, the tuberculosis bacteria can be effectively suppressed, symptoms can be controlled, and the patient’s weight can increase. It is crucial to abstain from smoking and drinking during treatment, as drinking can lead to poor treatment outcomes and even the development of drug-resistant tuberculosis. With timely and standardized medication and comprehensive treatment, most patients can generally be cured within a six-month course of anti-tuberculosis treatment.
Does tuberculosis cause a runny nose?
Individuals with tuberculosis, if accompanied by a cold and rhinitis, will also experience a runny nose. However, simple tuberculosis, without any upper respiratory infections or rhinitis, does not lead to a runny nose. Therefore, it is important to accurately analyze the issue. Common symptoms of tuberculosis include persistent coughing, coughing up phlegm, low-grade fever, night sweats, bloody sputum, chest tightness, and difficulty breathing, among others. Once tuberculosis is definitively diagnosed, it is essential to commence timely and scientifically sound anti-tuberculosis treatments. Most cases can be completely cured.
Is tuberculosis contagious?
Tuberculosis (TB) is only infectious in some patients who have a large amount of tubercle bacilli in their sputum. In fact, many patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis are not infectious. For more patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, tubercle bacilli cannot be found in their sputum, so the actual situation must be considered. In fact, to determine if pulmonary tuberculosis is infectious, it is simple: look for acid-fast bacilli in the sputum. If the sputum acid-fast staining is positive, it indicates infectiousness. Infectious pulmonary tuberculosis requires systematic and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment.
Can tuberculosis be cured?
Tuberculosis can actually be completely cured, primarily through anti-tuberculosis treatment. If it is confirmed to be active tuberculosis, systematic and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment is required. Through scientific and reasonable anti-tuberculosis treatment and taking medication on time and according to guidelines, most tuberculosis patients can be cured, with a cure rate reaching 85%. The treatment includes an intensive phase of anti-tuberculosis treatment and a consolidation phase, with the total course of treatment being about six months. After being cured, it is not easy to relapse, but it is essential to take medications on time, adjust nutrition, modify work and rest schedules, and rest well.
How is tuberculosis diagnosed?
The diagnosis of tuberculosis primarily involves combining relevant clinical symptoms, such as whether there is cough, expectoration, low fever, night sweats, and blood in phlegm. It also requires considering the patient's chest imaging features, whether there is obvious infection, fresh exudation, cavities, as well as sputum tests. For example, if the sputum stain for acid-fast bacilli is positive, and the sputum culture is positive, using these comprehensive diagnostic methods, tuberculosis can be diagnosed, after which anti-tuberculosis treatment should be initiated.
How to test for tuberculosis
To examine pulmonary tuberculosis, it is essential to understand that it pertains to tuberculosis changes in the lung tissue, airways, bronchi, and pleura. The pathogen causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also known as the tubercle bacillus. There are multiple tests available for people with pulmonary tuberculosis, as the disease can vary based on location and type. Therefore, such patients generally require numerous tests. The most commonly used are imaging studies for the chest, including X-rays and CT scans. In imaging studies, most patients will show some lesions, but there are instances where tuberculosis in the airways and bronchi might not be clearly visible on CT or X-rays, necessitating more invasive tests like bronchoscopy. Additionally, bacteriological examinations, such as sputum smear and pleural fluid smear, as well as culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are typically conducted for patients. Nowadays, hospitals equipped with the necessary facilities conduct molecular biological tests, namely nucleic acid testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA. Furthermore, some patients with complex conditions may require a histopathological biopsy, commonly referred to as tissue sampling, at the site of the lesion to observe under a microscope for characteristic changes indicative of tuberculosis. There are also immunological tests that assist in diagnosing tuberculosis, such as the gamma interferon release assay (commonly known as the T-SPOT), tuberculin skin test, and traditional antibody tests against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
How is tuberculosis treated?
The primary treatment for tuberculosis is still chemotherapy, also simply called chemo, but the chemotherapy for tuberculosis is completely different from the anti-tumor chemotherapy we talk about in cancer, and the medications are also completely different. There are about more than ten anti-tuberculosis drugs, which can be divided into first-line and second-line drugs, and currently, there are third-line drugs under research. Chemotherapy for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis should be started early and administered in combination. The types of combined medication for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis generally involve three or more drugs. Some patients may exhibit drug resistance or intolerance to some drugs' side effects, and thus, second-line drugs may be used. Additionally, some patients, due to special conditions, may require four or five types of anti-tuberculosis drugs. It is crucial to strictly follow medical advice regarding how to medicate and treat. Furthermore, patients with pulmonary tuberculosis must ensure complete medication adherence, as the treatment duration for tuberculosis is quite long, typically requiring at least six months, and some patients may need one or even two years. Regular medication intake is very important because some patients might experience symptoms like coughing up blood or others, such as those with pleurisy, who might develop pleural effusion. Therefore, treatments targeted at other symptoms are necessary. Patients who cough up blood might need hemostatic drugs, while those with severe hemoptysis may even require interventional surgery. Some with tuberculous pleurisy might need to have pleural effusion drained. Additionally, some patients with pulmonary tuberculosis might experience adverse reactions to medications, such as liver or kidney failure, visual impairment, or numbness in the hands, which would require adjustments to their medication or changes based on their complications. Treatment should also be targeted toward these adverse reactions.
Can people with tuberculosis eat beef?
Patients with tuberculosis need to appropriately increase their intake of high-quality proteins, such as beef, duck, fish, pork, and lean meat. These foods can provide the body with abundant proteins and the raw materials for amino acid synthesis. It is also necessary to appropriately consume fresh vegetables and fruits to obtain a rich supply of vitamins, fibers, and minerals. The variety of food should be diversified, nutrition should be balanced, and meals should be evenly distributed. Moreover, systematic and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment with scientific and reasonable methods, combined with nutritional adjustments, can lead to a cure in most cases.
Can people with tuberculosis drink alcohol?
Whether patients with tuberculosis can drink alcohol, first of all, it is important to know that tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease and a consumptive disease that consumes the body's calories. Drinking alcohol can affect the body's absorption of energy. Moreover, most patients with tuberculosis need to take anti-tuberculosis medication, most of which are metabolized through the liver and can cause varying degrees of liver damage. Drinking alcohol can exacerbate liver damage and reduce the effectiveness of the medication. Additionally, since there are many types of anti-tuberculosis medications for tuberculosis patients, some medications may cause adverse reactions when drinking alcohol. Therefore, all tuberculosis patients must strictly abstain from drinking alcohol during treatment.