Does tuberculosis cause coughing?

Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on September 18, 2024
00:00
00:00

Do tuberculosis patients cough? Most tuberculosis patients can experience coughing, and the duration of the cough is generally quite long, often exceeding two to three weeks and in some cases even reaching over six months to a year. However, there is also a small number of patients who might not cough due to the different types of tuberculosis they have. Additionally, not all cases of coughing indicate tuberculosis. A tuberculosis patient might cough, but they might also not cough, and while a person who coughs could possibly have tuberculosis, not all coughs are due to tuberculosis. There is no definitive equivalence between tuberculosis and coughing. I hope this explanation helps you understand the relationship between tuberculosis and coughing. Thank you.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yuan Lin Yan
Infectious Disease
36sec home-news-image

Is tuberculosis contagious?

Not all cases of tuberculosis are infectious. Some tuberculosis cases are infectious in the early stages but become non-infectious after proper treatment. Patients with open tuberculosis are highly contagious because their sputum contains tuberculosis bacilli. These bacilli can be released into the air through coughing, sneezing, laughing, or loud speaking, and can cause infection when inhaled by others. Some tuberculosis patients do not have detectable bacilli in their sputum, and their infectiousness is relatively much lower.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
2min 13sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
46sec home-news-image

Can tuberculosis relapse?

Tuberculosis can relapse, and the answer is definitely yes. In clinical practice, we see many patients who have had tuberculosis and, years later, experience a recurrence of the disease, even multiple recurrences. However, the probability of this is generally not high. As long as everyone follows the doctor's instructions for standard anti-tuberculosis treatment and completes the full course of treatment, most patients can be cured. However, there are a few people whose treatment process is not standard, or who stop taking their medication on their own, and these actions can increase the risk of tuberculosis recurrence.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
1min 49sec home-news-image

Can tuberculosis be cured?

Can tuberculosis be cured? First, we need to understand that tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In recent decades, many drugs have been developed for anti-tuberculosis treatment. As long as one strictly follows the doctor's advice and adheres to the medication schedule, the vast majority of tuberculosis cases can be completely cured. However, it is crucial to recognize that the treatment duration for tuberculosis is lengthy. Typically, patients need at least six months, while those with recurrent tuberculosis might need eight months. Some patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis may even need to take medication for two years. Therefore, it is essential to undergo standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment. Nevertheless, some patients, due to non-adherence to medical advice, irregular medication intake, or discontinuation of treatment on their own without completing the full course, may face treatment failure. In severe cases, this can lead to multidrug resistance, significantly prolonging the treatment duration and drastically reducing the cure rate, and may even cause infertility. Additionally, some patients may experience severe adverse reactions to tuberculosis drugs, such as significant liver and kidney damage, or have comorbidities like diabetes, liver cirrhosis, or HIV/AIDS. Others may develop severe complications, such as cardiopulmonary disease or respiratory failure, which greatly reduce their chances of recovery and can even lead to death.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
36sec home-news-image

Is tuberculosis contagious?

Actually, not all cases of tuberculosis are contagious; only those in which tuberculosis bacteria can be found in the sputum are infectious. Many cases are non-infectious. Among all cases of active tuberculosis, only about 30% have detectable tuberculosis bacteria in their sputum. The remaining 70% do not have detectable tuberculosis bacteria and thus are not contagious. Whether tuberculosis is contagious or not, once the diagnosis of tuberculosis is confirmed, scientific and rational comprehensive anti-tuberculosis treatment is required.