How Can I Avoid Tuberculosis?

Are you aware of what tuberculosis is?

Do you know about the treatment options for TB?

Are you aware of the side-effects?

Do you know how it can spread?

Have you discussed hospitalization options?

Are you aware of ways to prevent TB?

Tuberculosis is a disease you'd want to avoid completely. It spreads through the air from one person who has active TB in their lungs to others who don't have it. You can get it right away and the virus spreads across your body and multiplies quickly.

There are many treatment options available for TB and out of these, three treatments are most commonly used. The first option is isoniazid where an antibiotic pill is taken every day for a period of nine months. The second option is to take rifampin each day for four months, but it may come with side-effects. Both these options can be taken for one week for a period of three months. These are the three most effective treatments for TB.

Taking TB medications can cause side effects such as fever for three days, itchiness or rash, pain in the abdomen, nausea, numbness of hands and feet, fatigue, and dizziness. Even if you have these side effects, you should not stop taking these medications even if you feel better because until all the germs are eliminated, you can't be cured. In fact, the remaining germs can become resistant to the drug, thereby making the treatment highly ineffective.

Tuberculosis can spread easily through the air, so the best way to prevent it is to stay away from people who have it. If you have TB in your lungs, your doctor will advise you to stay home for the first few months to prevent you from spreading it to others. Since it is contagious, you must not go to public places and should not be around people who have compromised immunity such as kids, elders, pregnant women, and anyone with respiratory illness.

Check with your doctor if your condition is serious enough for hospitalization. Most times, your doctor will give the necessary medication and will ask you to stay home. But if your condition is serious or if you can't expel the germs through your cough, your doctor may ask you to get hospitalized. Some other cases when you will be hospitalized is when there's no one to take care of you, you don't have stable housing, or when you are resistant to the multiple drugs used in TB treatment.

TB is best avoided when you avoid contact with infected people. If you can't avoid it, make sure you don't share personal belongings like towels and utensils. Also, wash your hands often and consider wearing a mask to avoid the spread through the air. Keep the place well-ventilated for the circulation of fresh air.

Follow it carefully and make sure you stay away from infected people. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor right away.