Causes of TB Disease, Symptoms, and How to Treat It

 What Causes TB disease?

TB disease or Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. People with active TB disease in the lungs or voice box can spread the disease. They release tiny droplets that carry bacteria through the air, it can happen when they are talking, singing, laughing, coughing, or sneezing.

How is the process of transmission of TB disease?

The process of transmission of TB disease starts from TB germs that come out into the air through droplets or splashes of sputum when a TB patient is coughing, sneezing, or talking without covering his mouth or wearing a mask. TB germs that come out are inhaled by other people through the respiratory tract to the lungs and spread to other parts of the body.

What are the symptoms of TB disease?

Here are six symptoms that indicate contracting TB disease :

1. Continuous cough with either phlegm or no phlegm.
2. Chills or fever that is not too high,
3. Experiencing chest pain
4. Cough mixed with blood
5. Sweating for no reason
6. Appetite and weight decreased.

How to treat TB disease?

The following are five types of drugs used to treat tuberculosis, namely Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, Streptomycin, and Ethambutol.

The TB treatment process is carried out for 6-8 months and is divided into two stages where for the initial stage the drug is taken every day for 2 or 3 months. For the final stage, the drug is taken three times a week for 4 or 5 months.

How to prevent contracting TB disease?

Preventing ourselves from contracting TB disease is something that must be done by every community because prevention is better than cure.

Here are eight tips to prevent contracting TB disease:

1. Doing a healthy lifestyle
2. Eat enough nutritious food and do not overdo it to increase your endurance
3. Open windows so that the house gets sunlight and fresh air
4. Dry the bedding so it is not damp
5. Get the BCG vaccine injection for toddlers
6. Do regular exercise
7. Do not smoke
8. Do a TB test

How do you do a TB test?

The following are the five stages for testing for TB disease, viz :

1. Examination of sputum, where sputum is taken twice in 1 day or two days, namely the SS/SP method
2. The SS method is when you come to the health facility (day 1) 2 sputums are taken with an interval of at least 1 hour.
3. The SP method is when you come to the health facility (day 1) and in the morning after waking up (day two)
4. Do a chest X-ray
5. Carry out additional examinations in the form of chest X-rays, if the sputum examination results are negative, while symptoms of TB disease are found. The rapid molecular test is the main diagnostic tool used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis

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