Tuberculosis

[seonai]

Does anyone out there have experience with TB? I have had TB since May this year and have taken the required drugs. But I can't afford international hospitals. Any ideas?

Seonai

[britmaveric]

TB is a killer if left untreated.....

http://w3.whosea.org/tb/tb.htm

[cathyy]

Does anyone out there have experience with TB? I have had TB since May this year and have taken the required drugs. But I can't afford international hospitals. Any ideas?

Seonai

Glad to hear you are taking the required drugs. However, you DO need to get yourself in for routine follow-up appointments and sputum tests. What if the strain of TB you have is resistant to the drugs you are taking? Some strains of TB are resistant to several drugs. You need to make sure the treatment is working to CURE you, even though you are feeling better and your cough is gone. Even going to a government hospital would be better than not getting any follow-up care at all. It's not like TB is something the docs there have never seen before, or that they won't know how to treat it.

[sbk]

There is a major problem with TB being treated but not completely eradicated and then the person redevelops it but a drug resistant strain.

the US CDC has a very complete website on it: CDC TB page

It seems there are two different kinds. I am assuming you have the active kind and they have this to say about taking your meds:

Why do I need to take TB medicine regularly?

TB bacteria die very slowly. It takes at least 6 months for the medicine to kill all the TB bacteria. You will probably start feeling well after only a few weeks of treatment. But beware! The TB bacteria are still alive in your body. You must continue to take your medicine until all the TB bacteria are dead, even though you may feel better and have no more symptoms of active TB disease.

If you don't continue taking your medicine or you aren't taking your medicine regularly, this can be very dangerous. The TB bacteria will grow again and you will remain sick for a longer time. The bacteria may also become resistant to the medicines you are taking. You may need new, different medicines to kill the TB bacteria if the old medicines no longer work. These new medicines must be taken for a longer time and usually have more serious side effects.

If you become infectious again, you could give TB bacteria to your family, friends, or anyone else who spends time with you. It is very important to take your medicine the way your doctor or nurse tells you.

[seonai]

SBK

I am really scared. I have had this twice now in my life and I worry for my son. He is so far okay - preventative medicine. But I hope I can survive this. God knows where I got TB. It might have been in a flight - dodgy recycled air.

But thanks for your contribution,

Seonai

[camerata]

You may need new, different medicines to kill the TB bacteria if the old medicines no longer work. These new medicines must be taken for a longer time and usually have more serious side effects.

And undoubtedly more expensive...

[Soph]

An ex boyfriend of mine fell very sick with phnumonia one time and was admitted into hospital, there were a few thoughts that it may be HIV related and of course we were all totally freaked out. Turned out it was TB - his ex-gf had had it about 8 years earlier and somehow it had come to him all those years later.

The health visitor came to the house and told us that anyone who had been in a room with him for more than 24 hours would have to be tested, along with family members, even work colleagues of us would need testing too.

It was quite awful, although we all came up negative, it was actually alot more serious than I thought.

Hopefully it will never pop up in my life

[sbk]

Seonai, I suggest you try the govt hospital first, the drugs there are the same as the Intl hospital and you need to be monitored to make sure it is really gone. I read somewhere that TB recurrence is becoming a major problem even in the west.

[cathyy]

I read somewhere that TB recurrence is becoming a major problem even in the west.

Sure is. But most of it is found in recent immigrants from areas where TB is endemic. The biggest problems are people not taking the meds regularly and long enough, so the TB bacteria becomes resistant and people who do not get regular follow up visits to ensure the medication is actually effective against the infection they have, leading to people who look and feel well, but are carrying and transmitting TB to others.

TB is not as horribly infectious as they make it seem. It does take quite a bit of close contact. I recall a nursing home resident I had. When I first was working there, I noticed he had all the signs of active TB, and asked if he had been tested. I was told that he had been tested on admission, and annually thereafter, but as it was found out later he had somehow been missed. Well, after I no longer worked there they did the annual testing and he came up with active TB. I had been handling his nebulizer for his breathing medications, and being coughed on by him daily for months. I was always VERY careful to wash my hands after working with him! And I tested negative for exposure to TB, and have every test since then. So you are not likely to get it from just being on the same plane with someone who has it, unless you are sitting in the seat next to his!

If you have had it twice, it brings a couple possibilities to mind. One is that you are being infected by someone close to you, like a family member who may not show any symptoms. Another is that it never went away completely the first time, and you now have a resistant strain.

Get yourself some further care NOW!

[Sheryl]

SBK

I am really scared. I have had this twice now in my life and I worry for my son. He is so far okay - preventative medicine. But I hope I can survive this. God knows where I got TB. It might have been in a flight - dodgy recycled air.

But thanks for your contribution,

Seonai

Dear Seonai,

I'm a nurse & public health pecialist.As the previous post said,it is very unlikely you coacted this on a plane or through casual/brief contact. It could be a recurrence of the earlier infection. I assume you hae had an HIV est -- if not, get one as TB occurs much more readily in peoplewith HIV.

As forthe treatment -- treatment at a govrnment hospital or one of the good but lower cost private hospital (like phayathai) should be fine. I'm not sure about Thailand but inmany countries TB treatment is also available at rural Health Centers,which are very inexpesive.

It doesn't take Bumrungrad to treat TB....but it DOES take careful aderenceto te treatment,no skipped dosages,ad regular re-tests of your sputum and chest X-ray to be sure the disease is responding to he drugs.

TB is curable --- if you acrefully follow the treatment and don't stop until it's sure you ae cured you'lle fine. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask anything else. Good luck.

[camerata]

I know someone who has had TB in the lymph nodes for many years. Does anyone know if that would still be contagious?

[cathyy]

I know someone who has had TB in the lymph nodes for many years. Does anyone know if that would still be contagious?

Not contagious, no, but it still needs to be treated, as it can spread inside the body. Only TB in the lungs can be transmitted to other people, because the TB bacteria has to be inhaled to infect a person. Infected lymph nodes can be the result of an old lung TB infection that spread, or the result of a person successfully fighting off a TB lung infection.

How do you know this person does not have an early or recurrent undiagnosed active TB infection? I would urge them to see a doctor about it and get treated.

[camerata]

Infected lymph nodes can be the result of an old lung TB infection that spread, or the result of a person successfully fighting off a TB lung infection.

How do you know this person does not have an early or recurrent undiagnosed active TB infection? I would urge them to see a doctor about it and get treated.

It seems I got the story wrong. The lymph node infection was properly treated a few years ago and has not returned. The mystery was how the person picked up the infection in the first place. This is a well-off family in Bangkok and no other family members got it.