Tuberculosis sounds like a disease of the past, a vague disease that 18th century poets got, but it is indeed a disease of the present. When I moved to California right before 4th grade, I had to get a skin test for tuberculosis (TB) for school. My skin test was positive! They asked me if I had been around people who were coughing, which seemed like an absurd question because people are always randomly coughing. That being said, there are locations where someone coughing are more likely to be someone with TB. Perhaps I was exposed on a recent trip to Sri Lanka. Or perhaps just in line at the grocery store. It’s hard to tell but it’s worth being aware of risk factors. According to the New Jersey Medical School Global Tuberculosis Institute, many countries in Asia (not Japan), Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean have high incidence of TB. Also, in America, homeless shelters, migrant farm camps, prisons/jails, and some nursing homes can have high risk as well. Having HIV or using tobacco can make people more susceptible to death from TB. You can find out more about risk factors on the World Health Organization website.
Some people routinely get tested for tuberculosis (TB). For example, most people who work/volunteer in health care settings need a test once a year. People who work/volunteer in schools often need a test every four years (at least, in LA County). But, if you aren’t in these groups of people, it’s worth thinking about the countries you are visiting and if you are getting exposed. For example, in New York City, a study in the American Journal of Public Health states, South Asians have a “disproportionate burden of TB” and were “likely infected with TB abroad.”
If you test negative, that usually means that you have not been exposed to the disease. If you test positive (and do not have the symptoms of chest pain, coughing, fatigue, fever, etc.), then it means there are TB germs in your body, but does not necessarily mean you are contagious. It could mean that you have a latent infection, which means that the disease is dormant, or sleeping, in your system. This happens when you are exposed to the disease but your body fights it off, for the most part. You can take medicine to make sure that it stays dormant, but in order to know if you need that medicine, make sure you think about if you need to get tested for TB or not. It could save you a lot of trouble long term - keep your lungs healthy!
If you have active TB, doctors will prescribe a combination of antibiotics to treat you. Sometimes they have to get creative with their treatments if the TB strain is drug-resistant. Even though symptoms may improve after just a few weeks of medication, it’s important to finish the full course of drugs. The Mayo Clinic says that untreated TB “can be fatal. Untreated active disease typically affects your lungs, but it can spread to others parts of the body through your bloodstream.” Spinal pain, joint damage, liver/kidney problems and meningitis are some examples of these other consequences.
Hopefully by the end of this post you can agree that it is important to be aware of the risk factors, such as countries visited and area of work, to avoid getting an active infection and that if you do have an infection, to stick to the treatment!
If you test negative, that usually means that you have not been exposed to the disease. If you test positive (and do not have the symptoms of chest pain, coughing, fatigue, fever, etc.), then it means there are TB germs in your body, but does not necessarily mean you are contagious. It could mean that you have a latent infection, which means that the disease is dormant, or sleeping, in your system. This happens when you are exposed to the disease but your body fights it off, for the most part. You can take medicine to make sure that it stays dormant, but in order to know if you need that medicine, make sure you think about if you need to get tested for TB or not. It could save you a lot of trouble long term - keep your lungs healthy!
If you have active TB, doctors will prescribe a combination of antibiotics to treat you. Sometimes they have to get creative with their treatments if the TB strain is drug-resistant. Even though symptoms may improve after just a few weeks of medication, it’s important to finish the full course of drugs. The Mayo Clinic says that untreated TB “can be fatal. Untreated active disease typically affects your lungs, but it can spread to others parts of the body through your bloodstream.” Spinal pain, joint damage, liver/kidney problems and meningitis are some examples of these other consequences.
Hopefully by the end of this post you can agree that it is important to be aware of the risk factors, such as countries visited and area of work, to avoid getting an active infection and that if you do have an infection, to stick to the treatment!