Tuberculosis

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.

TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

What are the symptoms of tuberculosis?

• A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Coughing up blood or mucus
• Weakness or fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Chills

How is tuberculosis treated?

People diagnosed with active TB disease generally have to take a combination of medications for 6 to 8 months. The full treatment course must be completed. Otherwise, it’s highly likely a TB infection could come back. Additionally, by taking the drugs incorrectly, TB germs that are still alive may become drug-resistant, making it harder for you to get better next time.

While you are in treatment for active TB disease, you will need regular checkups to make sure your treatment is working. Everyone is different, but there are side effects associated with taking the medications, including:

• Upset stomach, nausea and vomiting or loss of appetite
• Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
• Itchy skin, rashes or bruising
• Changes in your eyesight or blurred visions
• Yellowish skin or eyes
• Dark-colored urine
• Weakness, fatigue or fever that for three or more days

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) is the most common treatment strategy used in Malaysia. This strategy is very helpful to monitor patients’ adherence to TB therapy where a health care worker or trained lay people. TB can be controlled and cured effectively by improving the adherence of patient to TB medications.

How to prevent spread of tuberculosis to others?

• Take your medicine exactly as the healthcare provider directed.
• Always get your mouth cover when you cough or sneeze with a tissue. Seal the tissue in a plastic bag before throw it away.
• Wash your hands frequently especially after sneezing or coughing.
• Keep good ventilation in your house.
• Do not go to work or school until your healthcare provider says it’s okay.
• Avoid close contact with anyone. Sleep in a bedroom alone.
• Avoid using public transportation.
• Don’t around infants, children or people who have weak immune system.

The best vitamins for tuberculosis patient

Vitamin D

As we all know, Vitamin D3 is important for maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone mineral density. We can obtain Vitamin D through diet or exposure of epidermis to sunlight. High doses of Vitamin D supplementation enhanced clinical and radiographic improvement in TB patients were proved and concluded in a previous study. In fact, Vitamin D is also having immunomodulating role in our body. If you’re deficient in Vitamin D3, you’re very susceptible to getting an infection from either a virus or bacteria. Besides, it acts as immunosuppressant to control inflammation in TB patient. Thus, it can speed up the recovery and lessen the signs and symptoms of TB.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient for human beings and has to be taken as dietary supplement since humans can’t synthesize Vitamin C in our body ourselves. Vitamin C protects the host from reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen generated during mycobacterial infection. It also enhances the T-cell response and directs the increased migration of leukocytes at the infection site. There are several studies have suggested the role of Vitamin C in prevention and treatment of TB by orally administering the vitamin.