One of potentially serious infectious health problems associated with the lungs is tuberculosis or TB. It can occur due to the slow-growing bacteria in the lungs or in other areas of the body that have lots of O2 (oxygen) and blood. The signs and symptoms of TB are usually related to the condition /type of the infection itself. Patients who have latent TB are more likely to experience no any symptom. The signs of tuberculosis usually begin to occur in the stage what we call as ‘active TB’ or when latent TB becomes active TB.
If active tuberculosis left treated, it can be very dangerous and will lead to a fatal accident. It typically affects the lungs, but there is also a chance for the disease to spread to other areas /parts of the patient’s body through the blood flow. (Read also how to prevent tuberculosis, before continuing!)
Some potential complications that occur (particularly if the disease left untreated) may include:
- Inflammation in the heart which then affect the performance the heart to effectively pump the blood. This condition will lead to another health condition what we call as cardiac-tamponade.
- The disease then may cause a health condition called as ‘meningitis’ (a problem that can affect the performance of the brain to work).
- Liver & kidneys may also be affected, which then cause problems associated with the mechanisms of the body to filter waste & impurities from the bloodstream.
- There is also a chance of developing destructions in the spinal pain & joint of the bones.
Though the treatment for TB is typically long process (it may take about 6-9 months, or even maybe up to two years), but fortunately it is often success.
Types of tuberculosis
Although the patient’s body has been infected with bacteria that can cause TB, but initially the body immune system usually can protect /prevent the body’s patient from becoming sick. And therefore, (as mentioned before) for this reason doctors make 2 groups: latent and active TB!
Latent tuberculosis
It is a condition when your body has been infected but your immune system is still able to keep the infection from turning into active TB. In this type, the disease is typically not contagious or doesn’t spread to others and also once again typically doesn’t generate any symptom. But latent stage can become active TB.
Active tuberculosis
Once you reach the active TB, now you are contagious and some common signs of TB begin to be seen. In some patients, it may occur in the first weeks after the infection, but there are also some patients who have active TB in years ahead after the infection.
In many cases, individuals infected with TB germs never develop active tuberculosis.
Furthermore, based on the spread of the disease, there are also two major groups;
- Pulmonary tuberculosis (more common)! As the name suggests, it is a condition when the disease only infect the lungs.
- Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis! It is a term used to describe a condition when the disease has spread to other areas of the body’s patient. This type is less common if compared with pulmonary TB.
The spread of tuberculosis
Contagious phase of Active TB is common when the disease infect the lungs (pulmonary TB). Patients can spread the infection to others through their breathing mechanism. When they take a breath, there is a chance for the bacteria to go out and travel to the air which then will increase the chance of other individuals to breathe with the air contained the bacteria.
Moreover, the rate of bacteria to spread to others is also high when patient laughing or coughing. For extra-pulmonary TB (especially when the infection only occurs in the outside of the lungs), the bacteria is relatively difficult to spread to others.
Signs and symptoms of TB (effects of tuberculosis)
Once again, symptoms /signs of this disease typically begin to develop /occur in the stage of active TB. And the symptoms that you experience are usually dependent on which the area infected (only in the lungs or another part of the body).
Signs /symptoms of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis
If compared to pulmonary TB symptoms, the signs of extra-pulmonary infection vary widely which usually closely associated which the specific parts of the body that are affected. For instances:
- If the disease infects the spine, you may experience an unfriendly back pain.
- If the neck’s lymph nodes are also affected, the neck may become swollen.
Signs /symptoms of pulmonary TB
These may include:
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- experience weight loss without unknown reasons
- lack /loss of appetite
- night sweats
- chills and fever
- weakness & fatigue
- and cough followed by cloudy, thick, or even bloody mucus which may occur more than two weeks
In addition, the symptoms of pulmonary TB typically develop gradually (over a period of weeks or months). Moreover, patient may also experience one or two unnoticeable mild signs.
If you in doubt to your condition or if you experience any possible sign of tuberculosis, see a doctor promptly so thus you will get a clearly diagnosis and the right treatments as soon as possible!
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Reference: MayoClinic and WebMD
Image credit to ‘shutterstock’ for illustration
