Treatment:
Treating Tb can take much longer than treating other types of bacteria infections. You must take antibiotics for at least six to nine months. The drug used may be different by the your age, health, drug resistance, the kind of TB you have (latent or active) and the infections in the body. A treatment can be $21-2,000 and can take up too 6 -9 months to get better.
Most common TB drugs :
If you have latent tuberculosis, you may only need to take on type of medication. If you have active tuberculosis you will have to take several drugs at once.
Some of the most known medications used to treat tuberculosis are :
Side effects for TB drug don't usually happen but if they do it can be serious because the medications can be highly toxic to the liver.
Side effects :
Most common TB drugs :
If you have latent tuberculosis, you may only need to take on type of medication. If you have active tuberculosis you will have to take several drugs at once.
Some of the most known medications used to treat tuberculosis are :
- Isoniazid
- Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane)
- Ethambutol (Myambutol)
- Pyrazinamide
Side effects for TB drug don't usually happen but if they do it can be serious because the medications can be highly toxic to the liver.
Side effects :
- Nausea or vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- A yellow color in skin (jaundice)
- Dark urine
- Fever that lasts three or more days and with no cause
Prevention:
Protect your family and friends :
- Stay home : Don't go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks if you have active TB
- Ventilate the room : Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn't move you should open the windows and use a fan to blow indoor air outside.
- Cover your mouth : Use a tissue to cover your mouth when you laugh, sneeze or cough
- Wear a mask : a surgical mask when you're around other people during the first three weeks
Finish your entire medication :
When you stop taking your medicine early or skip doses, TB bacteria can make mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs. The resulting drug-resistant strains are much more deadly and difficult to treat.
Vaccinations :
infants often are vaccinated with Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine because it can prevent severe tuberculosis in children. The BCG vaccine isn't recommended for general use in the United States because it isn't very effective in adults, and it causes a false-positive result on a TB skin test.