In a prosperous society, it is thought that tuberculosis is an ailment that affects only drug addicts, homeless people and criminals. And those who belong to the "normal" category of citizens can not catch it. In fact, as practice shows, pulmonary tuberculosis is not too picky. It does not choose victims according to status, race or gender, and quite often completely successful people are diagnosed with this illness. This fact is explained very simply: the main way of transmitting the Koch sticks is through air and droplet contact, when the infected person, cough, spreads the bacteria.
What is tuberculosis? This is an infectious disease, which once was one of the main causes of death worldwide. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of this malady.
With strong immunity, the organism itself can cope with the symptoms of tuberculosis at an early stage, but with the slightest weakening, the infection develops at a rapid pace. The risk group includes the following categories of population:
- The elderly
- Chronic alcoholics and drug addicts
- Patients with HIV and diabetes
- Patients after a course of chemotherapy and when using drugs that reduce the work of immunity
- Those living in places with poor ecological conditions
Especially dangerous is a long time contact with a sick person in an enclosed poorly ventilated area.
This infectious disease is caused by slowly multiplying bacteria that feels in the areas of the body where there is a lot of blood and oxygen. That is why the ailment is most often based in the lungs.
From the medical point of view, the development of the Koch sticks is conventionally divided into two stages:
- The first form — latent tuberculosis means that there are bacteria in the organism, but the immunity does not allow the illness to develop. In adults, tuberculosis symptoms at this stage virtually cannot be noticed as they almost always do not manifest themselves
- The active phase occurs when the amount of bacilli increases significantly and the first signs appear. It is the people with the secondary form of tuberculosis that spread the illness around
The Koch’s sticks feature is that it is resistant to many medications and environmental factors, and therefore can remain viable for many months or even years. The infection responds quickly to the slightest fluctuation of immunity, and it only waits for the moment when the protective system weakens at least a little and begins to develop rapidly, and then the first symptoms appear:
- Coughing with mucus
- Cough with blood
- Excessive sweating, especially at night
- Loss of appetite
- Dyspnea, which eventually only intensifies
- Chronic fatigue and weakness
- Pallor of the skin
- Sharp weight loss
- Fever
In rare cases, along with these signs, could be observed the following symptoms:
- Difficult breathing
- Insomnia, pain in the chest
- Headache and unconscious condition
The results of the diagnostic examination of patients with an acute form of tuberculosis in many respects depend on the place of the main localization of the Koch sticks. In the case of lung damage, the following indicators will be noticeable:
- Abnormal breathing sounds
- Wheezing and bronchial symptoms that indicate lung consolidation
- Scarring of soft tissues and necrotic processes
However, the absence of explicit physical signs does not exclude the presence of an active stage of pulmonary tuberculosis. The classic signs may be hidden or manifested in somewhat different form in people at high risk.
The probability of encountering this illness face to face is not so great — only about 5-10%. But if you convert the percentage to numbers, then there are tens of millions of infected people around the planet. Tuberculosis is a very terrible illness that is difficult to cure and takes much more lives than other infections together. That is why it is important to remember the basic security measures:
- Undergo fluorography at least once a year
- Ventilate your hose, there should always be fresh air in your house
- When talking with a person who coughs, ask him or her to cover the mouth and nose with a scarf or perform these same actions yourself
- During seasonal exacerbations of infectious diseases wear gauze bandages that protect your nose and mouth
If, to the utmost regret, in a patient has been found this disease, he or she is immediately hospitalized and the necessary preventive measures must be taken. The course of treatment mainly depends on the individual characteristics of the organism and is prescribed by a physician based on several parameters: the stage, the results of the tuberculosis tests and the history of the disease. However, treatment always involves the combination of many medications, usually up to 4 species at once. Indeed, it is much easier to prevent this ailment then to cure it. However, unlike in the past, now this diagnosis is not a death sentence, mankind has invented effective medicines. Their wide range and description of their properties can be found in Greek online pharmacies. They are also available in traditional drugstores.
After six months of intensive care, the first symptoms of adult tuberculosis usually pass. However, the medications are still in use for several months. Very often, special potent antibiotics are prescribed, such as generic Syromicin. If tuberculosis bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, it may take much longer for a full recovery, usually from one year or more.
Symptoms of the presence of Koch’s sticks in the lungs are so blurry that it is easy to confuse them with other infectious diseases. But tuberculosis is not a simple infection, it is an infectious and deadly illness, therefore, if you’ve been suffered from cough for a long time and if you have a smallest suspicion that you caught a cold, it is advisable to consult a medical professional and undergo the necessary tuberculosis testing. Detection of the ailment in the early stages allows to choose the most safe and effective methods of treatment.
