Tuberculosis treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Yes. In most cases, a doctor on Maple can help you manage a previously diagnosed case of tuberculosis. Once you describe your condition to the doctor, they’ll be able to provide any necessary prescriptions and recommend an appropriate course of treatment.

If the doctor suspects you have a more serious problem, they may suggest for you to go to a clinic for a thorough physical examination.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs and can have very serious consequences. It’s spread from person-to-person through droplets released into the air by coughing, speaking, or sneezing.

Tuberculosis primarily affects the lungs, but it can also spread to other parts of the body. This is called extrapulmonary TB.

Besides pulmonary (lung) tuberculosis and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, there’s also latent TB and active TB. Latent TB means that you have the bacteria in the body, but your immune system is able to control it and keep it from becoming symptomatic.

Active TB means that the bacteria has grown and is causing symptoms. It’s at this point that it becomes infectious.

The short answer is yes, latent tuberculosis can become active. Most healthy people with inactive TB have a low risk of developing active TB. However, there is a small risk. If your immune system becomes compromised, for instance, you could develop active TB.

Typically no. Active TB usually has symptoms.

Symptoms of active TB include:

• Coughing that lasts three or more weeks
• Coughing up blood
• Chest pain, or pain when coughing or breathing
• Unintentional weight loss
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Chills
• Loss of appetite
• Symptoms related to the organ involved, such as blood in the urine, if it’s spread to the kidneys, or back pain if it’s spread to the spine

If you have latent tuberculosis and it’s discovered, you may need to take only one or two types of medication. Active tuberculosis requires a more aggressive approach, using a number of medications such as:

• Isoniazid
• Rifampin
• Ethambutol
• Pyrazinamide

Drug-resistant strains are treated using a combination of antibiotics and injectable medications, such as amikacin, for up to 30 months.