Tuberculosis is a serious disease that affects the lungs and can lead to death. Every year, hundreds of thousands of new cases of the disease appear in the world. Its rapid spread is due to the infectious nature of the disease. In other words, pathogenic bacteria enter the body of a healthy person through communication and contact with the carrier of infection.
Medical statistics confirm that no one is safe from this disease, therefore, every adult should know the symptoms of tuberculosis, as well as how to reduce the risk of infection and get rid of the disease as quickly as possible.
Some facts
Tuberculosis was known many centuries ago. At that time, it was often called land sickness or consumption. In the Middle Ages, he was considered incurable and almost always the diagnosis sounded like a sentence. However, even today (despite the level of development of medicine) to cope with this disease is quite difficult.
Speaking about the number of people with this diagnosis, modern doctors are inclined to believe that every fourth inhabitant of the planet is infected with pathogens. Each year, approximately 8–9 million people are diagnosed with tuberculosis symptoms. Mortality from various complications is about 3 million people per year.
The peculiarity of infection with pathological bacteria is that pathogens may not manifest themselves immediately. In some cases, the incubation (latent) period of the disease can be 5-10 years. That is why it is not always possible to identify symptoms of tuberculosis at an early stage .
Causative agents of tuberculosis
The main cause of tuberculosis is a pathogen - a bacillus from the genus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In people, this bacterium is often called the Koch stick.
This name she received for the reason that it was discovered by the German microbiologist Robert Koch. This event happened in 1882. In fact, Mycobacterium tuberculosis has several subspecies that differ in their characteristics.
The complexity of the fight against this pathogen lies mainly in the high viability of the latter. So, being in a humid and warm place (about +23 ° C), Koch's stick can remain viable for up to 7 years. As soon as the bacterium enters the human body, it passes into the active stage.
In addition, the usual means of combating infections in this case will be powerless:
- surface treatment with alcohol is most often ineffective;
- exposure to bleach kills her in 5 hours;
- boiling at a temperature of +100 ° C will cause the death of the bacteria after 30 minutes;
- rays of ultraviolet lamps - the most effective tool that will cope with the pathogen in 5-7 minutes.
Methods of transmitting tuberculosis
In general, there are 4 ways to spread Mycobacterium tuberculosis rods and their entry into the human body:
- Airborne. It is this method of infection that is considered the main (98% of cases). During the cough, the smallest particles of saliva fly out of the infected person, which spread within a radius of 5 meters. Each cough produces about 3,000 bacteria.
- Contact. Perhaps infection through intercourse, kisses, the use of one thing.
- Food. Tuberculosis affects not only people, but also some animals. Eating infected meat provokes the development of the disease in humans. Now, such cases are possible only in rural areas, where meat is not checked for diseases.
- Intrauterine. Infection of the fetus from a woman with tuberculosis is possible only in the case of an extensive disease. Significantly increases the risk of infection with HIV infection.
Risk factors
Some people are at greater risk for tuberculosis than others. Based on medical statistics, doctors were able to identify the main factors that increase the likelihood of infection with Koch's bacillus:
- Low immunity. In this case, the immune system simply can not cope with the aggressive pathogen of the infection and the disease flows into an acute form. Quite often, symptoms of tuberculosis are detected in people with HIV and those who have recently had a serious illness.
- Constant stressful situations, chronic fatigue. This is explained by the low resistance of the body.
- Compliance with strict diets, malnutrition, lack of vital vitamins and minerals.
- Low level of social conditions. This category can include migrants, people with an antisocial lifestyle (vagrants), drug addicts, and people with mental illnesses.
- Prolonged abuse of alcohol.
- Diabetes.
- The presence of chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
- Heart diseases.
Cough
At the very initial stage of the development of the disease, it is almost impossible to recognize tuberculosis without additional tests. The main difficulty is that the first symptoms of tuberculosis and the first manifestations of acute respiratory infections and flu are very similar.
Coughing is one of the first signs. Moreover, at the very beginning of the disease, it is characterized as dry and paroxysmal. From the side, such coughing may seem like a nervous reaction.
But during the progression of the inflammatory process, his attacks intensify, he becomes wet. After separation of sputum, the patient has a short-term relief.
Sputum at this time can be curdled or purulent. With the advanced stage of tuberculosis, the symptoms intensify - there are blood impurities in the sputum. They can be permanent or temporary, that is, after a certain discharge of blood for a certain time, a break is possible.
Swollen lymph nodes
From the very beginning of the development of the disease, an increase in the cervical and axillary lymph nodes is noticeable. At the same time, their pain on palpation is noted. The presence of this symptom of tuberculosis is always paid attention to the doctor. So, at the first appointment, the doctor will certainly examine the patient and check the condition of the lymph nodes.
However, this symptom cannot be called a characteristic sign. A similar clinical picture is present with any inflammatory phenomena in the body.
Fever
One of the many symptoms of early tuberculosis is fever, which persists for a long time. Doctors say: this symptom is not only inherent in tuberculosis, but also in many other infectious and non-infectious diseases.
When infected with a Koch stick, the temperature does not always remain high. Quite often, it has a normal rate and increases only after physical activity and in the evening.
Among the main symptoms of tuberculosis in children and adults, there is an increase in temperature to 37.3-37.5 degrees. Such jumps are most often short-lived. For example, a temperature increase can only be 2 or 3 times during the week, and the rest of the time, the indicators are kept at the usual level.
Increased sweating of the body
Such a sign is not in vain considered one of the most common, since most patients with tuberculosis complain of increased sweating. This happens mainly at night and in the morning.
Doctors often call this manifestation of the disease “a symptom of a wet pillow.” This is explained by the fact that mainly the head and chest sweat. Despite the frequency of manifestation, this symptom cannot be called a distinctive feature, since it is characteristic of many infectious diseases and exacerbations of chronic diseases.
Dyspnea
If, at the onset of the first symptoms of tuberculosis, treatment was not started at first, then the inflammatory processes intensify and the patient’s condition worsens. The patient has shortness of breath. This manifestation is explained by the fact that the respiratory surface of the lungs decreases, gas exchange in the tissues is disturbed, bronchial patency is reduced.
At first, such disturbances are observed after physical activity, but a little later shortness of breath is present even at rest. At the same time, a similar clinical picture is also present in cardiovascular failure.
Chest pain
Most often, chest pain appears already during the active spread of the inflammatory process and lesions of the parietal pleura. During coughing attacks, sudden movements and deep breathing, the pain intensifies significantly.
Depending on the localization of the inflammatory process, the pain can cover only the right or only the left side of the chest, give it to the heart, arm, neck or epigastric region. All this greatly complicates the diagnosis.
General worsening
Decreased performance and constant fatigue are considered among the first symptoms of tuberculosis. This is primarily due to a sharp decrease in immunity and high energy costs for the fight against the causative agent of the disease.
People practically do not pay attention to such a symptom, explaining this condition with high workload, lack of vitamins and other reasons.
Patients complain of a lack of appetite and sudden weight loss. Weight loss is pretty fast. In some cases, the patient may lose up to 15 kg.
A person with a diagnosis of tuberculosis becomes painful. The face looks haggard, the skin takes on a gray tint, dark circles appear under the eyes. In this case, you can often see an unnaturally bright blush on the cheeks.
Characteristic symptoms and signs of tuberculosis in adults
In addition to the above manifestations of the disease, there are several more that indicate the presence of the disease. Doctors always take into account their presence when studying the symptoms in each case. The only feature can be called the fact that these signs begin to appear only at a later stage of the disease.
- A dull sound is heard when the chest is tapped. This is the first symptom of tuberculosis in adults, which can accurately signal a doctor about a pathology. It is explained by the presence of inflammation in the tissues of the lungs and the appearance of caverns (empty or filled with liquid).
- Detection of wheezing while listening to the lungs. The rales are wet and dry, in addition, breathing is weakened over some areas.
- Chest condition and other symptoms. During the examination in patients with a chronic course of tuberculosis, it is noticeable that the intercostal spaces are dilated, the pupils are enlarged, eye gloss is observed, an elongated narrow chest, pterygoid scapula.
Tuberculosis treatment
The main essence of therapy is to combat the causative agent of the disease, reduce sclerotic phenomena and prevent complications. Depending on the results of the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes treatment, which can be:
Therapeutic treatment is indicated for the first symptoms of tuberculosis.
First of all, in such cases, potent medicines are prescribed. As part of the antibacterial treatment, a course of antibiotics is used. Moreover, the entire treatment period is divided into several stages of treatment:
- Intensive (initial) - at this stage, these types of antibiotics and dosage are selected at which it will be possible to suppress the enhanced reproduction of bacteria and prevent the emergence of drug resistance.
- Stage of ongoing treatment. At the same time, those types of drugs are used that are effective in combating dormant bacteria and are able to prevent their reproduction. At this stage, it is important to connect medicines that accelerate tissue regeneration.
Surgical treatment takes place in rare cases and is reduced to the removal of affected lung tissue. Assign an operation in cases:
- identify single cavities;
- the presence of tuberculoma;
- detection of cavernous and sclerotic changes in only one or several lobes of the lung.
Collapsotherapy is one of those types of treatment that is used exclusively for tuberculosis. This procedure is based on the compression of a diseased lung. To achieve this goal, artificial pneumothorax is provoked. The result of this effect is the decay of the cavities and the improvement of reparative processes. Collapsotherapy is usually prescribed during the active stage of treatment.
Treatment of severe tuberculosis requires the patient to strictly adhere to bed rest. In such cases, the therapy will be quite long. Sometimes recovery takes at least a year.
For the effectiveness of treatment, nutrition is important. The essence of the diet is to consume a large amount of protein. These substances contribute to the restoration of impaired metabolism.
Doctors say: early detection of the first symptoms of tuberculosis primarily affects the speed and effectiveness of treatment. In this case, the correct diagnosis and professional construction of the course of therapy is extremely important. Self-medication and delaying treatment in a clinic often lead to the development of an extensive inflammatory process in the lungs, leading to their decay. Such pathological changes in the body can lead to numerous background diseases and death.
Even those who do not notice the presence of the first symptoms and signs of tuberculosis should undergo an X-ray examination of the lungs annually and visit a therapist and specialist specialists.