Tuberculosis is a serious disease that affects the lungs and can be fatal. 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 he althy person through communication and contact with the carrier of the infection.
Medical statistics confirm that no one is immune from this disease, so 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 has been known for centuries. At that time, it was often called dry sickness or consumption. In the Middle Ages, it was considered incurable and almost always the diagnosis sounded like a sentence. However, even today (despite the level of development of medicine), it is quite difficult to cope with this disease.
Speaking of the number of people with thisdiagnosis, modern doctors tend to believe that every fourth inhabitant of the planet is infected with pathogens. Approximately 8-9 million people are diagnosed with TB symptoms each year. Mortality from various complications is about 3 million people a year.
A feature 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 the symptoms of tuberculosis at an early stage.
Tuberculosis pathogens
The main cause of tuberculosis is a pathogen - a bacillus of the genus Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Popularly, this bacterium is often called Koch's bacillus.
She received this name for the reason that she was discovered by the German microbiologist Robert Koch. This event took place in 1882. In fact, Mycobacterium tuberculosis has several subspecies that differ in their characteristics.
The difficulty of dealing with this pathogen lies mainly in the high viability of the latter. So, being in a humid and warm place (about +23 ° C), Koch's wand can remain viable for up to 7 years. As soon as the bacterium enters the human body, it enters the active stage.
Besides, the usual means of fighting infections in this case will be powerless:
- surface treatment with alcohol is most often ineffective;
- exposure to bleach kills her in 5hours;
- boiling at +100°C will kill the bacterium after 30 minutes;
- rays of ultraviolet lamps - the most effective tool that will cope with the pathogen in 5-7 minutes.
Methods of transmission of tuberculosis
In general, there are 4 ways that Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli can spread and enter the human body:
Airborne. It is this method of infection that is considered the main one (98% of cases). When an infected person coughs, tiny particles of saliva fly out, which spread within a radius of 5 meters. Every cough sheds about 3,000 bacteria
- Contact. Possible infection through sexual intercourse, kissing, using some things.
- 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 tested 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 HIV infection.
Risk factors
Some people are more at risk of TB 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 cannot cope withaggressive causative agent of infection and the disease flows into an acute form. Quite often, TB symptoms 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.
- Strict diets, malnutrition, lack of vital vitamins and minerals.
- Low level of social and living conditions. This category can include migrants, people with an antisocial lifestyle (tramps), drug addicts, people with mental illness.
- Long-term alcohol abuse.
- Diabetes mellitus.
- Presence of chronic diseases of the respiratory system.
- Heart disease.
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 influenza are very similar.
Cough is one of the first symptoms to appear. At the same time, at the very beginning of the disease, it is characterized as dry and paroxysmal. From the outside, such a cough may seem like a nervous reaction.
But during the progression of the inflammatory process, his attacks intensify, he becomes wet. After sputum separation, the patient experiences short-term relief.
Sputum at this time may be cheesy or purulent. With an advanced stage of tuberculosis, symptomsintensify - blood impurities are present in the sputum. They can be permanent or temporary, that is, after some bleeding, a break is possible for a certain time.
Lymph node enlargement
From the very beginning of the development of the disease, an increase in cervical and axillary lymph nodes is noticeable. At the same time, their pain on palpation is noted. Doctors always pay attention to the presence of this symptom of tuberculosis. So, at the first appointment, the doctor will certainly examine the patient and check the condition of the lymph nodes.
At the same time, it will not be possible to call this symptom a characteristic sign. A similar clinical picture is present in any inflammatory phenomena in the body.
Increased body temperature
One of the many early symptoms of TB is a high temperature that persists for a long time. Doctors note: this symptom is inherent not only 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, the temperature may rise only 2 or 3 times during the week, and the rest of the time the indicators are kept at the usual level.
Increasedbody sweating
This symptom 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 “wet pillow symptom.” This is explained by the fact that sweating is mainly on the head and chest. 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.
Shortness of breath
If the first symptoms of tuberculosis are not treated for the first time, 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, and 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 insufficiency.
Chest pain
Most often, chest pain appears already during the active spread of the inflammatory process and damage to the parietal pleura. During bouts of coughing, sudden movements and deep breathing, the pain increases significantly.
Depending on the location of the inflammatory process, the pain may cover only the right or onlythe left side of the chest, give to the region of the heart, to the arm, neck or epigastric region. All this makes diagnosis much more difficult.
Deterioration of general condition
Decreased performance and constant fatigue are considered among the first symptoms of tuberculosis. First of all, this is due to a sharp decrease in immunity and a large expenditure of energy to fight the pathogen.
People practically do not pay attention to such a symptom, explaining this condition by high workload at work, lack of vitamins and other reasons.
Patients complain of lack of appetite and rapid weight loss. The weight loss is pretty fast. In some cases, the patient can lose up to 15 kg.
The sight of a person diagnosed with 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 heard when the chest is tapped. This is the first symptom of tuberculosis in adults, which can unmistakably signal to the doctor aboutpathology. It is explained by the presence of inflammation in the tissues of the lungs and the appearance of cavities (empty or filled with liquid).
- Detection of wheezing when listening to the lungs. The rales are wet and dry, in addition, breathing is weakened over some areas.
- Chest condition and other symptoms. During examination in patients with chronic tuberculosis, it is noticeable that the intercostal spaces are dilated, the pupils are enlarged, the eyes shine, an elongated narrow chest, pterygoid shoulder blades are observed.
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;
- surgical.
Therapeutic treatment is indicated at the first symptoms of tuberculosis.
First of all, in such cases, potent drugs are prescribed. As part of antibacterial treatment, a course of antibiotics is used. In this case, the entire period of therapy is divided into several stages of treatment:
- Intensive (initial) - at this stage, such types of antibiotics and dosage are selected that will suppress the increased reproduction of bacteria and prevent the emergence of drug resistance.
- The stage of ongoing treatment. In this case, 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 include medications 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:
- detection of single caverns;
- presence of tuberculoma;
- detection of cavernous and sclerotic changes in only one or several lobes of the lung.
Collapse therapy is one of those treatments that is used exclusively for tuberculosis. This procedure is based on the compression of the diseased lung. To achieve this goal, an artificial pneumothorax is provoked. The result of such an impact is the subsidence of cavities and the improvement of reparative processes. Collapse therapy is usually prescribed during the active stage of treatment.
Treatment of severe forms of tuberculosis requires the patient to strictly adhere to bed rest. In such cases, therapy will be quite long. Sometimes it takes at least a year to recover.
Proper nutrition is of no small importance for the effectiveness of treatment. 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 in the first place affects the speed and effectiveness of treatment. At the same time, correct diagnosis and professional construction of a course of therapy are extremely important. Self-medication and delay in contacting the clinic often lead to the development of an extensive inflammatory process in the lungs, leading to their decay. Suchpathological 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 annual x-ray examination of the lungs and visit a general practitioner and subspecialists.
