Tuberculosis is an infectious and inflammatory pathology, the causative agent of which is a mycobacterium called Koch's bacillus. This disease can occur in an acute or latent form. It is also possible that the carrier of the pathogen without the onset of the inflammatory process in the body. In general, tuberculosis is multifaceted, and this is why it is very dangerous.
What is this disease
Every year, millions of people of all ages and status die from tuberculosis. And all because the disease is extremely common and insidious: several years can pass from the moment of infection to the development of an acute form. It is extremely important to detect tuberculosis at an early stage. In adults, the symptoms of this disease can be completely different. But if you know their features, you can count on the timely detection and successful treatment of the disease.
Most often, the defect occurs with a slight increase in temperature within 37-38 degrees. But tuberculosis may well develop without fever. And although this form of pathology is extremely common, it is she who is considered the mostdangerous. After all, the patient may simply not notice the symptoms of tuberculosis without fever for a long time. In adults, this disease often develops in a latent form, as the body tries to fight the pathogen. But the outcome of this "battle" is almost always the same - the disease wins. And to prevent this from happening, you need to pay attention to the signs of pathology in time, and be sure to consult a doctor.
Is there tuberculosis without fever
This form of pathology occurs in the early stages of the development of lesions of the respiratory system. Doctors distinguish several phases of the disease.
- Primary stage. Denotes the period of time from the moment a bacterium enters the body until the first symptoms appear. Symptoms of the disease are mild, the temperature is most often absent. A normal temperature indicator in the primary stage of tuberculosis is a feature of its course. Although sometimes in patients the temperature still rises to 37 degrees. But many people simply do not pay attention to it.
- Latent stage. Accompanied by the occurrence of a minimum number of symptoms. Doctors call this phase a closed form of pathology. For people around the latent stage is safe. It is for this period that the symptoms of tuberculosis in adults without fever and cough are characteristic.
- Active stage. This is an open form of the disease. It is characterized by a pronounced clinical picture. At this stage, the absence of fever is rare.
- In addition, there is a relapse of the pathology. This phasedoctors consider the fourth stage of the disease.
Without temperature in adults, only the first two phases of the pathology proceed, and even then not in all cases. Each transition of the disease to the next stage can take several years. Although, if left untreated, the disease will progress rapidly.
Tuberculosis symptoms without fever in adults
Signs of this form of the disease are non-specific, so the patient requires a thorough examination to determine the correct diagnosis. The clinical picture consists of several main features. In adults, the symptoms of tuberculosis without fever are most often mild.
- Persistent or intermittent cough. It appears as excruciating, debilitating attacks with suffocation. There is an intense discharge of purulent or serous sputum. True, in the early stages of tuberculosis in adults, there may be no symptom, especially if the body temperature remains within normal limits.
- Unaccustomed wheezing, gurgling in the lungs. The breathing of a sick person becomes heavy, intermittent, hoarse. But it is impossible to determine the presence of tuberculosis by sound alone.
- Coughing up blood. This symptom often appears at an early stage of tuberculosis. Blood spitting may indicate the onset of neoplastic phenomena. In other words, when such a sign appears, doctors may suspect the development of malignant or benign neoplasms in the respiratory system. The release of blood is due todamage to small capillaries. Gradually, the pathological process also covers larger blood vessels. If the amount of blood released exceeds 50 ml, then bleeding has begun inside the lungs.
It is worth saying that the first symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adult women and men appear exactly the same. In other words, you should not expect specific symptoms, depending on belonging to a particular gender. Yes, and pathology occurs equally often in both sexes. Symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adult men and women may differ only against the background of the protective properties of the body and the state of he alth in general. It cannot be said that the representatives of the stronger sex tolerate the disease more easily - in this regard, everything is purely individual.
Features of the clinical picture
How to detect the disease in time and start treatment? Every person should know the symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adults. After all, only by identifying the initial signs of a dangerous disease in time, you can count on a favorable outcome. So remember what specific symptoms should alert you even in the absence of a temperature.
- The appearance of a painful blush on the cheeks or, conversely, excessive pallor of the face.
- Severe shortness of breath. It can appear not only during physical activity, but also at rest.
- Suffocation. In the last stages of the disease, lung volume decreases, and functional tissue is replaced by scar tissue. Against the background of these processes, a person loses the ability to breathe normally.
- Pain in the back and chest. This TB symptom is aggravated by trying to take a deep breath.
- Increase in the volume of regional lymph nodes.
- Classic signs of anemia caused by iron deficiency: drowsiness, dry skin, brittle nails, hair loss, weakness, apathy, change in taste preferences.
- Deterioration of appetite.
- Ascites - the occurrence of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
- Sudden weight loss for no reason. This does not apply to those who are on a strict diet.
- Chronic fatigue, lack of desire to do even simple daily activities.
- Heavy sweating, especially at night.
This is what the first symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis look like in adults. To suspect this disease, the body temperature does not necessarily have to rise.
As for children and adolescents, the described clinical picture may be supplemented by prolonged infectious pathologies, vomiting and nausea.
Signs of secondary inflammation
Unfortunately, in the early stages, the disease practically does not manifest itself. Symptoms of latent tuberculosis in adults begin to disturb the patient already in the later phases of development. But at this stage it is very difficult to stop the pathological process, and in some cases it is completely impossible.
If secondary foci of inflammation are present in the body, local symptoms of secondary pulmonary tuberculosis occur.
Adult patients have these signs of herleakage:
- high fever;
- spitting blood;
- prolonged bouts of coughing;
- sudden weight loss;
- pain in the affected area;
- virtually no appetite.
Clinical manifestations of tuberculosis occur only after the pathogen enters directly into the bloodstream. At the initial stage, they are almost invisible, but as the disease progresses, the first signs become pronounced.
It is much easier to diagnose an open form of pulmonary tuberculosis. Symptoms in adults are:
- drastic weight loss;
- failure to work, apathy;
- chest pain;
- high fatigue;
- regular mood swings, excessive irritability;
- frequent wet cough;
- heavy sweating at rest.
All these signs in the open form of the disease are pronounced. So problems with the detection of pathology should not arise. But with the latent type of illness, the situation is quite different.
Latent course of the disease
What symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adults appear with a closed form of the disease? This type of pathology is considered the most dangerous and insidious. And all because the expressed symptoms in this form are simply absent. The clinical picture of the closed type of tuberculosis has several features:
- human he alth remains normal;
- skin test givespositive result;
- sputum test is negative;
- pathological changes in the lungs are not visible on the x-ray.
This form is not contagious to others, but you certainly shouldn't relax. After all, a closed form of tuberculosis can at any time turn into an open variety.
Diagnosis
To detect the disease requires a comprehensive examination. If a therapist suspects symptoms of tuberculosis in an adult, he sends him to a phthisiatrician.
In the last stages of pathology, the diagnosis does not cause any difficulties, since the clinical picture is pronounced. But it is much more difficult to detect tuberculosis in the early phases.
First of all, the doctor collects all the necessary anamnesis, asks the patient about the presence of complaints and the duration of their appearance. This is the only way to identify the possible time of infection and predisposing factors.
After collecting an anamnesis, a whole range of diagnostic measures follows.
- Complete blood count. Shows the classic clinical picture of an acute or sluggish inflammatory process. If the patient has hidden bleeding, there is a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood.
- Common urinalysis. Needed to determine the performance of the kidneys and the presence of secondary foci of tuberculosis in the genitourinary system.
- General sputum analysis. Gives the ability to detect Koch's wand.
- Mantoux reaction. Today, this test is considered insufficiently informative, since itmay be affected by another immune response. The Pirquet test is considered more accurate - it is it that is indicated for adult patients with suspected tuberculosis.
- Chest X-ray. The image should show gaps or shadows. True, this symptom may be absent in the closed form of the disease.
- Bronchoscopy. It is necessary for the differential diagnosis of pathology. First of all, it is important to distinguish tuberculosis without fever and cough from a tumor. To clarify the diagnosis, the patient may be assigned an endoscopic examination.
- CT is used only in extreme cases.
Tuberculosis therapy without fever
Patients with this diagnosis require complex treatment. Symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis in adults are eliminated with the help of different groups of medicines:
- antibiotics - the most commonly prescribed synthetic fluoroquinolones;
- Special TB drugs like Rifampicin or Isoniazid.
The course of treatment for a latent form of the disease lasts approximately six months. If the patient has a protracted course of tuberculosis, the presence of all sorts of complications or multiple secondary foci, therapy is extended. It is forbidden to interrupt the course even for a day.
Keep in mind that Koch's wand is highly adaptive and develops drug resistance fairly quickly. If you refuse to use drugs, the risk of staying sick foreverrises many times.
If the inflammatory process has covered a large area of the lungs, surgical intervention is required. During the operation, the affected tissues are excised and the structures are sanitized. True, surgical intervention is prescribed to the patient only after a full course of conservative therapy. This is necessary to prevent the transition of closed tuberculosis into an open form, dangerous to people around.
At the end of therapy, the patient is recommended rehabilitation: taking vitamin complexes and strengthening the immune system by any available means. It is good to go to a sanatorium.
Probable Consequences
Even if the disease occurs without coughing and fever, you should not delay therapy. The latent form of tuberculosis is not safe, it is just much more difficult to detect pathology. If the patient is not provided with the necessary treatment, the development of various complications is not excluded.
- The transition of the disease to the active phase, in which a person becomes dangerous to others.
- Development of bleeding in the lungs. If the patient is diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease, this condition can lead to death.
- Formation of secondary foci of inflammation in the genitourinary system, brain, digestive tract, skin, joints and bones.
Conclusion
Tuberculosis without fever can occur in the early stages of the disease. This form of pathology is considered the most insidious, since it significantly complicates the diagnosis. Only timelytreatment provides a favorable outcome.
