What is Mycobacterium tuberculosis?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the millions of bacteria found in nature. Why do we value it? Because it has caused so many disasters to mankind. It is not an exaggeration to say that the tubercle bacillus is an organism that exists at the same time as human beings. Why do you say so? According to historical records, traces of bone tuberculosis were found on the “mummies” excavated from the Egyptian river, which proves that the tuberculosis bacterium existed as early as 5000 BC. The female corpse unearthed in the Han tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan Province, China (168 BC) was found to have calcified foci of tuberculosis in the lungs by X-ray examination, indicating that the members of the nobility were already affected by tuberculosis.
Scientific research to date has shown that tuberculosis can occur anywhere in the body except in the teeth, hair and finger (toe) nails. The most common is “pulmonary tuberculosis”. 80% of tuberculosis is pulmonary because the lung tissue is rich in blood and oxygen, and the tissue is soft and suitable for the growth of tuberculosis bacteria. The rest of the tuberculosis bacilli grow wherever they form lesions. It causes intestinal tuberculosis in the intestine, tuberculous meningitis in the meninges, tuberculous pleurisy in the pleura, tuberculous peritonitis in the abdomen, lymph node tuberculosis in the lymph nodes, endometrial tuberculosis in women, etc. At the same time, the symptoms of discomfort vary depending on where the tuberculosis bacteria invade. The most common symptoms of tuberculosis are coughing, coughing and hemoptysis; tuberculous meningitis is headache, dizziness and nausea; tuberculous peritonitis is abdominal pain and diarrhea; and lymph node tuberculosis is enlargement of the neck or other lymph nodes.
Why do people get tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease of the whistle tract. Why do some people get the disease and others do not, even though they attend the same classroom, work in the same company, and even live in the same house? Here there is a problem of TB bacteria “fighting” with people. Since it is a “war”, there are two scenarios: one is that people overcome the TB bacillus and do not get sick. The second is that the TB bacillus “sets up camp and grows and multiplies” in the human body, and the person gets sick.
A normal human body has resistance. In a healthy state, the human body can resist many pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and mycoplasma. However, if the body’s resistance decreases, tuberculosis bacteria will “take advantage of the situation” and cause lesions in the body. This explains why the disease is different for each person in the same environment.
What “weapons” does the human body have to defend itself against “external enemies”? The main ones are the thymus, bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, etc., as well as the white blood cells and lymphocytes in the blood. These tissues and cells protect us from bacteria, viruses, mycoplasma and many other pathogenic microorganisms. Conversely, if the body encounters a very virulent tuberculosis bacterium or is repeatedly exposed to it, the chances of being infected with tuberculosis are greatly increased.
To be free from TB bacteria, we should, on the one hand, enhance nutrition and pay attention to physical exercise to make our bodies healthy and strong; on the other hand, we should develop good living habits, be hygienic and keep our work and living rooms ventilated so that we can effectively prevent TB and other infectious diseases of the whistle tract.
What should I do if I have tuberculosis?
Friends, if you have the misfortune to have tuberculosis, do not worry too much. Currently, the cure rate for tuberculosis is over 90% worldwide, which means that most patients can be completely cured. As long as you follow your doctor’s instructions, your health can be fully restored.
The principles of tuberculosis treatment have a “cross policy” – early, combined, appropriate, regular and complete.
Early – for patients diagnosed with TB, early administration of drugs can kill the TB bacteria in the lesions as soon as possible, thus obtaining better results.
Combination – TB bacilli can easily develop resistance to anti-TB drugs, therefore, a combination of 3~4 drugs is needed to avoid TB bacilli from developing drug resistance and causing treatment failure.
Appropriate dosage – Insufficient dosage will result in poor efficacy and easy development of drug resistance by bacteria; too much dosage will increase the toxic side effects of drugs and cause harm to human body. Only the appropriate amount of drugs can ensure the efficacy of treatment.
Regularity – The treatment of tuberculosis generally has an intensive period and a consolidation period. Regular medication is the key to successful treatment. The chemotherapy regimen should be strictly followed in order to achieve better results.
Full course – TB bacteria are very stubborn and the course of TB treatment is long, generally taking 6 months to a year. Because of the length of time needed, the full course of treatment is especially important.
It has been reported that almost 70 percent or more of the reasons for TB relapse are that the requirements of the full course of treatment have not been met. That is, because of the length of time required for treatment, many patients fail to adhere to their medications. Recurrent TB complicates treatment.
Knowing such treatment principles, the patient will be cured of TB successfully by following the doctor’s orders, taking the medication and reviewing it on time.
What should family members of a TB patient do?
What should you do if your relative has tuberculosis? There are two things you should do. The first is to ask the TB doctor to develop a “treatment plan” (oral or intravenous medication) for the patient based on the patient’s condition, systemic status, age, etc. This is because the specialist is very knowledgeable about TB treatment. Because the specialist has more experience in TB treatment, is familiar with the toxic side effects of anti-TB drugs, and has more means and methods of treatment, you can get “twice the result with half the effort”. Second, psychotherapy. Tell the patient that the disease is completely curable, so that the patient can build up confidence to overcome the disease (this is very important); third, to arrange the patient’s life and strengthen nutrition. Secondly, TB is an infectious disease of the whistle tract, and the patient’s family members (especially children under 14 years old) should be screened for TB. It is especially necessary to screen the families of patients (infectious) with TB bacteria detected in their sputum. In general, we say that a “PPD” skin test should be done. If the reaction is normal, it is best (as determined by the medical staff); if there is no reaction, BCG vaccination is required and a preventive vaccination is given; if the reaction is not normal, further examinations such as chest X-ray are required to find out whether there are TB lesions in the lungs and the whole body.
It is also important to remind that the patient’s workplace, school, etc., and those in close contact with them should also be screened. For patients with bacteriophage (antacid bacillus detected in sputum), family members should also disinfect their previous daily items, such as food utensils and appliances by boiling, and books and clothes by sunlight, in order to prevent infection and cut off the transmission route.