Is tuberculosis treatable at home

Tuberculosis treatment is long, requiring at least 6-8 months for common tuberculosis and usually more than 2 years for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. With the exception of patients who are infectious, have severe disease or have other comorbidities that require hospitalization, most patients simply take their medication at home. According to China’s “Tuberculosis Control Measures”, during the home treatment period for TB patients, there will be regular home visits or telephone visits by village physicians and doctors from county-level disease prevention and control centers, or physicians from designated hospitals, with the active cooperation of the patients. During home treatment, the patient must first follow the doctor’s instructions and take the medication on time and in the right amount, not to miss a dose, stop the medication or change the dose without permission, for example, if you miss a dose, it is not feasible to double the dose next time. Secondly, if patients experience any physical discomfort during treatment, such as nausea, fatigue, skin allergies and other symptoms, they should give feedback to the supervising physician or primary care physician in a timely manner. Finally, it is important to protect the individual, family members and surrounding people by wearing a mask at regular intervals, a general surgical mask is sufficient, paying attention to cough etiquette, covering the mouth with a handkerchief or tissue when coughing, avoiding coughing facing others, ventilating the house frequently, and avoiding crowded places.