This week’s topic: “You and Me, Eliminate TB Harm” March 24, 2012 is the 17th World TB Day, and the theme of the Ministry of Health this year is “You and Me, Eliminate TB Harm”. At present, tuberculosis is still one of the major infectious diseases that seriously endanger human health. 75% of patients are young and middle-aged, and 130,000 people die every year. It is important and urgent to prevent and treat TB. What are the symptoms that indicate tuberculosis? The majority of people have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, especially the elderly and young people, and are detected during medical examinations. The most common clinical symptoms are cough, low-grade fever, night sweats, coughing sputum and hemoptysis. Therefore, regular checkups are recommended, especially for the elderly, because many of them are now bringing up children, and if not detected early, it is easy to infect children. What should I pay attention to in the diet of tuberculosis? In general, patients with TB disease do suffer from malnutrition. In case of economic difficulties, we advocate a normal diet with appropriate nutritional supplements – that is, a balanced diet with reasonable nutrition. For example, we advocate a normal diet with an egg and a bag of milk for young people, and a normal diet with an egg and a bag of yogurt for the elderly, because yogurt is easy to digest and suitable for the elderly. What is tuberculosis? Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can affect all parts of the body, but mainly affects the lungs and is called pulmonary tuberculosis (commonly known as consumption), so it is most common in clinical practice. What are the causes of tuberculosis? The most common cause of TB is exposure to TB patients, followed by malnutrition. One of the characteristics of a large number of TB patients in clinical practice is the high level of stress, such as schooling and employment; there are also more cases of HIV combined with TB and diabetes combined with TB. Is there a high rate of recurrence of tuberculosis after cure? There are cases of recurrence, but the recurrence rate is not very high. After being cured of tuberculosis, it is important to pay attention to strengthening nutrition, increasing physical exercise to improve immunity, adjusting the psychological state and relaxing the mood, and staying away from susceptible factors to effectively prevent the recurrence of tuberculosis. How long after medication does it take to have a baby that will not affect the next generation? Generally, it is required to stop the medication for at least six months before having children, but I suggest that it is better to stop the medication for more than one year before considering having children. How is tuberculosis transmitted? Tuberculosis is transmitted through the respiratory tract. Coughing, sneezing, and talking loudly can spread the virus to people around you. However, it is generally safer and more protective of healthy people to talk at a distance of one meter. Can I go to work normally if I have TB? In the past, students who had TB had to take a year off from school. The new rule now is that after two to three months of treatment, you can go to work and school normally if your condition improves (e.g., if there is no drug resistance or deterioration), but you must have regular reviews and take your medication regularly. I would like to ask a question Can I have a child if my wife is pregnant in the sixth month of TB medication? Gender: Male Age: 23 It has been the sixth month since I was diagnosed with TB and my wife is pregnant, can I have the baby? Will it affect the child? Analysis: This situation can have a child, will not affect the health of the child, but the male partner needs to adhere to treatment to avoid the child is still infectious after birth, easy to infect the child. The test suggests drug-related liver damage after a period of tuberculosis treatment, do I need to stop the drug? Gender: Male Age: 26 years old Tuberculosis was detected 5 months ago and has been taking medication regularly. Analysis: Patients with drug-related liver injury should first stop using the drugs that cause liver damage, or adjust the drug regimen under the guidance of a doctor, and give liver-protective treatment. After the patient’s liver function condition is stabilized, he should continue to take liver-protective agents such as sunflower liver protection tablets while regulating diet, and he needs to check liver function regularly, which is recommended at least once every six months. Do anti-tuberculosis drugs have any effect on menstruation? Gender: Female Age: 36 years old I have been suffering from tuberculosis for more than 6 months, and I am still taking tuberculosis medicine, but my menstrual flow is getting less and less, is this an effect of taking medicine? Analysis: The medication has no effect on menstruation. It is your tuberculosis that causes menstrual abnormalities, so we recommend sex hormone and gynecological examination.