Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects around 30,000 people worldwide and causes 4,500 deaths every day, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Rafael Faraco, pulmonologist at the São Camilo Hospital Network in São Paulo, the BCG vaccine is not 100% effective in preventing pulmonary tuberculosis, but its mass application allows the prevention of serious forms of the disease such as tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis (disseminated form). It must be taken up to the age of five.
However, in addition to prevention, awareness about the treatment of tuberculosis is essential for reducing mortality from the condition.
Healthy habits
Another way to reduce the frequency of tuberculosis cases is to adopt a healthier life with physical exercise, healthy eating, frequenting clean and airy environments and avoiding places where people with suspected disease are present.
In this context, it is also important to have due control of family members around the diagnosed patient so that, if they also have tuberculosis, they do not transmit it to other people.
From the moment the patient is suspected of having tuberculosis, the right thing to do is to seek medical care as soon as possible so that the disease does not get worse – which could lead to death and increase the risk of transmission to other people –, just as it is important not to interrupt the treatment.
Why not stop the treatment?
Another challenge in caring for tuberculosis is not to interrupt the treatment, which lasts about six months and, if stopped, can lead to consequences such as drug resistance and possible worsening/complication of the disease.
The main motivation for abandoning treatment, in addition to the long term, is the improvement of symptoms that occur in the first weeks, which makes people feel properly “cured” and stop taking the medications on their own. However, only the attending physician will be able to suspend the treatment at the correct time.
Symptoms
Among the main symptoms to be aware of are: cough that lasts three weeks or more, high fever that usually manifests itself at the end of the day, night sweats, excessive fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss. The disease is transmitted through the respiratory route by people with active tuberculosis.
According to the Ministry of Health, a person in the community who is not treating the condition can transmit it to about 10 to 15 people within a year.
Some people are more likely to develop tuberculosis due to low immunity, so it is essential to pay attention to risk factors such as cancer, diabetes, people who are HIV positive, as well as alcoholism and smoking can also increase the chances. of developing the disease.
