There is a kind of cough that you should not ignore. To prevent tuberculosis in spring, don’t be careless!

In spring, everything comes back to life, flowers bloom, and the flow of people increases. Bacteria and viruses also become active, leading to a high incidence of respiratory diseases. Some people will experience coughing symptoms. Among the many factors that cause coughs, there is one factor that may be overlooked, and that is tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis is a chronic respiratory infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infecting the human lungs. It is also the main type of tuberculosis infection.

Tuberculosis can invade multiple systems of the human body, seriously damage physical health, and affect study, work and life. The "2022 Global Tuberculosis Report" released by the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that the number of newly confirmed cases in China in 2020 still ranked third in the world .

March 24, 2023 is the 28th World Tuberculosis Day. This year's theme is " Let's work together to end the tuberculosis epidemic ." The theme aims to call on all sectors of society to participate in it, to jointly end the epidemic of tuberculosis and safeguard the health of the people. So what prevention work should we do?

What are the common symptoms of tuberculosis?

Common symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis include coughing, expectoration, low-grade fever in the afternoon, night sweats, blood in sputum, even hemoptysis, fatigue, weight loss, etc. If the symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, you should suspect that you have pulmonary tuberculosis and go to the hospital for treatment in time. Chest X-ray and CT examinations are important methods for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis. However, not all patients have typical clinical symptoms. A small number of patients have no obvious symptoms or the symptoms are mild and difficult to detect.

Can tuberculosis be cured?

Tuberculosis is preventable and curable.

The treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis must follow the following five principles: early, combined, appropriate, regular, and full-course. The lack of any one of these links may lead to treatment failure.

During the treatment, some patients may experience nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. while taking the medication. Once any discomfort symptoms occur, do not stop taking the medication on your own. You should go to the hospital immediately and adjust the treatment plan under the guidance of a specialist, otherwise you may become drug-resistant.

Compared with common pulmonary tuberculosis, drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis has a longer treatment period, higher treatment costs, is more difficult to cure, and is more contagious and harmful.

How to prevent tuberculosis?

The occurrence and spread of infectious diseases are inseparable from the source of infection, the route of transmission and the susceptible population. The best way to prevent tuberculosis is to start from these three aspects:

1. Control the source of infection

The main source of infection for pulmonary tuberculosis is the sputum of patients who excrete bacteria, especially those who have not received treatment. When healthy people inhale the air containing bacteria particles from pulmonary tuberculosis patients, they will be infected. Therefore, it is necessary to actively discover and completely cure patients with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis.

2. Cut off the route of infection

The main route of tuberculosis transmission is through respiratory infection, especially droplet transmission. Therefore, tuberculosis patients should try not to go to crowded public places. If they must go, they should wear masks. Do not spit anywhere. Spit in a covered spittoon with disinfectant. If it is inconvenient, spit in a disinfected wet wipe or a sealed spit bag. Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Pay attention to ventilation in crowded places to keep the air fresh.

3. Protect vulnerable groups

All people are susceptible to tuberculosis. People with low immunity are more likely to develop tuberculosis when infected with tuberculosis bacteria, such as infants, the elderly, diabetics, HIV-infected people, people who use immunosuppressants for a long time, and malnourished people. Therefore, it is necessary to protect susceptible people in a timely manner to reduce their risk of infection.

Specific protection measures for susceptible groups:

1. Wash your hands frequently and consider wearing a mask in public places. Keep exercising, eat a healthy diet, have a balanced diet, avoid staying up late, and pay attention to the combination of work and rest to improve your body's resistance.

2. When tuberculosis patients appear in schools, workplaces, homes and other environments, they should be asked to leave the collective environment as soon as possible and receive regular anti-tuberculosis treatment. Their working, living and learning environment should be cleaned, disinfected and ventilated.

If someone in the family has tuberculosis, the patient should keep separate dishes and chopsticks from the family. If possible, they should live in separate rooms and the room should be as ventilated as possible.

3. When screening close contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients, attention should be paid to whether they have related symptoms such as coughing and expectoration. If any abnormality is found, relevant diagnosis and treatment should be carried out in a timely manner to achieve early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment.