Our TB Stories
An account spreading awareness about tuberculosis.
Why Are We Doing This?
We created this social media campaign in hopes of spreading awareness and knowledge about tuberculosis (mostly pulmonary). We also created it because we wanted to hear the stories of those who had it or knew someone who had it.
About Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s extremely contagious and it spreads through the air when a person who actively has the disease (they can have the bacteria in them but not the disease) lets out droplets by coughing, sneezing, or talking. Although it usually attacks the lungs, tuberculosis can attack any part of the body such as the kidneys, brain, and spine. If not treated properly, it can be fatal. You may have heard of this disease in history class when they tell you how your favorite author or scientist died, and you might think it was only actively harming people during the 18th and 19th centuries, but you are terribly wrong. In 2020, Tuberculosis is the 13th leading cause of death and 2nd infectious killer (after COVID-19 and over HIV/AIDS). To this day, tuberculosis is still a problem to that needs to be discussed as it is a killer of many. Sadly, it killed 1.5 million people in 2020.
Tuberculosis Symptoms
A persistent cough that lasts more than 3 weeks (usually brings up bloody phlegm)Weight loss.Night sweats.High temperature.Tiredness and fatigue.Loss of appetite.Swellings in the neck.
Tuberculosis Prevention
There are many precautions you could take to prevent and reduce the risk of being infected by/spreading tuberculosis:
-Since TB can remain suspended in the air for several hours with no ventilation, make sure to have good air circulation.
-Get a lot of UV light as it kills TB.
-Make sure to cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing or yawning.
-Maintaining a good hygiene will reduce the spread of TB
-You can also take the tuberculosis vaccine (the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine), but some argue that it isn’t very effective.
Treatment
TB treatment time and amount of medication is different depending on whether it’s latent or active. Latent TB treatment usually takes 3-4 months while active TB treatment usually takes 6-9 months. Generally though, TB is treated using:
-Antibiotics (specialized for TB such as rifampin, isoniazid, streptomycin, and pyrazinamide)
-Vitamins
-Probiotics (such as bfidobacteria)
-Immunostimulants
-Immunomodulators