Pulmonary Tuberculosis- Signs and Symptoms

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a medical term for a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M tuberculosis). The bacterium has damaging effects on overall physical health.

Bacterial infection of this form belongs to a category that is highly contagious. This means that body fluid like saliva, sweat, blood, or infectious secretion of the infected person can develop an infection named primary TB in others around them. Unlike Pulmonary tuberculosis, primary TB is temporary in its nature of the occurrence. It is possible to have fully recovered without any relapse. 

However, if the infected person has TB-influenced genetics, the primary TB will trigger the disease which can lead to Pulmonary tuberculosis. Look for the following signs to identify the presence of Pulmonary tuberculosis -   

• Breathing difficulty

• Chest pain

• Cough (usually with mucus)

• Excessive sweating, particularly at night

• Coughing up blood

• Fatigue

• Fever

• Weight loss

• Wheezing

If you see any of the following symptoms for more than 21 days, then you must consult your doctor for diagnoses of the disease. 

Doctor’s Procedure 

Your doctor will ask you a couple of questions and conduct a general examination. These questions will also allow the doctor to know if you belong to the high-risk group of TB, this may include - 

• Older adults

• Infants

• People with weakened immune systems

• HIV/AIDS, or diabetes patient

• Take medicines or do therapy that weakens the immune system 

Post general examination your doctor will suggest you get the following tests done to confirm the presence of Pulmonary tuberculosis. 

• Bronchoscopy 

• Sputum examination and cultures

• Thoracentesis 

• Interferon-gamma release blood test, such as the QFT-Gold test to test for TB infection (active or infection in the past)

• Chest CT scan

• Tuberculin skin test 

• Biopsy 

• Chest x-ray

Treatment

While primary TB infection can be cured within a few days with the help of medications. Active pulmonary TB may not fully recover. But it can be suppressed or become deactivated into a person’s body. The duration of this intense treatment will at least take 6 months to show its effective results. Your doctor will also keep you on observation in order to see the working of the medication on the bacterium. The patient will be asked to be home quarantined or admitted to the hospital during the treatment as they can infect others. It is important to take the treatment seriously as sudden elimination or an incompetent way to medication can worsen the case.