Symptoms of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease which is not so common nowadays as it used to be. Today it can be encountered in ghettos, slums, or similar areas where ethnic minorities reside or it can be brought by the people who emigrated from such areas where the disease is in fact still active.

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria and it can be easily transmitted through very close contact or if someone sneezes or coughs. Therefore anyone can be infected no matter where they live or what they do. However even though anyone can be infected the ones who are most likely to succumb to the disease are alcoholics especially are those who suffers from malnutrition and people with the HIV virus as well.

Once someone gets tuberculosis he will most likely always test positive to the disease. This is because the majority of people has a passive form of the disease. Testing positive to the disease simply means that a person has once had it or indeed has it at the moment but the fact that no symptoms are expressed means that he is not contagious because the germs are not active. However it is best to consult a doctor and get rid of these germs in order to make sure that no further complications will arise from them in the future.

Tuberculosis is a disease that is mainly stationed in the lungs although it can spread to other organs. No symptoms will occur until the bacteria have reached the lungs and since it is extremely slow one may not experience these symptoms for years.

When the symptoms do occur those are a continual cough which is followed by potentially bloody phlegm, shortness of breath, poor appetite followed by weight loss, fever, weariness and a generally weakened immune system.

The tuberculosis which sticks to the lungs is called pulmonary tuberculosis and the one which spreads to other organs is called extrapulmonary tuberculosis. This type of tuberculosis is more common for those who already have a considerably week immune system for example due to a condition such as HIV virus. This type of tuberculosis can spread to the lymph nodes, digestive system, bones, bladder and the reproductive system and the nervous system.

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis has additional symptoms like swollen lymph nodes which burst in time, bone pain and loss of sensation in the affected bone, diarrhea, abdominal pain, burning and blood in the urine, headaches and vomiting to name a few.