How is tuberculosis treated?

Treatment for tuberculosis is done with oral antibiotics, such as isoniazid and rifampicin, which eliminate the bacteria that causes the disease to appear from the body. Since the bacteria are very resistant, it is necessary to carry out the treatment for about 6 months, although in some cases it can take between 18 months to 2 years until complete healing is achieved.

The easiest cases to treat are those of latent tuberculosis, that is, when the bacterium is in the body but is dormant, causing no symptoms and cannot be transmitted. Active tuberculosis, on the other hand, is more difficult to treat, so treatment can take longer and you may need to take more than one antibiotic to achieve a cure.

Thus, the drugs used in the treatment vary according to the patient’s age, general health status and the type of tuberculosis and, therefore, need to be indicated by a doctor. However, home remedies can be useful to complement the treatment. Check out the best home remedies for tuberculosis.

1. Infant tuberculosis

There are 3 drugs commonly used to treat this type of tuberculosis, which include Isoniazid, Rifampicin and Rifapentine. The doctor usually prescribes only one of these antibiotics, which should be used for 6 to 9 months until the bacteria are completely eliminated and the result is confirmed with a blood test.

Although the bacteria are dormant, it is very important to treat latent tuberculosis because the disease can become active at any time, making it more difficult to treat.

2. Active tuberculosis

In cases of active tuberculosis, the number of bacteria is very high and, therefore, the immune system is not able to fight the infection alone, requiring a combination of several antibiotics for more than 6 months. The most used remedies are:

• Isoniazid;
• Rifampicin;
• Ethambutol;
• Pyrazinamide.

Treatment should be continued even after symptoms have disappeared to ensure complete elimination of bacteria. Thus, it is essential to respect the duration of treatment indicated by the doctor, and the medicine should be taken every day, always at the same time and until the doctor says that it can be stopped.

During the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, which happens when the infection is in the lungs, it is very important to take some precautions during treatment, such as staying at home, avoiding close contact with other people and covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, for example, to prevent disease transmission, especially during the first 2 to 3 weeks.

How to use vitamin D to speed up treatment

Vitamin D was one of the first drugs used to treat tuberculosis before there were specific antibiotics to treat the disease. In the past, tuberculosis patients were exposed to sunlight, and although the reason why sunlight worked was not known, many patients improved.

Currently, vitamin D is known as an important regulator of the immune system that helps defense cells eliminate bad inflammatory proteins and produce more proteins that actually help to eliminate bacteria, such as those that cause tuberculosis.

Thus, to improve treatment or prevent tuberculosis infection, it is recommended to increase vitamin D levels in the body through the intake of foods rich in vitamin D and sun exposure with adequate sunscreen and outside the most dangerous hours.

Possible side effects of treatment

Side effects in the treatment of this disease are rare, however, as antibiotics are used for a long time, side effects such as:

• Nausea, vomiting and frequent diarrhea;
• loss of appetite;
• Yellowish skin;
• dark urine;
• Fever above 38°C.

When side effects arise, it is advisable to inform the doctor who prescribed the drug, to assess whether it is necessary to change the drug or adapt the treatment dose.

signs of improvement

The signs of improvement of tuberculosis appear about 2 weeks after starting treatment and include less tiredness, disappearance of fever and relief of muscle pain.

signs of worsening

Signs of worsening are more frequent when treatment is not started in time, especially in cases of latent tuberculosis in which the patient does not know he is infected, and include the appearance of fever above 38º C, general malaise, night sweats and pain. muscle.

In addition, depending on the affected site, more specific symptoms such as coughing up blood, swelling of the affected site or weight loss may also arise.

See more about tuberculosis in the video below: