Friday, November 28, 2008

Can tuberculosis be transmitted in open air

Can tuberculosis be transmitted in open air?
I have a window in my room and the window is to the yard. Almost everyday, I hear someone in the next houses( neighbors) cough so hard. I afraid they have TB because the cough seems so severe and my window is so close to them. Can TB be contracted through open infected air? Thanks for your answers.
Infectious Diseases - 5 Answers
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1 :
well the term for its possible transmission is aerosol transmission which means it travels via tiny water droplets in the air, so it can travel through the air in water droplets (e.g through coughing) but not just in the air by itself.
2 :
positively YES.
3 :
In the first place, you don't know what your neighbor has. I expect if it were TB, they'd be hospitalized. "I afraid they have TB because the cough seems so severe" -- A severe cough just isn't adequate criteria for making your assumption. Would you like to be convicted of a crime you didn't commit based on such flimsy evidence? Emphysema patients cough severely for prolonged periods of time. Bronchitis causes severe coughing. So does lung cancer and cystic fibrosis, especially in the early stages. Why would something more remote come to mind? "...my window is so close to them." -- This is of no consequence. The mycobacteria that cause TB can be found in the air in the immediate contained environment of the infected person. If that person walks from room to room coughing, sneezing shouting or spitting, he takes the environment with him. Mycobacterium tuberculosis cannot fly and travel through a window screen, out the window, across a gap, through another window screen and into another home. Contrary to what you fear, open air is a way to disperse the mycobacteria. You could go next door and say you frequently hear the coughing and wondered if there was anything you might do to help. Who knows? You might even find out what's bothering your neighbor AND you'd be doing a good deed at the same time.
4 :
TB is an airborne virus, but you would have to be in a shared living environment with someone who has it. Even doing volunteer work in a homeless shelter, this is a major concern. Most people with Tb are homeless, or they live in group homes or nursing homes in close physical proximity which allows for sputum to be passed from through the air..Or they are careless health care providers. It is quite treatable with antibiotics.
5 :
i dont no all this amdam i know only one that slave to u

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Monday, November 24, 2008

What are the odds of surviving tuberculosis

What are the odds of surviving tuberculosis?
I am doing a school project on it and I can't find this anywhere!
Infectious Diseases - 1 Answers
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1 :
With today's medical advances, Tuberculosis is not nearly as deadly as it was in the past. In the US, approximately 18,000 cases of Tuberculosis are reported with a 96.4% in-hospital survival rate.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Is it safe to breastfeed with inactive tuberculosis

Is it safe to breastfeed with inactive tuberculosis?
inactive tuberculosis- i breastfeed my 2 month old child. is it safe or is there a chance she can get it from me?should I get her tested for TB also?
Other - Diseases - 3 Answers
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1 :
It should be okay
2 :
I'm not a doctor but, if I were you I would call your family doctor, or the doctor you seen when you had TB, and ask him/her if it would be ok, and also your childs pediatrician.
3 :
Infectious (contagious) tuberculosis: Breastfeeding is safe after the mother has undergone treatment and is no longer contagious. http://www.babycenter.com/expert/baby/babybreastfeed/8840.html Info on safety of tuberculosis meds during breastfeeding: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/aap-approved-meds.html#Tuberculosis

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Is it normal for a Tuberculosis vaccination scar to become red & swollen after a flu/H1N1 vaccination

Is it normal for a Tuberculosis vaccination scar to become red & swollen after a flu/H1N1 vaccination?
My daughter was given the TB vaccination as an infant & it left a circular scar. She's now 8 years old & we went yesterday for our seasonal flu shot & H1N1 pandemic shot. (I don't know which one was given in which arm) The scar from her TB shot is now red & swollen. Is this normal?
Other - Health - 1 Answers
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1 :
They probably gave her the vaccination near the TB scar. Swelling is a common side effect of vaccinations given with hypodermic needles. It wouldn't hurt to call the place that administered the vaccination and inquire with them though. It's always better to be safe than sorry

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Is it possible to get tuberculosis via a cat scratch

Is it possible to get tuberculosis via a cat scratch?
I know a child who has been diagnosed with a strain of TB - allegedly from being scratched by a cat. I'd never heard of such a thing - could this be right?
Infectious Diseases - 2 Answers
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1 :
Doubtfully, TB is a chronic infection caused by a bacteria named Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an acid-fast bacillus. Generally it is transmitted via inhalation or ingestion. The bacteria are found in tiny infectious droplets of moisture that normally affect the lungs. Once in the respiratory system it can branch to other organ systems. the infection would have to be on the cat's claws (or whatever it scratched the child with). the claws would need to have tore deeply enough for the bacteria to reach the blood vessels. a rare happening indeed.
2 :
No. However, she could be suffering from cat scratch fever, which will clear up on its own. You don't get TB from an animal scratch

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Saturday, November 8, 2008

is it positive for tuberculosis if you have a bump there a week after the test

is it positive for tuberculosis if you have a bump there a week after the test?
i took a tuberculosis test (the shot), and got it checked 3 days later. it came out negative, and there was no bump. about half a week later, i noticed the place where i got the shot became a red bump. even though it came out negative when the doctor checked it, and it showed up after 72 hours, can this mean i have tuberculosis?
Other - Health - 2 Answers
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1 :
No, if it was negative at 72 hours, it was negative. But what may happen is a localized infection at the injection site. How large is it? You may want to use a pen to mark the borders of the red area so you can see if it gets larger...if the area feels warm to touch, you have a fever, I would call a dr.
2 :
It is most unlikely, but not impossible. Repeat the skin test in one year. If it's negative then, fine. If it turns positive then you'll likely need a chest X-ray and perhaps, as a recent "converter" you might be started on a Tb antibiotic even if you appeare well. The late appearing bump might have been the result of unconscious scratching from itching at the injection site

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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

What is the best maintance medicine for cured minimal tuberculosis

What is the best maintance medicine for cured minimal tuberculosis?
I have been into a medication for about 9 months for sure plus I took another 4 months of vitamins. I'm worried until now because for several times of taking my chest examination it always resulted with fibrosis on th upper left lung. PTB Minimal. I work abroad but only on the country were no strict policy on PTB but I want to go other country but I'm afraid the same findings will come out on my medical. What will I do? Please help me.
Infectious Diseases - 1 Answers
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1 :
First of all, congratulations on your compliance to the entire treatment. Fibrosis is the sequel of pulmonary TB and does not indicate active TB. (It actually indicates a healed patch.) You should try to get a fitness certificate from a physician (preferably one who specializes in chest medicine or treating TB) in a country where you are located stating that you no longer have any active form of PTB and are completely cured of the past infection & are physically fit to do the job you do. To answer your question, there is no maintenance therapy for TB. Just maintain good diet and take proper precautions (whenever possible) in avoiding direct contact with a known contagious case

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Saturday, November 1, 2008

How can someone contract tuberculosis and what does it do to that person

How can someone contract tuberculosis and what does it do to that person?
Why is it considered a 'lung disease'? Is it fatal in most cases?
Respiratory Diseases - 5 Answers
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1 :
http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35778
2 :
TB is cause when a person is infected by a bacteria known as mycobacteria, which commonly affects the lungs... though TB can infect other areas of the body such as the CNS (central Nervous System) or skin. If the disease goes untreated, it can be fatal. You usually contract it by being exposed to someone else who has TB. Since it infects the lungs, it can be spread through coughing. The disease is now growing more prominent in Africa as HIV becomes more widespread (HIV weakens the immune system causing individuals to become more succeptable to diseases such as TB).
3 :
TB is an "air-borne" disease. You can contract it just by simply sharing the same space with someone who has it. When TB is contracted, you will begin to cough up blood, experience night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, a chronic cough, loss of appetite, and fever. Anyone can get TB, but there are groups of pple that are more prone to it than others, usually those who have a threatening illness already- like HIV.
4 :
Having converted from negative to positive for TB, I found that walking through the residual droplets from someone who coughed or sneezed, and inhaling them was the easiest way to contract the disease. Since I was working with a large segment of recently immigrated Asians, this is probably what happened. There is a certain regimen, which you have to take, over a period of time, that will render the conversion harmless. TB, can attack any organ of the body, and is not confined to the lungs alone.
5 :
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium and is communicated via sputum or in the droplets from a cough. My mother's father died of tuberculosis long ago before it was treatable with antibiotics, and his originated apparently in a hand wound. Since the advent of AIDS resistent strains of the bacteria have evolved

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