Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. It’s spread when a person with active TB disease in their lungs coughs or sneezes and someone else inhales the expelled droplets, which contain TB bacteria.
Although TB is spread in a similar way to a cold or flu, it is not as contagious. You would have to spend prolonged periods (several hours) in close contact with an infected person to catch the infection yourself.
General Symptoms
- lack of appetite and weight loss
- a high temperature
- night sweats
- extreme tiredness or fatigue
These symptoms can have many different causes, however, and are not always a sign of TB.
TB that affects the lungs (pulmonary TB)
Most TB infections affect the lungs, which can cause:
- a persistent cough that lasts more than 3 weeks and usually brings up phlegm, which may be bloody
- breathlessness that gradually gets worse
TB outside the lungs
Less commonly, TB infections develop in areas outside the lungs, such as the small glands that form part of the immune system (the lymph nodes), the bones and joints, the digestive system, the bladder and reproductive system, and the brain and nerves (the nervous system). Symptoms can include:
- persistently swollen glands
- abdominal pain
- pain and loss of movement in an affected bone or joint
- confusion
- a persistent headache
- fits (seizures)
TB affecting other parts of the body is more common in people who have a weakened immune system (www.nhs.uk).
4 Home Remedies for Tuberculosis
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