What is tuberculosis, and the symptoms of tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs but also can involve almost any organ of the body. Many years ago, this disease was referred to as “consumption” because without effective treatment, these patients often would waste away. Today, of course, tuberculosis usually can be treated successfully with antibiotics.

Tuberculosis is spread through the air, when people who have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit. One third of the world’s current population has been infected with M. tuberculosis, and new infections occur at a rate of one per second. However, most of these cases will not develop the full-blown tuberculosis disease.

Tuberculosis treatment is difficult and requires long courses of multiple antibiotics. Contacts are also screened and treated if necessary. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in (extensively) multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Prevention relies on screening programs and vaccination, usually with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG vaccine).

The classic symptoms of tuberculosis are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.

Tuberculosis is not a very pleasant word for me as an individual. My Dad had Tuberculosis, and it was a very scary experience for me and my family.

I will tell you a bit of the story so you can be informed as too what TB can do.

My Dad drove a distance of approximately 90 miles to come and visit me for a few days, a trip that normally would have taken an hour and a half or so….it took him over 4 hours because he was so sick.

He didn’t even realize how sick he was. After arriving at my home he was so tuckered out, that he fell asleep while sitting on my couch. Immediately after drifting off so to speak my fathers’ breathing took a dramatic change for the worse, I thought he was going to die from lack of oxygen. I am very serious and not exaggerating in the slightest.

I sat and watched him closely til he awoke, and told him directly he was going to the hospital to get checked, needless to say he had a fit and said he wasn’t going… I won!.

When we got to the hospital they did what was called a sputum test (culture test), which they were sending off to be analyzed. The doctor at the hospital was in his early thirties at the most, and apparently very concerned to have made the decision to test my Dad for Tuberculosis, because there was ever any talk of TB in our small town.

He was so concerned he told my Dad he should remain in the hospital over-night so they could keep a watch on him just to see, and if things looked ok he could go home the following day.

My Dad did not come home the following day, he got shipped to the City hospital under quarantine as he had full blown Tuberculosis. Within the next week I almost lost my father 3 times….He said to me at one point in his dispair ” I want to go, but I can’t leave you behind”.

At that point in my life I was a single parent to 4 children, and I was a Daddys’ girl. To this day I believe the only reason he pullled through was because of what he said to me. By the time we left the hospital and I got him home he weighed 88lbs.

From that point on my Father remained on oxygen 24/7 for 9 years until he passed away with an oxygen hose stuck in his nose. His lungs were so damaged for the Tuberculosis that he never really recovered. he was classed as pulmonary tuberculosis or to other experts he was classed as having COPD-Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

As for the rest of the his family and anyone that had come in to contact with my Dad, we had to take medication everyday for 6 months as a precaution even after we we tested negative for TB. One of my sons tested positive for TB and had to take the tuberculosis treatments for a full year and be TB tested again over time.

So you see, tuberculosis is a very nasty deadly disease.

According to the AP/Google.com, the increase in drug-resistant TB comes as funding for TB programs in cities such as San Francisco, which has the highest TB rates nationwide, is being reduced, prompting concern among TB researchers.

Immigrants living in states such as California are particularly vulnerable to drug-resistant TB because many people frequently travel to countries with higher TB prevalence — such as China, India or Mexico — or were born in such countries. California recorded 2,696 TB cases in 2008 and 451 cases of drug-resistant TB between 1993 and 2007.

Educate yourself on Tuberculosis

The Herbal Shopper!
( I know this post had nothing to do with Herbal Products or Remedies but I was following the google trends this morning and seen Tuberculosis and wanted to get my two cents worth on here….