About Tuberculosis
Because maybe all you know about this disease relates to women in white dresses and corsets and Doc Holiday coughing up blood, I thought that I'd share a bit of what I learned from the pamphlet "About Tuberculosis" that I found in the PC Med office while I was staying in sickbay.
TB is a disease caused by tiny germs that are breathed into the lungs. These germs are spread when an infected person: sneezes, coughs, laughs, sings, or speaks.
The pamphlet says the most common way to get TB is by spending a lot of time indoors with an infected person. My doctors, however, state that it can be easily passed on while doing something as simple as riding the metro or a marshrutka. Of course, I want to blame my second host family. Anyway, TB is not spread on dishes, drinking glasses, or other objects.
It is also important to note that there is a TB infection and TB disease. TB disease is the sort that can cause death if left untreated. A TB infection can be treated and stop the TB germs from causing the TB disease.
When you test positive for TB germs they give you a chest X-ray to see if the TB germs have affected your lungs. If you test positive for TB, you have to undergo 6 to 9 months of serious pill popping, sometimes, according to the pamplet, you have to have a doctor watch you every day to make sure you are taking the pills properly. During this time you may not consume alcohol either, as it will destroy your liver.
I also learned from the internet, I believe, that over a third of the world's population has tuberculosis, so before you decide to make fun of me, think of the literally hundreds of millions (or is it billions?) of people who do not have adequate health care to be tested or receive treatment. If you still choose to make fun of me, please note that as of now I have not been diagnosed with TB. It is a "questionable" result and I need to be retested in another 3 months. My x-rays came back normal.
TB is a disease caused by tiny germs that are breathed into the lungs. These germs are spread when an infected person: sneezes, coughs, laughs, sings, or speaks.
The pamphlet says the most common way to get TB is by spending a lot of time indoors with an infected person. My doctors, however, state that it can be easily passed on while doing something as simple as riding the metro or a marshrutka. Of course, I want to blame my second host family. Anyway, TB is not spread on dishes, drinking glasses, or other objects.
It is also important to note that there is a TB infection and TB disease. TB disease is the sort that can cause death if left untreated. A TB infection can be treated and stop the TB germs from causing the TB disease.
When you test positive for TB germs they give you a chest X-ray to see if the TB germs have affected your lungs. If you test positive for TB, you have to undergo 6 to 9 months of serious pill popping, sometimes, according to the pamplet, you have to have a doctor watch you every day to make sure you are taking the pills properly. During this time you may not consume alcohol either, as it will destroy your liver.
I also learned from the internet, I believe, that over a third of the world's population has tuberculosis, so before you decide to make fun of me, think of the literally hundreds of millions (or is it billions?) of people who do not have adequate health care to be tested or receive treatment. If you still choose to make fun of me, please note that as of now I have not been diagnosed with TB. It is a "questionable" result and I need to be retested in another 3 months. My x-rays came back normal.
posted by Molly | 6:02 AM
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