Tuberculosis (TB) is a mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterial infection that usually attacks your lungs causing a bad cough. But it can damage other parts of the body as well. Tuberculosis is spread through the air when a person with active TB does stuff like coughs, sneezes or talks.
Early symptoms of active TB beyond a chronically bad cough are weight loss, fever, night sweats and loss of appetite.
Full range of signs and symptoms for TB include:
- weight loss
- night sweats
- fever & chills
- weakness, fatigue
- bad cough 3+ weeks
- coughing up blood or mucus
Tuberculosis can go into remission, thanks to your healthy immune system. Or become chronic and more debilitating with a cough, chest pain and bloody sputum.
If not treated properly, tuberculosis can be fatal. If you believe you have been exposed, you need to have a TB skin test right away.
If you have latent TB infection, then you do not feel sick nor experience any symptoms. However, you will probably test positive to the tuberculin skin test.
You are not contagious if your tuberculosis is latent. However mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria can overcome your immune system’s defenses, resulting in contagious and active TB. And you are more likely to become active if you have a weak immune system.
Tuberculosis chronic cough, night sweats and weight loss infection that spreads from your lungs to other organs of the body is called disseminated tuberculosis. This type of tuberculosis typically develops in those with weakened immune systems because their body’s failure to health the primary infection.
TB can be cured in most people with the use of antibiotics.
