Treatment for tuberculosis (TB) usually involves taking antibiotics for several months.
While TB is a serious condition that can be fatal if left untreated, deaths are rare if treatment is completed.
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Most people don’t need to be admitted to hospital during treatment.
Pulmonary TB
You’ll be prescribed at least a six-month course of a combination of antibiotics if you’re diagnosed with active pulmonary TB, where your lungs are affected and you have symptoms.
two antibiotics (isoniazid and rifampicin) for six months
two additional antibiotics (pyrazinamide and ethambutol) for the first two months of the six-month treatment period
It may be several weeks before you start to feel better. The exact length of time will depend on your overall health and the severity of your TB.
After taking antibiotics for two weeks, most people are no longer infectious and feel better.
However, it’s important to continue taking your medicine exactly as prescribed and to complete the whole course of antibiotics.
Taking medication for six months is the best way to ensure the TB bacteria are killed.
If you stop taking your antibiotics before you complete the course or you skip a dose, the TB infection may become resistant to the antibiotics.
This is potentially serious because it can be difficult to treat and will require a longer course of treatment with different, and possibly more toxic, therapies.
If you find it difficult to take your medication every day, your treatment team can work with you to find a solution.
This may include having regular contact with your treatment team at home, at the treatment clinic, or somewhere else that’s more convenient.
If treatment is completed correctly, you shouldn’t need any further checks by a TB specialist afterwards. You may be given advice about spotting signs that the illness has returned, although this is rare.
Extrapulmonary TB
Extrapulmonary TB – TB that occurs outside the lungs – can be treated using the same combination of antibiotics as those used to treat pulmonary TB.
If you have TB in areas like your brain or the sac surrounding your heart (pericardium), you may initially be prescribed a corticosteroid such as prednisolone for several weeks to take at the same time as your antibiotics. This will help reduce any swelling in the affected areas.
As with pulmonary TB, it’s important to take your medicines exactly as prescribed and to finish the whole course.
Latent TB
Latent TB is where you’ve been infected with the TB bacteria, but don’t have any symptoms of active infection.
If you have latent TB and are aged 65 or under, treatment is usually recommended. However, the antibiotics used to treat TB can cause liver damage in older adults.
If liver damage is a concern and you’re aged between 35 and 65, your TB team will discuss with you the advantages and disadvantages of taking treatment for latent TB.
Latent TB is also not always treated if it’s thought to be drug resistant. If this is the case, you may be regularly monitored to check the infection doesn’t become active.
In some cases, testing and treatment for latent TB may be recommended for people who require treatment that will weaken their immune system, such as long-term corticosteroids, chemotherapyor biological inhibitors like TNF inhibitors. This is because there’s a risk of the infection becoming active.
Treatment for latent TB generally involves:
either taking a combination of rifampicin and isoniazid for three months,
or isoniazid on its own for six months
Side effects of treatment
Isoniazid can cause nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy). You’ll be given supplements of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) to take alongside it to reduce this risk. Your liver function will be tested before you start treatment.
In rare cases, the antibiotics used to treat TB can cause eye damage, which can be serious. If you’re going to be treated with ethambutol, your vision should also be tested at the beginning of the course of treatment.
Contact your TB treatment team if you develop any worrying symptoms during treatment, such as:
being sick
yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
an unexplained high temperature (fever)
tingling or numbness in your hands or feet
a rash or itchy skin
changes to your vision, such as blurred vision
Rifampicin can reduce the effectiveness of some types of contraception, such as the combined contraceptive pill. You should use an alternative method of contraception, such as condoms, while taking rifampicin.
Rifampicin can also interact with other medication, so it’s important that your TB team know about all of the medicine you’re taking before you start treatment for TB.
Preventing the spread of infection
If you’re diagnosed with pulmonary TB, you’ll be contagious up to about two to three weeks into your course of treatment.
You won’t usually need to be isolated during this time, but it’s important to take some basic precautions to stop TB spreading to your family and friends.
You should:
stay away from work, school or college until your TB treatment team advises you it’s safe to return
always cover your mouth – preferably with a disposable tissue – when coughing, sneezing or laughing
carefully dispose of any used tissues in a sealed plastic bag
open windows when possible to ensure a good supply of fresh air in the areas where you spend time
not sleep in the same room as other people – you could cough or sneeze in your sleep without realising it
What if someone I know has TB?
When someone is diagnosed with TB, their treatment team will assess whether other people are at risk of infection.
This may include close contacts, such as people living with the person who has TB, as well as casual contacts, such as work colleagues and social contacts.
Anyone who’s thought to be at risk will be asked to go for testing, and will be given advice and any necessary treatment after their results.
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