{"id":9621,"date":"2019-08-10T23:34:23","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T23:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=9621"},"modified":"2021-04-25T15:45:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T15:45:22","slug":"15-frequent-causes-of-tuberculosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/15-frequent-causes-of-tuberculosis\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Frequent Causes of Tuberculosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tuberculosis is a disease caused by an infection. This infection is common in the lungs, but TB can affect other parts of the body instead and usually caused localized symptoms in whichever region it has managed to infect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will commonly hear of this disease as \u201cTB\u201d (just the letters T and B) since that is much easier to talk and write about and has pretty universal understand as to the meaning of that abbreviation. TB is caused by bacteria, but unlike most bacterial infections, it is resistant to a lot of antibiotics and is often difficult to treat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some patients may need many months of different antibiotics administered at the same time, and there is no full guarantee that any one patient will make a full recovery from the disease. Even if a recovery is made, reinfection is possible even after the patient seems like they are completely healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 8 frequent causes that contribute to you catching TB:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. You Visited a High-Risk Location<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In certain parts of the world, there are places that have much higher rates of TB infection than anywhere else. This is extreme enough that you may be asked by a doctor on a regular question form if you have visited any specific regions known for TB because they don\u2019t want to put their other patients at risk of transmission<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuberculosis can occur anywhere, but there are a few locations that have very high rates, including India and Africa. Another region where it is common in select parts of Asia, but this can vary widely and some parts of Asia don\u2019t have much higher risk rates than anywhere else in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have visited these places, it is important to tell your doctor that if you start to feel sick so the proper diagnosis can be made and treatment can begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. You Know Someone Well Who Has TB<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This one is pretty obvious, but since TB <\/a>is transmitted from one person to another, then if you have been around someone who has the disease then you are at much higher risk of catching it yourself. The length of exposure also matters \u2013 if you just saw someone for a second, they are much less likely to transmit any disease to you than if you live together or spend all day with someone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk is also higher if you share drinks, food items, or living areas since germs can linger on items and sharing those items can put you into closer contact with the pathogen than if you just spoke to someone casually for a few moments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This works both ways \u2013 if you have been diagnosed with TB, then you put other people close to you in danger, so it\u2019s best to avoid too much contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. You Are in a High-Risk Group for TB Transmission<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This risk factor<\/a> certainly doesn\u2019t apply to everyone, but it\u2019s important to know if you are in a group that has an unusually high risk of TB transmission since the odds of you contracting that infection is much higher. Likewise, you are much more likely to transmit the disease to someone else if you end up being diagnosed as infected with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups at high risk include homeless people since they are often living closely together with poor sanitation and little access to hygiene products such as bandages and disinfectants that can help reduce the transmission of disease among their community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another high-risk group consists of people who inject recreational drugs, and this risk is especially high among anyone who shares needles with other people. Anyone living with an HIV infection is also at higher risk of contracting TB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. You Work in a High Tuberculosis Risk Environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not many jobs put you at risk of TB transmission, but there are a few select jobs that stick out and have much higher rates of infection <\/a>among the people who work or live there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you work at a hospital, you are obviously at increased risk of contracting a large number of conditions even though appropriate sanitary procedures are part of your job to try to keep people from catching bugs from sick patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar risk exists for anyone who works at a homeless shelter since you spend a lot of time around a group of people that are already high risk for both contracting the disease and spreading it to others. Since limited medical care is available for the homeless community, they are more likely to allow the disease to progress to severe levels before seeking medical help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. You Have Had an Organ Transplant or an Autoimmune Disorder<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have ever received a transplant of an organ from another person, then you are likely on medication that suppresses your immune system and decreases the chances that your body will reject the organ and start attacking it. The same goes for patients who have an autoimmune disorder <\/a>(a condition where the body starts to attack itself thinking healthy tissue is a foreign invader). The same medication is used to counteract that effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you take these medications, then your immune system won\u2019t be working as well as it would in a healthy person. This is known as being immune-compromised and leaves you vulnerable to bacterial infections such as TB. People taking these medications should avoid visiting high-risk parts of the world since little can be done to help avoid infection while still taking the required meds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. The Patient Was a Small Child, a Baby, or Elderly<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone has a fully developed or functional immune system. Healthy adults stand a pretty good chance of fighting off infections (after all, we are exposed to a world full of germs every single day and rarely get sick in the grand scheme of things). Unfortunately, not everyone has the perfect immune system of a typical college student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups who are less likely to be able to fight off germs <\/a>are at increased risk of catching TB, and sometimes those groups are substantially more likely to get it. Babies have very little ability to fight off germs, and TB infections can easily be fatal. For that reason, it is important that they avoid being anywhere near anyone with any type of infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elderly are also at heightened risk, though the level of vulnerability depends more widely on the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. You Were Infected but Not Medicated<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tuberculosis is a strange disease in that a patient can become infected with the bacteria but not yet have the disease. The germ can lay dormant for a while before manifesting into full-blown TB. Preventive treatment can keep you from getting the disease, but if you skip the medication you are at increased risk, and that action can cause the disease to form in your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The medication <\/a>usually used is called Isoniazid, which is commonly abbreviated as INH. This medication has to be taken every day, and it can be taken for up to 9 months in some cases. Your doctor will want to do follow up testing to ensure the medication did its job and your infection didn\u2019t develop into a full case of TB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These medications are capable of saving many lives if diagnosis happens fast enough to give time for treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. You Were Undergoing Treatment for Cancer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During aggressive strategies that are used to help patients beat cancer<\/a>, the immune system can easily be lowered and many infections like TB are possible when otherwise the body would have been strong enough to fight off the disease. Chemotherapy is an especially big risk factor that causes TB infection since it attacks nearly all parts of the body and weakens the immune system severely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are going through chemotherapy, your doctors have likely warned you of the risk of infection in general and have advised you to take precautions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, if you know anyone who has visited a part of the world known for TB infection, it is advisable to avoid them for a while until they can get tested. Likewise, if you have traveled to high-risk areas, you should avoid anyone who is going through chemotherapy to avoid spreading infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. You Have HIV\/AIDs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People with robust immune systems typically are not at risk of tuberculosis infection. TB is a disease that looks to exploit compromised immune systems. People who are living with low immune function are most at risk of contracting the disease. Those patients with HIV<\/a>\/AIDs experience a low white blood cell count.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the body experiences an infection, the brain signals the immune system to create antibodies to fight off the infection. However, those patients with HIV\/AIDs do not have enough white blood cells to fight off the infection. As a result, the bacteria responsible for causing TB to continue to replicate and grow inside the affected individual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the low levels of immune function in patients with HIV\/AIDs, TB is more likely to end up being the pathogen that kills the patient. Patients with a disease like HIV\/AIDs are more likely to die from complications of other infections, with pneumonia also being a leading cause of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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10. You Have Diabetes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

More than 30-million Americans are living with a blood sugar disorder, known as diabetes. Diabetes <\/a>occurs when the affected individual maintains overly high blood sugar levels for a sustained period of months or years. People who make poor dietary choices are most at risk of developing diabetes. If your diet includes large amounts of sugary foods, such as candy and white flour food products, it causes an elevation in your fasted blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pancreas is the organ responsible for balancing your blood sugar levels. The organ releases a hormone, known as insulin to drop blood sugar. However, people with abnormally high blood sugar levels experience pancreatic inefficiency with insulin management. As a result, the pancreas becomes less sensitive to the effects of insulin, and the patient develops diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who are dealing with diabetes are more inclined to experience an infection with TB. Diabetes causes a lowering of immune function, allowing the TB bacteria to replicate within the body and start to produce symptoms in the affected individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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11. You Are Experiencing Malnutrition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Americans that are dealing with malnutrition <\/a>are at a higher risk of developing tuberculosis. The United States is currently dealing with a severe increase in homelessness across the country. In areas like San Francisco and Sacramento, homeless communities are growing at an alarming pace, with \u201ctent city\u2019s\u201d popping up on almost every block across the cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homeless people are often dealing with addiction, and their chase of their next high may cause them to go hungry while they save money for their drug habit. As a result of the situation, homeless people experience a drop in immune function, making them more predisposed to catching severe infections, such as tuberculosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malnutrition takes a devastating toll on the immune system. We all need adequate nutrition, as well as a balance of vitamins and minerals to remain healthy. Homeless people do not have access to sufficient food, resulting in the decline of immune health, and the emergence of disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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12. You Are Using Certain Medications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patients who are dealing with the degenerative bone disease, arthritis<\/a>, experience a narrowing of the bones as they age. The bones take on a honeycomb-appearance, reducing the structural integrity of the skeletal system. Since most white blood cells originate from bone marrow, the affected individual may experience the onset of lowered immune function.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patients who are dealing with arthritis also have to follow a strict drug regimen to prevent further loss of bone mass in the body. Unfortunately, these drugs are harsh on the liver and the immune system, further exacerbating the effects on the immune system. Patients who are taking any medication for arthritis need to speak to their doctor about what they can do to boost their immune response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other conditions that involve the use of medications that can weaken the immune system include skin disorders like psoriasis and digestive disorders like Crohn\u2019s disease. These patients require consultation with their physician for strategies to increase immune function and prevent disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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13. Drug Users Are at a Higher Risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People who use illicit drugs, or misuse or abuse prescription medications, are also at a higher risk of developing tuberculosis. America is currently dealing with an opioid <\/a>crisis where millions of people are experiencing addiction to prescription painkillers. Many of these addicts started their journey to addiction by using pain pills. As they increased their dose, the doctor may have decided to end the prescription, or the drugs may be too expensive for them to afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of addiction to the pills, and no source of the drugs, many of them turn to the black market to satisfy their craving. Many users end up addicted to heroin, as it’s far cheaper than prescription opioids. The rise in the synthetic painkiller, fentanyl, has led to more overdose deaths than at any other point in American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drug users also experience a weakening of the immune system. Most users do not get adequate nutrition, and many of them are already dealing with other diseases, such as HIV\/AIDs. As a result, they are a prime target for infection with tuberculosis bacteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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14. Smokers Are at a Higher Risk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over 480,000 Americans die every year as a result of smoking tobacco. These figures are staggering, and one would think that the information on smoking-related illnesses and warnings in the media would deter people from smoking<\/a>. However, the industry continues to experience growth, with thousands of new smokers taking up the habit each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smoking reduces your immune function. With every drag of a cigarette, you are ingesting a toxic cocktail of over 7,000-chemicals. These chemicals remain in the body, even though you exhale the smoke. The buildup in toxins causes strain on the internal organs and biological systems in the body. As a result of smoking, the immune system starts to nosedive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smoking also diminishes the health of the lungs, providing tuberculosis bacteria with the ideal environment in which to replicate and spread throughout the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. If diagnosed with TB as a smoker, it’s best if you seek advice to help you quit the habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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15. Lack of Medical Care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, TB typically affects those individuals with a compromised immune system. Many homeless people who are living on the street don\u2019t have access to medical care. They don\u2019t have the insurance necessary to gain admittance to an emergency room or seek a doctor\u2019s advice. As a result, many homeless individuals decide to forgo medical treatment when they get sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A homeless person may already be dealing with one or more diseases that compromise the immune system. As a result of their condition, the patient is at a higher risk of contracting TB. When the symptoms first start, the patient requires prompt treatment to prevent the disease from entering the advanced stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, many homeless people will not seek out treatment, and the coughing <\/a>symptoms associated with the condition continue to progress. If left untreated, the infected individual will start to experience more severe symptoms, and they may end up perishing from the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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