Phthisis, Tabes, Schachepheth
Root Cause of Disease
Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its spread when a person with active TB disease in their lungs coughs or sneezes and someone else inhales the expelled droplets, which contain TB bacteria.
Symptoms
Although your body can harbor the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, your immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors make a distinction between:
- Latent TB. You have a TB infection, but the bacteria in your body are inactive and cause no symptoms. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn’t contagious. Latent TB can turn into active TB, so treatment is important.
- Active TB. Also called TB disease, this condition makes you sick and, in most cases, can spread to others. It can occur weeks or years after infection with the TB bacteria.
Symptoms of TB include:
- Coughing for three or more weeks
- Coughing up blood or mucus
- Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
- Unintentional weight loss
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Chills
- Loss of appetite
Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including the kidneys, spine or brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, symptoms vary according to the organs involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine might cause back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.
Causes:
Tuberculosis is spread through the air, which means you can only get it by breathing contaminated air. If someone who is actively sick talks, coughs, sneezes, or speaks they can spread TB.
The bacteria do not live on surfaces, so you can’t get TB by:
- Shaking hands
- Using a toilet
- Sharing drinking glasses or eating utensils
- Touching other surfaces
The following are the risk factors for TB:
- Poverty
- HIV infection
- Homelessness
- Being in jail or prison (where close contact can spread infection)
- Substance abuse
- Taking medication that weakens the immune system
- Kidney disease and diabetes
- Organ transplants
- Working in healthcare
- Exposure to air pollution
- Cancer
- Smoking tobacco
- Pregnancy
- Age, specifically babies, young children, and elderly people.
Types of Tuberculosis:
Tuberculosis(TB) is an infectious disease that typically affects the lungs, though it can also involve other body parts. When it affects the lungs, it’s called pulmonary TB. TB outside of the lung is called extra pulmonary TB.
It can also be categorized as being either active or latent. Active TB is contagious and causes symptoms. Latent TB, on the other hand, doesn’t cause symptoms and isn’t contagious.
Active vs Latent TB
TB can be active or latent. Active TB is sometimes referred to as TB disease. This is the type of TB that’s contagious.
Active TB:
Active TB, sometimes called TB disease, causes symptoms and is contagious. The symptoms of active TB vary depending on whether it’s pulmonary or extra pulmonary.
But general symptoms of active TB include:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
Active TB can be life-threatening if not properly treated.
Latent TB:
If you have latent TB infection, you have TB bacteria in your body, but it’s inactive. This means you don’t experience any symptoms. You also aren’t contagious. Still, you’ll have a positive result from TB blood and skin tests.
Latent TB can turn into active TB in 5 to 10 percent of people. This risk is higher for those with a weakened immune system due to medication or an underlying condition.
Home Remedies to treat Tuberculosis
Remedy- 1: Amla/ ఉసిరి
Materials: Amla, Salt, Sugar, Water
Amla berries contain enough soluble dietary fibers. The fiber has a role in regulating bowel movements, which could help relieve irritable bowel syndrome. Due to the higher amount of vitamin C in Amla, it also helps absorb a good amount of essential minerals.
Procedure:
Chop amla into small pieces and mix it with salt. Let it sit for at least two hours. Now in a pan, add the honey to water and begin the heating process. Bring it to a boil to make a syrup. Set it aside to cool. Now, wash the salted amlas with clean water and put it in a juicer to extract the juice. Now, mix amla juice. Also, squeeze lemons in it. Add the honey and store it in a glass bottle.
Product link: Amla
Remedy- 2: Black pepper/ నల్ల మిరియాలు
Materials: Black pepper, Water
Black pepper is also known to heal several inflammatory-related diseases. Black pepper is an effective remedy to clean the lungs and reduce mucus production. It can even help in reducing the symptoms of tuberculosis such as chest pain, sneezing and coughing. You just have to fry 8-10 black pepper pieces in butter and make a smooth paste of it. Take half a teaspoon of this paste after every few hours and wait for improvements in your condition. It is one of the best natural ways to kill TB bacteria. You can mix more than one beneficial ingredient such as black pepper and mint in a herbal tea for more effectiveness.
Product link: Black Pepper
Remedy- 3: Mint/ పుదీనా
Materials: Mint, Honey, Water, Malt vinegar, Carrot
Mint has antibacterial properties and helps in the healing of the tissues affected by tuberculosis. Mint leaves are known as an amazing appetizer. It helps to promote the digestive system by stimulating digestive enzymes. Mint oil has antiseptic and antibacterial properties to relieve indigestion, stomach infections, etc. It acts as an antispasmodic remedy due to the presence of methanol.
Procedure:
Wash the mint leaves under running water and chop them roughly. Now, add these leaves in a blender jar and blend on high speed. Once done, add the jaggery powder, and water in it. Blend it again at high speed. Once done, pass it through a sieve into glasses containing ice cubes. Garnish with a lemon slice to enjoy!
Product Link: Mint
Other Remedies
Pineapple(అనాస పండు):
Pineapple juice is a very effective home remedy for treating tuberculosis. It helps in reducing the mucus formation, which leads to quick recovery. Drinking fresh pineapple juice on a daily basis is a healthy habit. It is also essential to remember to rinse your mouth of the sugars in fruit and fruit juice afterward. Drinking a glass of natural pineapple juice after every meal can be very helpful in such cases. You can even have a slice of raw pineapple after having food. However, remember not to buy any tetra packs or packed juices for this purpose. The best and easiest way is to blend the fruit and prepare a glass of juice for yourself at home.
Product link: Pine Apple
Green tea(గ్రీన్ టీ):
Green tea is very rich in antioxidants and helps in enhancing your immunity, which further makes you capable of fighting through many infections, including tuberculosis. The antioxidant polyphenol present in the green tea can combat against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. You just have to boil green tea leaves with water to make the tea and drink it at least 2-3 times every day. Green tea is beneficial for your skin and overall health as well.
Product link: Green Tea
Milk(పాలు):
Milk is another natural remedy that is excellent for speeding up the healing process for tuberculosis patients. Milk is considered one of the richest sources of calcium and vitamin D, and both these agents can be used to treat tuberculosis and its severe symptoms. Treating a disease like tuberculosis, there is also a need to consume calcium rich foods for faster recovery. Some patients are therefore recommended to strictly remain on milk and milk products. You should drink a glass a hot milk daily to keep the symptoms of TB under control and bearable.
Product link: Milk
Banana(అరటిపండు):
You can have one to two bananas every day. Another option to consume this fruit is that you can also blend the bananas with some milk and make a delicious smoothie at home. You must do this at-least 1 to 2 times daily. Tuberculosis can make you physically very weak, which can be compensated by bananas. They are also rich in calcium which is an essential nutrient for TB patients. Bananas are also loaded with minerals like potassium that can quickly boost your energy and speed up your recovery. There are other ways to incorporate bananas in your diet such as fruit salad, yogurt, pie and many others.
Product Link: Banana
Preventions
Keeping your immune system healthy and avoiding exposure to someone with active TB is the best way to prevent a TB infection.
Identifying and treating cases of latent TB, before the disease can become active, is also important, particularly in high-risk populations.
Other steps toward preventing the spread of TB include:
- Improving ventilation in indoor spaces so there are fewer bacteria in the air
- Using germicidal UV lamps to kill airborne bacteria in buildings where there are people at high risk of TB
- Using directly observed therapy (DOT), in which people taking medication for TB are monitored by their healthcare providers, to raise the likelihood of successful treatment.
- Good ventilation: as TB can remain suspended in the air for several hours with no ventilation.
- Natural light: UV light kills off TB bacteria.
- Good hygiene: covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing reduces the spread of TB bacteria
