Sunday, November 8, 2009

I'm a bartender. I just found out one of my customers is in the hospital with tuberculosis

I'm a bartender. I just found out one of my customers is in the hospital with tuberculosis.
Could he have infected the other customers at the bar? Just how contagious is tuberculosis?
Respiratory Diseases - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
It is considered highly contagious.
2 :
we all can easily acquire TB but it depends on the immune system of the person, if you have a weak immune system, you could easily catch the disease. and TB can be acquired through air droplets which means inhaling right after the person coughed near you.
3 :
TB is a bacteria, and is spread by droplet form. in can be present in someone for months or years before showing itself with symptoms, although is not contagious at this stage. If you're worried about it, go to the doctor. there is a skin test to test for it, although it is not the most effective test as it will give false positives if you've had tb before, or a particular tb vaccine (and can give false negatives for 10-12 weeks after your exposure) if you're worried about your customers, you can inform them, but it may cause panic. if you do inform them, have information handy about how and where to get tested, it can really ease the shock and panic. i guess you need to work out whether your customer was ill the last time they came in, if they were sneezing and coughing and whether they were doing so in very near proximity to anyone.
4 :
VERY -- get a TB test to make sure u aren't infected

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

If someone has tuberculosis & is on medication wearing mask, is it safe to be close to active diseased person

If someone has tuberculosis & is on medication wearing mask, is it safe to be close to active diseased person
What about when person with active TB has to take mask off to eat or drink? I can't check with doctor today because it is Labor Day. (office closed)
Infectious Diseases - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
its safe because theres no way for the disease to get carried to you if he/she has a mask on.
2 :
If you have been immunised then here is not much chance of catching it. Not all forms of TB are infectios anyway. Check with the doc treating him/her first
3 :
TB is spread via droplets (coughing, sneezing, etc). So, if mask comes off to eat, and person does not cough or sneeze, then you should be OK. If you were born in the USA, you probably have not been immunized against TB. The US does not require TB vac. Lots of other countries do, though. If you have been immunized, little chance of contracting TB even if droplet contact.
4 :
I wouldn't use the word 'safe' exactly, but it's not likely you'll catch. TB is passed through water droplets, that are spout off when a pt. coughs. Medical professionals use masks, and if the mask is right kind it WILL protect people from TB. However, if they took the mask off to eat or drink, it IS possible that if they coughed to have let to loose in the air. But, if not, then I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Most strains of TB are treatable now. If you think you may have been exposed, it's worth the peace of mind to talk to someone, including the pt. themselves. TB takes awhile to incubate, so don't expect a test result right away or for them to even test or check

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Sunday, November 1, 2009

I JUST GOT A POSITIVE TUBERCULOSIS SKIN TEST, CAN THIS DISEASE KILL ME

I JUST GOT A POSITIVE TUBERCULOSIS SKIN TEST, CAN THIS DISEASE KILL ME?
Hi I got a posisitve tuberculosis skin test and I'm going to get an x-ray tomorrow, Can this disease kill me? and if it can how long does it take to kill?
Other - Diseases - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
A person with active TB disease has a large amount of TB bacteria in the body. TB disease can be treated by taking several drugs for 6 to 12 months. It is very important that people who have TB disease finish the medicine, and take the drugs exactly as prescribed. If they stop taking the drugs too soon, they can become sick again; if they do not take the drugs correctly, the germs that are still alive may become resistant to those drugs. TB that is resistant to drugs is harder and more expensive to treat. Overall, take your medicine and you should be fine.
2 :
WOAH slow the horse down!! just because you have a positive test doesn't mean you HAVE TB!!! it merely means that either A) you've been exposed to someone who has TB or B) you just test +. that's why they do the chest x-ray; it will show any evidence of present or past disease. no need to jump the bridge yet!
3 :
To answer your questions 1. TB can kill. But with todays treatments that is unlikely. Furthermore, you may not have active TB. You may have latent TB 2. If you have active TB then you must be treated for 12 months with a minimum of 4 meds. If you have latent then you may be treated for 6-9 months with one medication. Here's some more info: You have a positive TB skin test (PPD). The fact that your doc is sending you to get a chest x-ray means that you are NOT showing symptoms of active TB (low grade fevers, wt loss, cough, cough with blood etc...)...otherwise s/he would have hospitalized you and put you under respiratory isolation. The next question is why did you have a positive PPD? Unfortunately, you haven't given any additional information. Are you immunocompromised or a health-care worker?? One reason why a person may have a positive is because of the bCG vaccine. If you're from another country then you may have had a bCG vaccine (look for that weird mark/scar on your arm which you've had as long as you can remember). It would have been useful to know your age The purpose of the chest xray is to look for active TB. If your chest xray shows signs of active TB then you'll be treated accordingly. If your chest xray is negative then your diagnosis is latent. You should be treated for 6-9 months. But this is a physician preference area meaning that your doc may not treat if s/he has good reason. Finally, whatever the outcome, make sure to save ALL medical records pertaining to TB because you'll always be PPD positive...and you'll have to explain why and what happened. Otherwise you'll have to go through the same thing again

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