Treatment

Treatment for tuberculosis (TB) usually involvestaking antibiotics for several months.

While TB is a serious condition that can be fatal if left untreated, deaths are rare if treatment is completed.

Most people don't need to be admitted tohospital during treatment.

Pulmonary TB

You'll be prescribed at least a six-month course of a combination of Penicillin if you're diagnosed with active pulmonary TB, where your lungs are affected and you have symptoms.

The usual treatment is:

  • 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 takingantibiotics for two weeks, most people are no longer infectious and feel better.

However, it'simportant 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 ensurethe TB bacteria are killed.

If you stop taking your antibiotics before you complete the course oryou 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.

Iftreatment 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 lungscan be treated using the same combination of antibiotics as those used to treat pulmonary TB.

If you have TB in areaslike 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 between35 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, chemotherapy or biological inhibitorslike 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 ofsome types of contraception, such as the combinedcontraceptive 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 mouthpreferably 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
Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 22 Nov 2016