Recognize the Symptoms of TB and TOSS TB

Sahabat Hermina, Tuberculosis or TB is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis that enter the body through breathing. TB is a contagious infectious disease that can attack organs, especially the lungs. 

Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Indonesia is still in the second rank of Tuberculosis (TB) epidemic region after India. The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is campaigning for the TOSS (Find, Treat Until Healed) movement to deal with the large number of these incidents. From the WHO report in 2017, it is estimated that there are 1,020,000 TB cases in Indonesia. However, according to the Ministry of Health's calculations, this number could increase considering that there are still many unreported cases.

Symptoms of TB

symptoms can vary depending on where the bacteria grow. In pulmonary tuberculosis, several initial symptoms may appear, including:

• Cough that lasts 2 weeks or more.
• Pain and tightness in the chest. 
• Coughing up phlegm or coughing up blood.

There are a number of other symptoms that accompany TB disease, including:

• Weakness or fatigue.
• Weight loss.
• No appetite.
• Hot cold.
• Fever.
• Sweating at night.

If you find any of the above symptoms, then immediately seek treatment at the nearest health center or clinic for further examination. As a step to prevent TB transmission, you must understand the ethics of coughing or sneezing as follows:

• Wear a mask.
• Cover mouth and nose with the inside of the upper arm.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue.
• Don't forget to throw it in the trash.
• Wash your hands with soap and running water.

TOSS TB

TOSS TBC stands for Find Tuberculosis, Treat Until Cured. TOSS TB is an approach to finding, diagnosing, treating and curing TB patients, to stop TB transmission in the community. TOSS TB steps are:

• Find symptoms in the community.
• Treat tuberculosis appropriately.
• Monitor TB treatment until cured.

When to See a Doctor?

Get tested for TB immediately See your doctor if your cough doesn't go away after 2 weeks and is followed by fever, night sweats and sudden weight loss.

The doctor will then carry out a series of examinations to diagnose TB which includes a physical examination, Mantoux test, chest X-ray test, and other laboratory tests. After the diagnosis shows that you are positive for TB, you need to adhere to the TB treatment regimen properly so that you can recover completely.

Well, the main prevention of tuberculosis (TB) is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat enough, sleep enough and stop smoking. If you are already infected, in addition to undergoing treatment, you should do the best way to prevent TB so that the spread of the bacteria does not occur from sick people to healthy people. And don't forget to get the BCG vaccine in infants to prevent TB or reduce the severity of TB disease. Salam sehat.