Why do you think one of the killer disease here in our country is TB?
By pehpot
@pehpot (4762)
Philippines
September 9, 2008 9:16am CST
I heard from the TV that one of the killer disease in our country is TV. I wonder why. Is it really contagious? or are we really prone to it?Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection commonly found in our lungs (pulmonary TB). This is easily spread to other people through coughing or laughing. It can be treated though the process is long. The treatment usually takes place from 6 to 9 months. It is either dormant type or active one. The dormant means that you have a TB causing bacteria on your body but it is not active and that you cannot pass it on to anyone, although it can developed into an active stage. The active one is you are infected with the TB and it is spreading in your body, and that you can spread the disease to others.
This causes by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacteria that grows slowly and thrive in body parts that are rich in blood and oxygen, thus our lungs is very suitable for its growth.
The symptoms of having a TB are as follows ( although when you have dormant case, no symptoms can be seen or feel) coughs with bloody mucus, fatigue and weight loss, night sweats and fever, rapid heartbeat, swelling in the neck, shortness of breath.
The TB can be spread to others when a non infected person inhales air that has TB bacteria on it.
This can be diagnose through medical help like examining the discharge mucus of the patient or for most through xray.
This can be treated with the use antibiotics, doctors use four combined antibiotics to treat this. The treatment usually last for 6 months and sometimes may extend to 9 months.
but if it is not treated it can damage the lungs and may cause death.
Now why is it that a lot of TB case happens in the Philippines? and most of them were not treated and many dies of it?Mostly of the patients that die from TB comes from the poor area of the country. The cost alone of the medicine needed for the treatment is something that they cannot afford. Now it easily spread to family members because of poor ventilation that is most present on squatters area. When I learned about TB, the only reason I see why it has been one of the killer disease in our country is because of poverty. Poverty that our very own government brought.
2 people like this
6 responses
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
10 Sep 08
Well poverty is really one of the reasons. TB is so easy to cure if only given the proper attention and cure. Poor people cannot afford to go to the doctor and have their sickness diagnosed as early as possible and most of the time it is on the late stage when they can no longer bear the sickness when they go to the doctor.
Most of the patients who perished are those who come in for treatment too late, who live in remote and far areas and don't have money to go to the doctor and don't have easy access to medical facilities and after have been diagnosed could not comply with the treatment programmes given to them due to lack of money. Some will try to treatment for few months and when feeling better, they will stop the treatment without realizing that they are not yet fully well. They do this because they are short of money. They cannot afford to continue buying the medicines which are so costly and it will take them 6 months or more to take. They just can't sustain following the medication through and through. So the sickness aggrevates again after some few months. One hospital I know, the Quezon Institute is free, but patients must pay for the other antibiotics and vitamins prescribed, and patients become financially drained because of the costly medicines. I know also that there are free medicines offered in the Public Health Centers of some Barangays here, but they are not enough to support all the patients.
I just hope the government will address this problem seriously to really help the poor people.
1 person likes this
@dylan_akil (89)
• Philippines
19 Sep 08
you really have a lot of interest on this subject. but I guess poverty is the main culprit why TB is wide spread in our country, another thing is smoking is very common here and it weakens the lungs making it susceptible to the bacteria. another thing is that the information on TB is not widely spread as the bacteria is.
@rsa101 (37952)
• Philippines
10 Sep 08
TB is curable now than it was before decades ago. The only thing why this disease is not eradicated in our place is that the cost of the medicines and refusal of some to get it treated as soon as they are detected in them. This is most prevalent in places were poor families are. Of course the well to do people cannot be spared from this but they can very much afford to religiously take the medicines until they are cured from this disease. Even though the government has made efforts in eradicating this disease it has still prevailed as one of the killer diseases in our country.
@sapphirelilac88 (91)
• Philippines
10 Sep 08
it could be because a lot of people are still ignorant of the disease and the disease process. when getting sick they don not go to see a doctor and just leave it be. sooner or later everyone in the household would be infected. i guess information campaign and disseminating it at the right areas could be a big help in controlling the killer disease from spreading it further.
@jassi1 (170)
• India
10 Sep 08
earliar it was terrible desease but now a days patient has to take the medicines regularly and it could be cure but this is also a truth that in this desease weather u forgot to take food but nt medicines cource should be completed i have seen many of patients to overcome from this desease
@buenaever (7)
• Philippines
10 Sep 08
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease, it is one of the killer disease in the country because it was not earlky detected. When it is reported ahead and report it early to the concerned authorities TB can be lessened and prevented. It is better to prevent that to cure. People ignore these diseases they only make actions out of it if its really a chronic already and cannot be cured that's why poor information dissemination about the disease is one of the biggest factor that leads to became a killer disease of the country.
