Why you must not ignore regular fatigue or mild fever

Aruna Pillai, 41, often felt tired by the end of the day, and even got a slight fever that would go away on its own by the morning. “I attributed the 99 degree of temperature to my being over-worked physically, more so, as both the tiredness and fever went of after a good night’s sleep and a disprin,” she says. “I never thought of it being something else, till one day when I spoke to my mom about it after which she got very worried, and told me to consult a doctor,” she adds.

Coaxed by her mother, Aruna visited a physician the very next day, and some tests later it was found that she had caught TB. Once a dreaded disease, tuberculosis is treatable and curable today. But only if diagnosed in time. Unfortunately, the disease usually develops very slowly and the symptoms might not show up for months or even years, after one is initially infected. Sometimes, the symptoms are so unnoticeable that one may miss them altogether, and reach an advanced stage.

“In a month, we get 10-15 TB patients, and over 50 per cent of them are in the late stages,” says Dr Sandeep H S, Consultant, Transplant Pulmonologist, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, Bengaluru. “There are two main reasons for this. First, the thought process which associates TB with lesser-privileged and second, the symptoms are mild and do not hamper a patient’s daily life.

A paracetamol is enough to mitigate the low grade temperature and fatigue, a cough syrup for cough. People never connect these issues with TB,” says Dr Vishal Sehgal, Medical Director, Portea Medical. Agrees Dr Sandeep: Traditionally, the prevalence of TB is seen more in the lower socio- economic group as they may be alcoholic or may not be taking nutritious food. But over the years we have seen that uncontrolled sugar has become one of the major predisposing factors for TB.

Since diabetes is seen equally among all socio-economic groups, TB is no more limited to the poor.” Missing out the symptoms or ignoring them can make TB go worse, lead to scarring of lungs, permanent damage of tissue or even development of drug-resistant TB. But it is poor adherence to treatment which is a major concern with doctors.

“Over 2.8 lakh Indians die of TB every year. TB treatment is long-drawn (six months to an year). Studies show about 1M patients drop out of treatment every year which adds to the burden,” says Dr Sehgal, adding that it also leads to development of drug-resistance TB. This potentially serious infectious disease that mainly af fects the lungs, spreads from one person to others through coughing and sneezing. TB can also affect other parts of the body like kidneys,spine or brain.

COMMON NEGLECTED SYMPTOMS OF TB

• Mild temperature in the evening
• Loss of appetite and weight
• Night sweats
• Back pain
• Reddish urine
• Fatigue
• Cough

IF YOU ARE A PATIENT

While TB is contagious, a few weeks into consuming TB medicines will make you safe to be with your family and friends. Till the time you are not safe, take following precautions:

• Isolate yourself
• Keep your room airyenough
• Cover your mouth with atissue paper every time you cough or sneeze
• Wear a surgical mask when there are people around you

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

• Adequate nutrition, preferably a high-protein diet
• Healthy lifestyle
• Keep diabetes under control
• Build immunity
• Have annual health checks
• Keep your home/office well-ventilated
• Follow respiratory etiquette like wearing a mask, coughing into elbows, etc.