Health & Living: Information on Living a Healthy Lifestyle

Signs And Symptoms Of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne bacterial infection, meaning that it can spread from person to person through the air. When a person with tuberculosis sneezes, coughs, or even talks or sings, the harmful bacteria can travel through the air and infect anyone near them. If you contract tuberculosis, the bacteria commonly attacks the lungs, which may lead to symptoms such as coughing, fever, night sweats, and weakness, among others.

There are two primary types of tuberculosis infections: latent and active. People with latent TB have the bacteria in their body, but don't yet experience symptoms and can't spread the infection to others. Meanwhile, people with active TB do develop symptoms and can pass the infection to those nearby. It's worth noting that if you have latent TB, you can later develop active TB if you experience intense stress, have an illness, or develop a weakened immune system.

If you become infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, you might not have any symptoms at first—or it could take some time for symptoms to develop. If you do experience symptoms, the hallmark signs of tuberculosis include: Those with strong immune system functioning can sometimes stop TB-related bacteria from moving from the latent stage to the active stage. If you have latent TB, you still have harmful bacteria living inside your body. But, you won't experience any symptoms—nor can you pass on the infection to others. However, if you take a TB skin or blood test, you will receive a positive test result. If you test positive, your healthcare provider will likely recommend options to treat the latent infection. If you leave your latent TB untreated, you can eventually develop active TB, which can cause you to experience symptoms. Active TB means that bacteria are growing inside your body and causing you to experience symptoms. The exact symptoms you have will depend on which organ the bacteria are attacking. Tuberculosis commonly affects the lungs, but bacteria can spread to other organs as well. If you have active TB, you may experience the following symptoms: A cough that has lasted more than three weeks Coughing up sputum (mucus from the lungs) or blood Chest pain Fever Chills Night sweats Body aches or weakness Unintentional weight loss When tuberculosis bacteria attack organs outside of your lungs, the infection becomes known as extrapulmonary tuberculosis—a type of active TB. You can develop extrapulmonary TB if bacteria from your lungs spread to the bloodstream or nearby organs. There are several types of extrapulmonary TB infections, and the symptoms you experience will depend on which organ the bacteria is affecting. Miliary Tuberculosis When TB bacteria spread to the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, you develop a type of TB called miliary tuberculosis. Symptoms of this infection include: Genitourinary Tuberculosis Genitourinary tuberculosis occurs when bacteria infect the genitals or the organs of the urinary system, such as the kidneys and bladder. Symptoms of a TB infection in the kidney and bladder include: If bacteria spread to your genitals, those assigned male at birth may notice an enlarged scrotum, whereas those assigned female at birth can experience chronic pelvic pain or pregnancy complications. Meningeal Tuberculosis Also known as TB meningitis, bacteria that spreads to the central nervous system can cause inflammation in the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The early symptoms of meningeal TB can look like symptoms of other conditions, such as the common cold or flu. That's why notifying your healthcare provider of any possible exposure to TB is critical.  If you have meningeal TB, you may experience: Peritoneal Tuberculosis Tuberculosis of the abdomen happens when TB-related bacteria attack the stomach lining. TB peritonitis is rare—however, symptoms can be mild and include: Tuberculous Lymphadenitis When bacteria spread to your lymph nodes, you may develop a form of TB called tuberculous lymphadenitis. Generally, this type of TB affects the lymph nodes on the back of your neck and above the collar bones. As a result, you may notice the following symptoms: Cutaneous Tuberculosis In cutaneous tuberculosis, TB-related bacteria has spread to your skin. It's worth noting that this type of TB is often rare. If you do develop cutaneous TB, you might notice: Bone and Joint Tuberculosis If you develop tuberculosis of the bones and joints—sometimes referred to as skeletal TB—you may experience these symptoms: Gastrointestinal Tuberculosis The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a passageway in your body that connects organs from your mouth to your anus. Generally, TB bacteria would have to be in your system for a long time and spread far for you to develop gastrointestinal TB. This type of TB is also one of the most rare forms, accounting for only 1% to 3% of TB cases around the world. If you develop symptoms, you may notice: Stomach pain Diarrhea Mouth ulcers Blockage in your intestines Blood in your urine or stool Unintentional weight loss Nausea and vomiting Liver Tuberculosis People who have advanced tuberculosis of the lungs and miliary TB can later develop liver (or, hepatic) tuberculosis—especially if their infection is left untreated. This can cause: Jaundice (or, the yellowing of the eyes and skin) An enlarged liver Fever Stomach pain Tuberculosis is a serious infection. You may not even know you have bacteria in your body that lead to TB unless you receive a positive result. If you do experience symptoms of TB or come into contact with someone who has the infection, it's critical to contact your healthcare provider and receive treatment—as this can prevent you from spreading bacteria to uninfected people. It's best to see your provider as soon as you develop a prolonged cough, fever, and unexplained weight loss. Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne bacterial infection that can spread easily to others when someone with the condition coughs or sneezes. There are two types of TB: latent (meaning, you don't have symptoms yet) and active (meaning, you have symptoms and can spread the infection to others). Generally, TB affects your lungs and causes symptoms like a persistent cough, fever, and night sweats. But, bacteria can spread to other organs and cause an advanced form of active TB known as extrapulmonary TB. The exact type of extrapulmonary TB you have will depend on the organ the bacteria is affecting. This may include your skin, bloodstream, stomach lining, kidneys, bladder, or brain, among others. If you have symptoms of TB or recently were exposed to the infection, it's essential to contact your healthcare provider right away to get the treatment you need. Not only will this help improve your condition, but also prevent you from spreading the infection to others.

Is Coughing A Sign Of Coronavirus? What Is A Dry Cough?

Getty Is coughing a sign of coronavirus?

We get it. You have a cough or know someone who's been coughing. Normally that wouldn't be much reason for concern, but we're all deluged with endless news stories about coronavirus, and it's scary. It's important to remember that COVID-19 coronavirus is something that the majority of people who get recover from. But does a cough indicate coronavirus?

The answer is that, yes, a cough or coughing can be a symptom of coronavirus. In fact, coughing is one of the most common symptoms listed. However, it's not just any cough. It's a dry cough. Be aware that just because you're coughing, though, doesn't mean you have coronavirus. It might be the common cold. It might be the regular flu, allergies, asthma, or something else.

Health.Com spoke to Subinoy Das, MD, medical director for the US Institute for Advanced Sinus Care & Research. He explained that a dry cough was "one where no mucus or phlegm is produced with the cough," in contrast to a wet cough, which "is one filled with mucus or phlegm where someone can actually feel the mucus move in their bronchi or throat." Harvard Medical School describes a "wet cough" or "productive cough" as a cough that "produces sputum (phlegm or mucus from the lungs or sinuses). The cough sounds soupy and may come with a wheezing or rattling sound and tightness in your chest." In contrast, a dry cough doesn't bring up phlegm.

There are many other things that can cause a dry cough. "If you have a chronic dry cough (a cough that has lasted for more than three weeks), it may be a symptom of allergies or asthma," explains the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

Fever, shortness of breath, and a dry cough are usually listed as the most common symptoms for coronavirus, however. Andrew O'Dwyer, who is recovering from coronavirus, told BBC: "The worst bit is the uncontrollable coughing."

It's hard to get testing in many jurisdictions even if you've traveled overseas. There's not a known cure for coronavirus anyway, so if you think you have it, consult with your primary care doctor. Again: Most people who get coronavirus will recover just fine, but some survivors have described a very vicious battle with a flu-like illness. When they say the virus is mild for most, they don't mean a stuffy nose.

Let's tease out how common a dry cough is though in studies of coronavirus, with the recognition that people's bodies handle the virus different ways. Not everyone has the same symptoms at the same stages.

"The most common symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, are fever, cough and shortness of breath," according to John Hopkins Medicine. "Some patients also have body aches, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. If you have a sore throat and think you have been exposed to the new coronavirus, contact a health care provider by phone and discuss your risk."

Here's what you need to know:

First of all, your doctor is better equipped to tell you that (don't take medical advice over the Internet!) But credible research studies and governmental sites have outlined the common symptoms for coronavirus.

A new study from the Wuhan Medical Treatment Expert Group for COVID-19 appeared in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. It studied 204 people who received medical care for COVID-19. You can find the study here. The researchers found that digestive problems were far more common in coronavirus patients than other studies indicated, writing that "half of patients in our cohort reported a digestive symptom." However, that statistic was inflated by including people reporting a loss of appetite. We include this to point out that the symptoms for coronavirus can really vary by the individual. Just because you have or don't have a cough doesn't mean you have coronavirus.

The article Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That article noted, "During the first 2 months of the current outbreak, Covid-19 spread rapidly throughout China and caused varying degrees of illness. Patients often presented without fever, and many did not have abnormal radiologic findings." Thus, although fever is often cited as a leading indicator of coronavirus, an absence of a fever does not mean that you don't have it, either.

However, this study found that the most common coronavirus symptoms were fever and cough. In this study, a cough was the second most common symptom, appearing in 67.8% of cases studied.

"The median incubation period was 4 days (interquartile range, 2 to 7). The median age of the patients was 47 years (interquartile range, 35 to 58); 0.9% of the patients were younger than 15 years of age. A total of 41.9% were female. Fever was present in 43.8% of the patients on admission but developed in 88.7% during hospitalization," the researchers reported. "The second most common symptom was cough (67.8%); nausea or vomiting (5.0%) and diarrhea (3.8%) were uncommon. Among the overall population, 23.7% had at least one coexisting illness (e.G., hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)."

Here's the list of symptoms with percentages found in that research study:

Emerging 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Pneumonia is another research study that broke down the percentages of symptoms in Chinese patients with the virus. This study also found that a cough was the second most common symptom after a fever. Forty-seven percent of patients had a cough.

That study of coronavirus patients found that 10 percent had diarrhea and 6 percent had nausea or vomiting. The most common symptom was fever, which was reported by 96 percent of patients, following by a cough (47 percent), a little phlegm (20 percent), myalgia or fatigue (31 percent), mild headache and dizziness (16 percent), loss of appetite (18 percent), and stuffy or runny nose (4 percent).

Here's the symptom chart from that study:

According to Harvard Medical School, "some people infected with the virus have no symptoms. When the virus does cause symptoms, common ones include low-grade fever, body aches, coughing, nasal congestion, and sore throat. However, COVID-19 can occasionally cause more severe symptoms like high fever, severe cough, and shortness of breath, which often indicates pneumonia."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronavirus symptoms "may appear 2-14 days after exposure (based on the incubation period of MERS-CoV viruses)." The site lists the most common symptoms as:

FeverCoughShortness of breath

The Australian government explains, "If you develop symptoms (fever, a cough, sore throat, tiredness or shortness of breath) within 14 days of leaving country or region that is at higher risk for COVID-19, or within 14 days of last contact of a confirmed case, you should arrange to see your doctor for urgent assessment."

In general, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, coronaviruses (of which there are many), can cause these symptoms:

runny noseheadachecoughsore throatfever

Loss of taste and smell and red rimmed eyes have also emerged as possibly symptoms of COVID-19.

Sometimes the virus leads to pneumonia, which is when the virus gets more serious and can require hospitalization.

READ NEXT: Can You Get Coronavirus From Money?

Not Again! Bone Grafts Linked To Another Deadly, Bizarre TB Outbreak

So, the original tumor did compromise the buccal plate, though not completely. Per commentary by the oral surgeon while he performed the biopsy ~15 years ago. Most painful experience of my life, including comparison to a recent kidney stone that sent me to the ER.

For the recent biopsy, I was sedated and didn't hear any commentary.

Unfortunately for an ameloblastoma which recurred, current practice is a radical resection with 1cm margins and fibular flap. Let me quote a research paper on that approach: "However, aesthetic deformities, functional impairments and psychological impairments after radical surgery for large ameloblastoma, have been serious issues".

Since I finally had confirmation of the recurrence recently, I am pursuing targeted therapy to shrink the tumors prior to surgery. More technical discussionin the Observatory thread

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