Are there treatments for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis TB. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. TB Treatment for Children. Minus Related Pages. Related Links. Pediatric Tuberculosis external icon Pediatrics in Review. If you stop taking your antibiotics before you complete the course or you 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 medicine 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.

If treatment is completed correctly, you should not 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 — TB that occurs outside the lungs — can be treated using the same combination of antibiotics as those used to treat pulmonary TB.

If you have TB in areas like 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. Though uncommon in the UK there are strains of TB that are resistant to 2 or more antibiotics.

This is known as multidrug-resistant TB. Multidrug-resistant TB requires a much longer course of antibiotics; between 9 to 24 months depending on the strain. A program called directly observed therapy DOT can help people stick to their treatment regimen. A health care worker gives you your medication so that you don't have to remember to take it on your own.

Explore Mayo Clinic studies testing new treatments, interventions and tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage this condition. Your physical health can affect your mental health. Denial, anger and frustration are normal when you must deal with something as challenging as tuberculosis.

Talking to someone such as a therapist might help you develop coping strategies. If you suspect you have tuberculosis, contact your primary care doctor.

You might be referred to a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases or lung diseases pulmonologist. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis During the physical exam, your doctor will check your lymph nodes for swelling and use a stethoscope to listen to the sounds your lungs make when you breathe.

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