Steps to prevent TBC so as not to transmit or be infected

Tuberculosis or tuberculosis is a respiratory system disease caused by a bacterial infection. Indonesia ranks second as the country with the most cases of pulmonary tuberculosis after India. The latest data from the Indonesian Health Profile of the Ministry of Health estimates that there were 842,000 TB cases in Indonesia in 2018. TB is a highly contagious disease, but you can prevent transmission. Check out some of the steps to prevent TB below.

Recognize the mode of transmission, the first way to prevent TB

Knowing how TB is transmitted is the first step in preventing transmission of this disease. This applies to those who are healthy and especially those who are sick.

TB-causing bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , spreads when a TB sufferer expels phlegm or saliva containing the germs into the air, for example when coughing, sneezing, talking, and spitting carelessly.

The germs that come out of a cough with tuberculosis (TB) can survive in damp air that is not exposed to sunlight for hours, even weeks. As a result, everyone who is close to and has close contact with TB patients has the potential to breathe air contaminated with TB bacteria. Finally, they have the potential to become infected. That is the importance for healthy people to know how to prevent TB.

Steps to prevent TB so as not to infect healthy people

Tuberculosis bacteria can spread through the air, making it difficult to know their presence. The only best way to prevent TB is to prevent the spread of the bacteria from sick people to healthy people.

If you have active TB, undergoing treatment is a way to prevent TB transmission which also needs to be done. TB treatment aims to reduce the number of bacteria slowly so as to minimize the risk of transmission. Treatment includes the consumption of TB drugs regularly for 6-12 months.

Here are some steps to prevent TB transmission to other people.

1. Cover mouth when coughing and sneezing

TB is spread through phlegm and saliva that comes out of the mouth. That is why, covering the mouth when sneezing and coughing is one way that TB patients can prevent transmission to healthy people.

Even so, don't cover your mouth and nose with your palms. Germs can transfer to your hands and return to other people when you shake hands or hold them.

We recommend that you use a tissue and immediately throw it in the trash so that germs do not spread and prevent other people from touching it. Afterward, you need to wash your hands with soap or sanitizer alcoholic. If you don't have time to get the tissue, cover your mouth by turning your face to the side of your inner arm or inner elbow.

While experiencing TB symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, use a mask when sick in public places as a way to prevent disease transmission. You can also learn good cough etiquette.

2. Do not spit or throw phlegm carelessly

As with coughing or sneezing in public, throwing out phlegm and spitting should not be careless. The bacteria found in saliva can fly through the air, then be inhaled by people around you.

If you want to get rid of phlegm or spit, do it in the bathroom. Flush your saliva with water and a disinfecting cleaner until it rinses off.

3. Reducing social interactions

Apart from maintaining personal hygiene, you also need to avoid interactions that involve close contact with other people as a way to prevent TB. If possible, try to move or sleep in a separate room.

Limit your traveling time, don't stay in crowded places for too long, especially public transportation. If you don't have an urgent need, get plenty of rest in the house.

For tuberculosis sufferers with antibiotic resistant conditions, they are required to self-isolate until they are completely cured of a bacterial infection. Nurses or other people who come into contact with drug-resistant TB sufferers need to use personal protective equipment and clothing as a preventive measure.

4. Let the sunlight into the room

When staying at home, make sure the room you live in is kept clean.

The germs that cause tuberculosis can generally survive in free air for 1-2 hours, depending on whether there is exposure to sunlight, humidity, and the ventilation system in the house. In dark, damp, and cold conditions, TB germs can last for days, even months.

However, the TB bacteria can die immediately if exposed to direct sunlight. That is why it is recommended that you open windows and blinds when the weather is clear. Let the sun shine in to kill the TB germs that may live in your house.

When you open the window, air circulation can help push germs out of the house so they die when exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun outside.

5. Limiting contact with vulnerable groups

One of the determining factors for someone to contract TB or not is how strong their immune system is and how clean they are. The stronger your immune system is, the less likely it is to contract TB.

People with weakened immune systems tend to get infected more easily. According to the American disease control and prevention agency, the CDC, groups of people who are at higher risk of becoming infected with tuberculosis due to a weak immune system include:

• Children
• Pregnant mother
• Elderly people
• Cancer sufferers
• People with autoimmune diseases
• People with latent TB
• People who do not undergo complete TB treatment
• People infected with TB bacteria within the last 2 years

People with certain diseases such as HIV / AIDS also need to be checked for TB. The same is the case with diabetics who need to undergo a TB test. Both of these diseases cause the immune system to weaken so that it is easier to become infected with tuberculosis.

To prevent TB, active TB patients need to limit social contact with people with this health condition.

How to prevent contracting TB for healthy people

Actually, there is no special way that can be done for healthy people to prevent or avoid the transmission of pulmonary TB disease.

The presence of TB bacteria that spreads through the air is very difficult to detect directly. That is why, you who are healthy (not infected at all) as much as possible avoid / limit close contact with TB sufferers.

If you live under one roof so you have to interact every day with sufferers or even need to take care of them, it is important to use personal protective equipment such as masks and adopt a clean healthy lifestyle.

Washing hands, maintaining the cleanliness of homes and dwellings are preventive measures that can be done for healthy people in preventing TB.

This prevention effort should also be accompanied by maintaining and increasing endurance, especially for elderly people who are susceptible to infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, to prevent TB disease in children and infants, early immunization needs to be done. Currently, the vaccine that effectively protects the body from infection with TB bacteria is the BCG vaccine.

You also need to see a doctor if you come into contact with an active TB patient to determine whether you are infected or not.

When is TB prevention necessary?

The spread of tuberculosis through the air makes this disease spread quickly. However, bacteria may not have immediate health effects once they enter the body.

You may have been infected, but the bacteria are actually "sleeping" for a long time in the body, aka in a dormant phase. This condition makes you suffer from latent TB. This is the phase when bacteria remain in the body, but are not actively reproducing or attacking healthy cells in the body. At this stage, you cannot transmit the bacteria.

Only active TB patients can transmit the disease. This means that bacteria in the body actively multiply and attack healthy cells.

Even though it is very contagious, people with active TB can take several ways to prevent it so as not to spread the transmission of TB disease. Efforts to prevent tuberculosis can be done before waiting for the results of a diagnosis, as soon as you feel the symptoms or features of tuberculosis.

Even though they cannot transmit, people with latent TB still need to undergo TB treatment as a measure to prevent active bacterial infection. Especially if you fall into a group of people who are at risk, for example, they have a weak immune system.