Tuberculosis (TB) is one of most deadly diseases know globally. It is an infectious disease occurring in many developing and developed countries as well. However, more patients can be seen coming from developing nations. According to WHO (World Health Organisation), 9 million people suffer from TB in a year. Tuberculosis is one of the diseases leading to deaths among women aged between 15 to 40 years.

The main cause of TB is a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is an infectious disease that is also contagious. However, tuberculosis can be of two varying types:

Latent TB- In this case, the bacteria causing TB remains inactive in a person s body and does not show any signs and symptoms of TB. However, it may become active. An estimated 2 million people have latent TB and need to be treated.
Active TB- The bacteria causing TB is active and results in various symptoms which can be transmitted from one person to another.
Some of the signs and symptoms of active TB are:

Severe Cough
Coughing up Blood (Hemoptysis)
Chest Pain
Loss of Weight
Fatigue
Fever
Night Sweats
Decreased Appetite
Feeling Cold
Having Difficulty in Breathing
Swollen Lymph Nodes
There are other types of TB occurring among people that have many more symptoms:

Skeletal TB (Pott s Disease)
TB Meningitis- headaches, mental changes and coma
TB Arthritis- usually pain in knees and joints
Genitourinary TB- dysuria, flank pain, increased frequency, masses or lumps
Gastrointestinal TB- problem in swallowing, ulcers, mal-absorption and diarrhoea
Military TB- It is basically small nodules that occur in organs
Pleural TB- This basically refers to the respiratory problems of empyema and pleural effusions
Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB)- People suffering from TB and having medications for it may develop a resistant to certain drugs over time.
XDR TB- Patients being drug resistant to tuberculosis drugs. XDR stands for extensively drug-resistant.
Caseous TB- Necrotic (dead and dying) tissue infected with TB has a dry and cheesy appearance.
These were some of the symptoms associated with various types of Tuberculosis. However, its diagnosis may range of doing a skin test to blood tests to x-rays to sputum tests. Along with this doctors use a stethoscope to listen to the sounds of lungs.

What you need to keep in mind is that TB affects other parts of the body as well. If you are having tuberculosis in your kidneys, then it results in loss of blood through urine. So you need to observant and report to your doctor accordingly.

As TB is a contagious disease, its treatments require certain medications which have to be consumed for a period of 6 months. For effective results and better recovery, doctors advise patients to complete the full course of medications.

TB Symptoms - What Are The Signs Of Tuberculosis?

Asthma is a condition characterized by wheezing and difficulty in breathing. Asthma is a common disease that affects children, teenagers and adults alike. Depending on what triggers an asthmatic attack, asthma can be categorized as four types. These are:

1. Allergic asthma: this sort of asthma usually begins in childhood and is caused by the overproduction of immunoglobulins as a reaction to the allergen. This type of asthma can also be passed on from one generation to another through genes.

2. Infective asthma: this is caused by viral bronchial or upper respiratory tract infections. It is not hereditary.

3. Emotional asthma
Some cases of asthma can be triggered by psychological factors such as stress, grief or anxiety. 
However, it is not clear if this is the sole trigger for asthma.

4. Occupational asthma: exposure to metallic dusts, biological detergents, polyurethane, etc. Can also trigger asthmatic attacks. This type of asthma is called occupational asthma.

A homeopath will not only determine the type of asthma, but will also delve into a detailed medical history of the patient before prescribing medication. Some forms of homeopathic medication that can be used to treat asthma are:

1. Lpecac: this is used to treat asthma in cases where the difficulty breathing is accompanied by a feeling of heaviness over the chest, dyspnoea, constant coughing with no expectoration and cold perspiration. It is often aggravated by motion.

2. Arsenicum: asthmatic attacks that begin in the middle of the night and are accompanied by restlessness and anguish can be treated with arsenicum. This is especially beneficial in cases of chronic asthma in elderly people and habitual dyspnoea.

3. Nux vomica: this is used mainly to treat asthmatic attacks triggered by gastric troubles or be excessive intake of coffee and alcohol. A constricted feeling around the lower part of the chest is another symptom of this type of asthma.

4. Kali bichromicum: asthmatic attacks that wake a patient up in the wee hours of the morning compelling him to sit up, in order to be able to breathe can be treated with kali bichromicum. A stringy yellow mucus expectoration is another symptom of this type of asthma. It can also be used as an effective form of treatment for asthmatic attacks caused by nervousness.

5. Natrum sulphuricum: this is used to treat asthmatic attacks caused by a change in weather. In such cases, the asthmatic attack is accompanied by diarrhea and greenish expectoration. It is usually worst in the early mornings.

Homeopathic Cure for Asthma

The symptoms of tuberculosis (tb), which is active might vary and depend on which part of the body is infected. Diagnosing tb just from its symptoms can be a difficult, as the symptoms are not for tb alone meaning the symptoms can be of other diseases as well. For the confirmation and diagnosis of tb one must get a test done for tb. However, the general symptoms of tb are tiredness, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, chills and night sweats.

Symptoms of pulmonary tb
Pulmonary tb is the tb of lungs. The symptoms of this are bad cough, which might have lasted for more than 3 weeks, chest pain, blood or phlegm might occur on coughing.

Extrapulmonary tb
The tb of any body part other than pulmonary is called extrapulmonary tb. This type of tb does not affect the lungs with the exception being the extrapulmonary tb also known as pleural tb. General symptoms of extrapulmonary tb are same as general symptoms of pulmonary tb.

Symptoms of lymph node tb
Lymph node tb also known as lymphadenitis is basically the enlargement and the inflammation of the lymph nodes. This is a response to the infections especially in children. The symptoms of this might be painless slow growing lymph nodes. These swollen lymph nodes can be in the neck area, though they might also be present in the groin. Lymph node tb of the neck is also called as scrofula or tb adenitis.

Symptoms of skeletal (bone and joint) tb
The common and the first symptoms are pain and depend on the area of the joint or the bone affected. Often it is marked with the loss of movement and curving of the affected bones and joints. The affected area also weakens and is prone to fractures.

Spinal tb is also called as pott disease or tb spondylitis
The symptoms of this depend on the affected site and the stage of the disease. However, back pain is one of the earliest symptoms.

Symptoms of meningitis tb
The meningitis tb starts with classical symptoms of meningitis. It usually starts with symptoms of pains and aches, fever and vague and unwell feeling. These might last for 2-8 weeks and then the evident symptoms like headaches, seizures, vomiting and stiffness might occur.

Symptoms of gastrointestinal or abdominal tb
This is marked with diarrhea, abdominal pain and bleeding from rectum and anus, though the symptoms depend on the exact site.

Symptoms of tb in children
The symptoms depend on the type and site, though the common ones being weight loss, fever and cough.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

Acute sinusitis is a type of infection of the sinus. It involves an infection or inflammation of your sinus membranes. The most common symptom of sinusitis is that you have trouble draining mucus from your nose. The sinus is the cavity around the nasal passage and it may swell up when this condition occurs. Usually, the symptoms are temporary. However, sometimes, especially if you suffer from chronic sinusitis,medical intervention is required.

Saline Nasal Spray: This is a spray you put into your nose several times a day to clean your nasal passages.
Nasal Corticosteroids: There are many types of nasal corticosteroids. They include fluticasone, budesonide, mometasone, beclomethsone. These nasal sprays not only help to treat inflammation, they help prevent to prevent inflammation as well.
Aspirin: This is a type of OTC pain relievers and they help relieve the pain of acute sinusitis. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are two other OTC pain relievers which can be used instead of aspirin.
Antibiotics: Antibiotics are usually not required and should never be taken without the doctor's prescription. However, sometimes the doctor may recommend it if he thinks there is a bacterial infection or if the symptoms progress rapidly.
Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy is given when allergies are the reason you are having acute sinusitis. It is rarely needed, however.
Surgery: For sinusitis symptoms which are chronic or occur frequently, nasal surgery may be the best option for permanent relief. A number of different surgical procedures can be used to treat acute sinusitis such as balloon sinuplasty, endoscopic sinus surgery etc.

Treatment of Acute Sinusitis

Tonsillitis, in the easiest terms, is the swelling of tonsils in our throat that is accompanied by symptoms like throat pain, difficulty in swallowing/ drinking, altered voice and fever etc.

As in the case of most infections, the occurrence of tonsillitis is more common in children due to relatively lower immunity and habits that invite infections. Let's take a look at the first line of defence when you have a cranky child with swollen tonsils.

1. Make your child gargle with salty warm water: This treatment is most helpful in any infection in the mouth. Add half teaspoonful of salt to a glass of warm water and make the child gargle with the mixture as many times in the day as possible (to a maximum of 5 times). Continue till the condition prevails.

Make sure the child spits out the water and not drinks it.

2. Antibiotics: Consult the ent specialist and have the antibiotics if it is a bacterial cause as per the doctor. Take the alternative treatment prescribed in case of other causes. The entire course of medication should be completed even if the kid gets better sooner to eliminate all traces of bacteria.

3. Painkiller/numbing lozenges: Painkillers that are prescribed by the doctor can be given to ease the pain. Same is the case with lozenges but care should be taken that he/she should not have too many of these.

4. Allow him/her to take rest: It does help in a betterment of the condition!

5. Give warm (not hot) soothing food: Soup, ginger honey mixture, ginger tea can help soothe the inflamed tonsils in most cases. The condition, more often than not, gets better within 7-10 days.


Best Ways to Deal With Tonsillitis in Kids

The term asthma and bronchial asthma are often used interchangeably. Bronchial asthma refers to the chronic inflamation of the airways either due to some internal or environmental allergen. This leads to the narrowing of airways, which makes breathing difficult and blocks air from entering the lungs. Children are most affected by this condition as the immune system is still in the process of maturity and often grows out of it as they age. However, if not treated, this can lead to many complications like respiratory failure and can prove to be fatal. Asthma cases often spike in winter months and in the flowering season. It can also be triggered by second hand or passive smoke, stress, sudden unaccustomed physical exercise, food additives, dust, house mites, perfumes, certain drugs and many other allergens. A family history of asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and other allergic conditions can also increase a child s risk of suffering from this condition.

Some of the most noticeable symptoms of bronchial asthma include:

1. Wheezing 
2. Shortness of breath 
3. Excessive coughing that worsens at night 
4. Tightness of the chest 
5. Lowered energy levels 
6. Rapid breathing 
7. Tiredness 
8. Indrawing of chest and lower neck

These symptoms often worsen after exercising. Lung function test and Chest X-ray are often used to confirm a diagnosis of bronchial asthma. Once diagnosis is being confirmed, it should be categorized as per severity. Your doctor may prescribe medication in the form of pills and inhalants as per the category of disease. It is important to note that these cannot cure asthma, but can help manage it. Inhalers deliver low doses of steroids directly to the lungs to reduce inflammation and other inhaled medication like Beta 2 agonist will open the airway by relaxing the muscles of airway. Children suffering from asthma must be taught how to use the inhalers and should always have it with them. In the case of school going children, their teachers should also be informed about the condition. Parents should also know how to keep it, use it and clean the device in a proper and hygienic way.

In very small kids those inhalational medication can be given by face mask and spacer, but as the age grows or in case of elder children above 6 years of age, they can directly take the medication from spacer. Those children who are already on inhalers, but still face asthma attack , for them nebuliser is the better choice to manage the emergency. It will make the liquid medicine into mist and enters into the air passage easily and work promptly.

In addition, certain lifestyle changes can also help reduce the frequency of asthmatic attacks. Avoid going outdoors on windy days or days when air pollutant level is high. Reduce the child s exposure to allergens like pet hair, dander and dust by dusting and vacuuming on a weekly basis. Avoid the use of humidifiers inside your house as moist air can promote the infestation of dust mites. Try to keep the child in a room with adequate air and sunlight. Take plenty of green leafy vegetables and fruits, which contain lots of vitamins and minerals. If possible get your child to wear cover his or her nose and mouth while in outdoors.

Childhood Asthma - 8 Signs To Look For!

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