Tuberculosis Infection: How Does It Spread
This highly contagious disease can only be caught under certain conditions. Find out what they are.
If you find yourself in contact with someone who has tuberculosis , youll probably have one big question on your mind: Am I going to get TB?
While TB is easily passed from person to person under certain circumstances, it generally doesnt spread through casual contact.
How Can You Get TB?
TB is a highly contagious bacterial infection that can quickly spread if not caught, isolated, and treated early. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease, and can be caught by breathing in the air that an infected person has contaminated through:
- Breathing
- Singing
- Sneezing
TB germs must be forced into the air, and to get a tuberculosis infection you must breathe in those germs. But even if you’ve been around an infected person, or breathed in the bacteria they expelled into the air, you still have a chance at escaping TB not everyone who breathes in the bacteria will develop tuberculosis.
Ways You Wont Get TB
If you can get tuberculosis infection by breathing in the air where someone spoke, it should be pretty easy to catch the illness by just touching someone who has TB, right?
Actually, no. You can’t get TB by touching an infected person. Tuberculosis germs don’t stick to clothing or skin they hang out in the air.
You also can’t get TB by:
Who’s Most Contagious?
Who Is Most Susceptible to Tuberculosis?
I Was 12 And He Was My 20
Names and identifying details have been changed.
Over the years, I have called it an “inappropriate relationship.” I have called it “an incident with an older man.” Most frequently, I have called it “the thing that happened that summer.” As in — remember the thing that happened that summer?
I never called it sexual abuse, because it felt like an overly dramatic Oprah-ization of what happened. The word “abuse” seems to imply victimization and has always made me uncomfortable in this instance. Until now, I have been far too politicized to admit the chief reason I never called it sexual abuse in spite of the fact that it would be considered as much from both a criminal and a clinical perspective. The real reason is because I believed I asked for it.
The summer I turned 12, I went to sleepaway camp. I shaved my legs for the first time, dumped Sun-In in my hair and tanned with baby oil. I had my first boyfriend — a skinny, freckly arrogant kid a year my senior who took me for two paddle boat rides and then broke up with me, declaring me a prude and, I was sure, ruining my romantic life forever.
Nathan didnt quite fit in and there were all kinds of rumors circulating about him. He was bisexual he was friendly with Morrissey he was a model for the United Colors of Benetton. I, too, felt like an outsider, never able to summon the same gung-ho camp spirit as the other girls. I imagined Nathan understood me in some fundamental way, he just didnt know it yet.
Some Myths About Inhalers
- Costlier
- Difficult to understand the proper use
- i.Costs: Although the initial cost of the drug in an inhaler is higher, in the long run an inhaler drug works out to be more economical. Better control of asthma reduces the periods of absence from work or school. Furthermore, all the expensive hospital bills of poorly controlled Asthma are saved.
- ii.Difficulties to use: Proper use of inhalers requires good understanding of the technique. It is especially challenging to the elderly and small children. With time and patience proper use of inhalers can be explained well to ensure their effective use.
Incorrect use is the most common reason for poor response to inhalers.
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How Many Doses Of The Pneumococcal Vaccine Do I Need
Most adults only need the vaccine once. But your doctor may recommend you get another shot if its been a while since you have the vaccine or for other reasons. Ask your doctor how often you need the shot.
You do not have to get the pneumococcal vaccine every year, like the flu shot. You may only need to get it once and a booster shot a few years later. Find out what your doctor recommends.
Asthma And Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal disease is caused by bacteria. There are two main types of pneumococcal disease.
Non-invasive pneumococcal disease can cause infections on the ears, sinuses or lungs.
Invasive pneumococcal disease is a lot more serious and can even be life-threatening. IPD can lead to pneumonia, bacteremia, sepsis or meningitis. Each year, approximately 3,000 cases of IPD are reported in Canada. Most are among the very young or the elderly .
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How Does Astma Spread Are You Stupid
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How Do You Get Asthma
- Doctors know, however, that asthma can sometimes run in families.
- Asthma attacks can be set off by many different things, these are called triggers. Examples include cold air, vigorous exercise and stress.
- These triggers may also include ‘allergens’. These are present in the environment and contain chemicals that trigger allergic reactions.
- Allergens include, for example, pollen, animal danders, house dust, pollution, some foods, perfumes and cigarette smoke.
- Allergens cause the lining of the airways to become swollen and inflamed. It produces extra mucus and the muscles of the airways tighten. There is then less room for the air to pass in and out.
- Attacks may be more frequent or severe in people who have a chest infection.
Read Also: Small Airway Disease Examples
What Happens When You Get Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal disease can lead to many different illnesses. What illness you get depends on where the bacteria goes in your body. If the bacteria spreads to your lungs, it can cause pneumonia. The bacteria can also get into the bloodstream and cause sepsis. If the bacteria gets to the central nervous system, it can cause meningitis. All forms of pneumococcal disease are very dangerous.2-4
Struggling With Intimacy And Sex With Asthma
I decided to share this story because I am very confident that my partner is not the only one that feels this way. You might not consider using your inhaler sexy, but it may be necessary to use before, during, and after being intimate with your partner. Talking about asthma, intimacy, and sex can feel uncomfortable, but it is important because this is an aspect of your asthma that can feel alienating.
Do you feel embarrassed to have sex because you know it will set off your asthma? Well, you are not alone! In a survey done by Asthma UK, two-thirds of people with asthma said that their sex lives have been directly affected by their condition.1 It is very common for sex to cause asthma symptoms like coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath to arise. Sadly, these symptoms are enough for some people to completely avoid being intimate with their partners.
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Noncontagious Types Of Pneumonia
Its possible to have pneumonia that cant spread to other people. Fungal pneumonia and aspiration pneumonia are examples of pneumonias that arent usually contagious.
Fungal pneumonia typically occurs in people that have a weakened immune system or other serious health issues. The fungi that causes this type of pneumonia is usually found in soil. Youre not generally contagious if you have fungal pneumonia. Thats because its caused by inhaled fungi from your environment, not spread from person to person.
Aspiration pneumonia is not contagious because it is caused by inhaling food or liquid into your lungs. This can happen in people who have had a stroke or have other neurologic conditions.
Allergies Can Cause Asthma
Allergies with asthma is a common problem. Eighty percent of people with asthma have allergies to things in the air, like tree, grass, and weed pollens mold animal dander dust mites and cockroach droppings. In one study, children with high levels of cockroach droppings in their homes were four times more likely to have childhood asthma than children with low levels. An allergy to dust mites is another common asthma trigger.
If you have asthma thatâs hard to control, see an allergist to find out if you have allergies. Treating your allergies with medication and avoiding your triggers can help lower the odds of a severe asthma attack.
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How Does Pneumococcal Disease Spread
In Canada, invasive pneumococcal disease is more common during the winter and spring. IPD can spread from an infected person to another by close contact such as kissing, coughing, and sneezing or sharing items such as cigarettes, toys, and musical instruments. Your risk of pneumococcal infection increases if you get the flu.
Why Does Sex Trigger Asthma Symptoms
The good news is, if youre managing your asthma well, you can feel more confident about having sex without asthma symptoms getting in the way.
Sex is like exercise – it gets our heartbeat going and we breathe more rapidly. And like exercise, if sex triggers your asthma symptoms breathlessness, coughing, wheezing, tight chest – it probably means your asthma isnt as well controlled as it could be.
Watch out for other sex triggers too
- Heightened emotions like excitement
- Scented products like perfume, aftershave, scented candles, or oils
- Indoor triggers like dust, pets, wood burning stoves, or cigarette smoke
- Latex allergy – latex is used in most condoms and can trigger asthma symptoms if you have a known allergy to it
- Some sexual positions might make it harder for you to breathe.
Also Check: Can Someone Die From An Asthma Attack
What Are The Symptoms
Asthma can be different for everyone. Asthma symptoms can also vary over time, with few or no symptoms when asthma is well controlled. The common signs and symptoms of poorly controlled asthma include:
- Shortness of breath
- Trouble sleeping because of breathing difficulty
- Being unable to take part in physical activities without breathing difficulty
These symptoms can occur slowly over hours or days, or they can come on as sudden, recurring attacks after which the symptoms can persist for some time before disappearing. If left untreated, asthma can cause permanent structural changes in your airways called airway remodelling, which is why it is important to get your asthma under control and keep treating it over the long term.
What If I Have To Say Goodbye To My Pet
If you try all these things and are still having lots of asthma flare-ups, you might need to find another home for your pet. You may feel lots of different emotions from sadness to anger. These feelings might be so strong that they make it hard to eat, sleep, or concentrate. This is a natural part of losing something that is precious to you.
How you handle things depends on your personality. You may want to be so busy so that you aren’t home to miss your pet, or you may want to spend time every day looking at pictures of you together.
There is no right or wrong way to handle feelings of loss. You might find it helpful to talk about it with friends, family, or a counselor.
It takes months for an animal’s allergens to leave the house, so it might take a while before your symptoms improve.
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Who Is At Highest Risk For Getting Very Sick From Covid
Some people who are infected may not get sick at all, some will get mild symptoms from which they will recover easily, and others may become very ill, very quickly.
From previous knowledge with other Coronaviruses, the people most at risk of serious infection are:
- people with compromised immune systems
- people with diagnosed chronic medical conditions
- elderly people
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- very young children and babies*
*At this stage the risk to children and babies, and the role children play in the transmission of COVID-19, is not clear. However, there has so far been a low rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases among children, relative to the broader population.
People with asthma
There is no specific data as yet to determine if asthmatics are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. However, a common trigger for worsening asthma symptoms for asthma flare-ups or asthma attacks are respiratory infections such as colds and viruses. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus.
From the information gathered so far, people with a chronic medical condition like asthma may be at more risk of a serious Coronavirus infection compared to those without chronic medical conditions. The primary point is to do what you can, as usual, to avoid cold and flu pay close attention to personal hygiene, wash hands regularly, avoid close contact with people with symptoms and obtain a flu vaccination as soon as possible.
Planning ahead
In essence, it means:
Asthma medication
Caring For Your Symptoms At Home
Many chest infections aren’t serious and get better within a few days or weeks. You won’t usually need to see your GP, unless your symptoms suggest you have a more serious infection .
While you recover at home, you can improve your symptoms by:
- getting plenty of rest
- drinking lots of fluid to prevent dehydration and to loosen the mucus in your lungs, making it easier to cough up
- treating headaches, fever and aches and pains with painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen
- drinking a warm drink of honey and lemon to relieve a sore throat caused by persistent coughing
- raising your head up with extra pillows while you’re sleeping to make breathing easier
- using an air humidifier or inhaling steam from a bowl of hot water to ease your cough
- stopping smoking
Avoid cough medicines, as there’s little evidence they work, and coughing actually helps you clear the infection more quickly by getting rid of the phlegm from your lungs.
Antibiotics aren’t recommended for many chest infections, because they only work if the infection is caused by bacteria, rather than a virus.
Your GP will usually only prescribe antibiotics if they think you have pneumonia, or you’re at risk of complications such as fluid building up around the lungs .
If there’s a flu outbreak in your local area and you’re at risk of serious infection, your GP may also prescribe antiviral medication.
Read more about treating bronchitis and treating pneumonia
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Section I What Should You Know
- Introduction
In ancient Indian philosophy, Breath is given the most important status among different functions of human body which sustain life. Even today, a common man identifies life with breathing. Breathing problems are therefore considered very serious. They are potentially fatal and therefore, their treatment is urgent.
- What is Breathing?
Breathing is the movement of air in and out of the lungs. Atmospheric air which contains 20.1% oxygen is taken into the lungs and in a fraction of a second transferred into the blood to be distributed to the whole body with the help of the pumping force of the heart.
As we breathe, air passes through the nose and then into the wind pipe . The trachea then divides into two branches to supply air to the left and right lungs. Once inside the lung each bronchus again divides into several thousands of branches to distribute air to 30 crore air sacs. The inside of these bronchioles is lined by a velvety lining . These wind tubes are covered from outside with thin strips of muscle which can squeeze the tube when they contract.
- Asthma What actually Happens?
In Asthma the normally pink and thin mucosa is swollen and red , thus reducing the inner diameter of the bronchiole. To make matters worse, the ribbons of muscle around the bronchioles contract and constrict the tubes, referred to as . To appreciate the difficulty of breathing through these narrowed air passages, one may try to breathe for a 30 seconds through a straw!
- Management
Bacteria That Can Be Transmitted By Kissing
Examples of bacteria that can be transmitted during kissing include:
- Meningococcal disease this is a potentially life-threatening condition which includes meningitis, inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, and septicaemia. These bacteria can be spread either through direct contact or via droplets. Studies show that, with respect to kissing, only deep kissing seems to be a risk factor.
- Tooth decay the bacteria that cause tooth decay arent found in the mouths of newborn babies. A babys mouth must be colonised with infected saliva, which can be passed by a kiss on the lips.
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Risks Of Pneumococcal Disease
Anyone can get pneumococcal disease but some people are at higher risk of infection or its complications. Every child under the age of 2 is at higher risk of IPD. Also, children with an immunocompromising condition or chronic illness such as: asthma, diabetes HIV chronic kidney, liver or heart disease absent or poorly working spleen nephrotic syndrome chronic neurologic conditions causing difficulty with oral secretions CSF leaks transplants immune deficiency sickle cell disease and children with cochlear implants or on immunosuppressive therapy.
Adults with the following conditions are also at higher risk of IPD: asthma, HIV, diabetes, heart disease and adults:
- who are smokers
- with alcoholism
- living in long-term care facilities
Invasive pneumococcal disease is most common in the very young and the elderly . You may also be at high risk for IPD if you:
- have certain chronic conditions
- have chronic organ disease
- have a non-functioning or missing spleen
- have a cochlear implant
- have a weakened immune system or are immune suppressed
Your risk for getting IPD can also be impacted by environmental or lifestyle factors.