 One day I was just I noticed I was coughing a lot and that I was really tired So I went to the doctor one day and they said you have TB. I can't get TV from Fox and knives All it takes is one cough. I live in a nice neighborhood. I definitely never thought that it would happen to me, but You know, I can't go back erase it and make it never have happened Time went on and I found out that I had you mean I have TB disease somebody at my job got TV it even became out to even breathe And telling me I had TB, I don't know. I was just really scared But you know talking to the doctor talking to the nurse and the counselor They kind of cleared me up on it. You know, they let me know the difference between being infected and and having a disease Tuberculosis Commonly called TB is once again a major health problem. It can be contagious It can damage your body and if not treated it can kill you But it's important understand that TV can be prevented treated and cured to protect yourself against TB learn the facts Hi, I'm Louis dawgley between 10 and 15 million Americans have TB infection and about 10% of them may develop the disease to Understand tuberculosis. It's essential to understand the difference between TB infection and TB disease People with TB infection are not sick. They cannot spread the disease to others People with active TB disease are sick. They can spread the disease to others and if not treated they can become seriously ill The word tuberculosis puts fear in people's minds Raises questions and causes confusion. How do you find out if you have TB? What are the symptoms for TB? Yeah, I heard about it, but I really don't know what it is and every time I get on the bus And someone sneezes I get scared. I mean someone at my office would actually get the disease I didn't even know it existed TB can be traced to ancient times And just a few decades ago. It was a number one killer of adults in the United States The only weapons were fresh air sunshine and long-term bedrest, but with new drugs TB was conquered Or so it seemed Today TB is staged to come back. If you read only the headlines you may be alarmed Every day healthcare workers counsel people They administer the TB skin test to determine if a person is infected with TB and they answer the most often asked questions like How do you get TB? TB is a disease caused by bacteria that spread through the air The bacteria gets into the air when someone who has active TB disease coughs or sneezes or sneezes If you spend a lot of time around that person you can breathe in the bacteria and get infected with TB Most people get infected from close day-to-day contact with a family member Friend or a co-worker who has the active disease my boyfriend Troy got the TB disease and I don't know how he got it But I got exposed to it and the people from the health department told me that I should take the skin test To find out what was up and I did and it was positive and I free and I didn't want to tell my family at all But the people at the health department really helped me out and made me feel so much better Cindy thought she got infected by sharing her boyfriend's dishes or using his towels These beliefs are based on myths You don't get TB by one single cough You don't get TB by sharing the same household utensils or sitting on a toilet seat TB is spread through the air by a person with TB disease Who is coughing the infectious? TB bacteria into the air Cindy spent a lot of time with her boyfriend while he was contagious She got the infection by breathing in TB bacteria It is essential to understand what TB infection is People with TB infection have breathed in the bacteria and have them in their bodies However, these bacteria are inactive. It's like they're sleeping after TB bacteria enter the body Body defenses control the bacteria by building a wall around them the way a scab forms over a cut The bacteria can stay alive inside these walls, but they are not active While they are not active the bacteria can't do damage to the body, and they don't make you sick. This is TB infection People who just have TB infection cannot spread the bacteria to others How are you doing to me? I'm all right. How are you? Okay? How's Troy? He's been great Cindy is taking medicine to prevent TB disease from developing This is preventive treatment Now she comes to the clinic once a month to get her supply of medicine and for checkup I've been taking this stuff for like two months now Every day I've been doing really good The Department of Health assured her everything would be absolutely confidential and they would help her complete her treatment This hand again the nurse was just telling me that most people who have TB infection do not develop the disease But some people have a greater risk of developing TB disease That's why we recommend some people with TB infection take medicine to prevent TB disease from developing It's called preventive treatment. I decided to take the preventive treatment like they suggested and I know I'm not gonna get the disease If people do not take preventive treatment or they have a weakened immune system, they may develop TB disease But what is TB disease? TB disease develops when body defenses cannot keep the bacteria inside the walls they have built around them The TB bacteria break out of the walls begin multiplying and can damage the lungs or other organs TB disease can make you very sick if it goes untreated. It can kill you People with active TB disease can have any of the following symptoms cough for more than three weeks fever chills night sweats fatigue decreased appetite chest pain coughing up blood and weight loss. I noticed I was coughing a lot and that I was really tired So I went to the doctor one day and they said you have TB Cecilia had a chest x-ray and a medical evaluation she found out she had TB disease and next thing I know I'm feeling really bad you know and I turn around and I'm in the hospital I didn't even feel like a good mother at that point And I just didn't want to look at it that I could actually be sick and and that I could die Now Cecilia is taking medicine. She's no longer contagious and soon she'll be cured of TB Not all people are at risk for being infected with TB But some people are and should get a TB skin test. It's called a PPD It's important to know who's at risk and who should be tested Who did you say should be tested? Anyone who has close day-to-day contact with a person with active TB disease should get PPD skin tested Others who should also be tested are those with HIV infection or other conditions that weaken the immune system People who inject drugs the foreign born from areas of the world where TB is common and people who live in long-term care Facilities such as nursing homes shelters and correctional facilities Your doctor can give you the test or you can go to your local Department of Health You've got to do everything you can in order to keep well my friend Bob. He's like a brother to me You know and he convinced me to go get this TB test now ain't gonna lie. It was scared So a while ago I found out I was HIV positive then I found out I had TB infection Let me tell you it was a lot to deal with But then I found out I could take some medicine and that would help me stay healthy word. That's what I did The fact is TB is back and it's once again a serious public health issue If you think you're at risk get a TB skin test with today's medicine TB is preventable and curable Now that I know the facts, I know that I can get better I'm taking the preventive treatment and I know I'm gonna be just fine But now that I got all the facts, I'm glad I got tested