It is important that you take all the pills prescribed for you so that your preventive therapy is effective. If you start taking INH, you will need to see your doctor or nurse on a regular schedule. He or she will check on how you are doing. Very few people have serious side effects to INH. However, if you have any of the following side effects, call your doctor or nurse right away:
- no appetite
- nausea
- vomiting
- yellowish skin or eyes
- fever for more 3 days
- abdominal pain
- tingling in the fingers and toes
Warning: Drinking alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, and liquor) while taking INH can be dangerous. Check with your doctor or nurse for more information.
What if I Have HIV Infection?
A person can have tuberculosis infection for years without any signs of disease. But if that person's immune system gets weak, the infection can quickly turn into TB disease. Also, if a person who has a weak immune system spends time with someone with infectious TB, he or she may become infected with TB bacteria and quickly develop TB disease.
Because HIV infection weakens the immune system, people with TB infection and HIV infection are at very high risk of developing tuberculosis disease. All HIV-infected people should be given a TB skin test to find out if they have TB infection. If they have TB infection, they need preventive therapy as soon as possible to prevent them from developing TB disease. If they have TB disease, they must take medicine to cure the disease.
TB disease can be prevented or cured in people with HIV infection.
Tuberculosis Disease
How Is Tuberculosis Disease Treated?
There is good news for people with TB disease! TB disease can almost always be cured with medicine. But the medicine must be taken as the doctor or nurse tells you.
The most common drugs used to fight TB are
- isoniazid (INH)
- rifampin
- pyrazinamide
- ethambutol
- streptomycin
If you have TB disease, you will need to take several different drugs. This is because there are many bacteria to be killed. Taking several drugs will do a better job of killing all of the bacteria and preventing them from becoming resistant to the drugs.
If you have TB of the lungs or throat, you are probably infectious. You need to stay home from work or school so that you don't spread TB bacteria to other people. After taking your medicine for a few weeks, you will feel better and you may no longer be infectious to others. Your doctor or nurse will tell you when you can return to work or school.
Having TB should not stop you from leading a normal life. When you are no longer infectious or feeling sick, you can do the same things you did before you had TB. The medicine that you are taking should not affect your strength, sexual function, or ability to work. If you take your medicine as your doctor or nurse tells you, the medicine will kill all the TB bacteria. This will keep you from becoming sick again.
What Are the Side Effects of Drugs for Tuberculosis?
Medicine for tuberculosis is relatively safe. Occasionally, the drugs may cause side effects. Some side effects are minor problems. Others are more serious. If you have a serious side effect, call your doctor or nurse immediately. You may be told to stop taking your medicine or to return to the clinic for tests.
The side effects listed below are serious. If you have any of these symptoms, call your doctor or nurse immediately:
- no appetite
- nausea
- vomiting
- yellowish skin or eyes
- fever for 3 or more days
- abdominal pain
- tingling fingers or toes
- skin rash
- easy bleeding
- aching joints
- dizziness
- tingling or numbness around the mouth
- easy bruising
- blurred or changed vision
- ringing in the ears
- hearing loss
