Tuberculosis in Children

Tuberculosis disease is often found in children. It is true that this disease is more frequently found in the environmental community that lives less healthy and low incomes. However, it did not mean that they have been living healthy and adequate nutrition may not contagious.

We can be contagious germs of tuberculosis (TB) if contact with tuberculosis patients. Your child can be in contact with people outside the home because he was already in school. At home he was not only the contact with the parents and his sisters or brothers, but also possible with the adjuvant, a driver, or others who live in your home.

Immunization against tuberculosis cannot fully guarantee your child will not be exposed to TB. Tuberculosis diagnosis in children sometimes not easy.

You are lucky because the diagnosis done successful. Live therapy is conducted properly. TB drug therapy is available in Indonesia so that the complete success of the therapy is determined more by patient adherence to drink the medicine.

Tuberculosis therapy is done with a combination of anti-tuberculosis (oat) drug treatment, at least for six months. Therapy usually begins with the intensive phase of two months. At this phase of oat is usually given four different and then proceed with further phases of the amount of medicine a little more (usually two).

Please note, the drug, long intensive phase, and duration of therapy depends on the overall situation of the disease. You can ask your child to the doctor about the therapy design.

I am glad you are also concerned about the side effects because the medicine can help your awareness of the possibility of occurrence of these side effects. However, I also hope that you are not too afraid of side effects because oat general side effects are not severe and if there can be overcome. You also need to know only a small part of the oat drink the medication side effects, so that drug side effects problems hopefully not lessen the intention of oat therapy to your child.

Of different types of oat, I will only discuss side effects INH, rifampisin, etambutol, and pirazinamid. INH side effect is hepatitis (liver inflammation), The frequency is low in children. In the adult hepatitis due to INH can range 0.3 to 3 percent. Other side effects are neuropati (feeling of pins in the feet and hands), but usually can be overcome by giving the medicine vitamin B6. While the side effects commonly found in the aberration is rifampisin skin (itching), and hepatitis. Etambutol can cause side effects on the eye, but the frequency is less than 1 percent. However, in the etambutol should do the monitoring. Pirazinamid can also cause side effects on the heart.

In general, if side effects occur, oat suspended or re-used with the dose gradually or replaced. Generally, side effects can be overcome oat and oat therapy can be continued until the patient recovered.

With the attention and support you as a mother, I believe your child will be able to complete the therapy and achieve healing from tuberculosis disease.