Deaf or Dead? The Unbearable Choice for some TB Patients

Phumeza Tisile is a student at the University of Cape Town and an advocate working to help eradicate TBBy Phumeza TisileCAPE TOWN, Oct 3 2018 (IPS)Like death, hearing loss is irreversible. I never imagined that I would have to choose between the two until seven years ago when I became infected with tuberculosis (TB), a contagious disease caused by an airborne bacterium. TB is curable, but some strains are resistant to first line treatment, which can be the beginning of a nightmare for the infected person, as I found out in 2010. I was in the first year of undergraduate studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. Life was normal. I had normal conversations with people. I listened to music and watched TV shows with no subtitles. I could hear.Things changed when I began losing weight, rapidly enough to raise questions in my mind, I went to a doctor. After several rounds of testing, all of which came up negative for any serious ailments, the doctor recommended a chest X-ray. It showed that I had TB.I took the prescribed medications but over time, the doctors were concerned that I was getting worse instead of improving. Another test showed that I had MDR-TB. The doctors said I would need to take up to 25 tablets a day for two years, including an injection called Kanamycin. That I would take once a day for at least six months. My normal life turned into distant memories.I was a willing patient immediately, taking the treatment exactly as the doctors inst...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Population Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news