I hope we are all focusing on boosting our immunity and staying indoors. This week, we are going to learn about one more similar kind of scourge that spreads easily, and our immune system plays an important role to help us prevent contraction. Every year on March 24, we observe World Tuberculosis Day when various organisations come together to raise awareness about this devastating disease, because it not only hampers the life of the individual who’s suffering from it, but also affects the people staying around that individual, as this is a contagious disease. TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer, though it is preventable and curable, but special measures need to be taken, which we often tend to forget or avoid as we get busy in our work and life.
Why aren’t we able to eradicate TB completely from our country, as it’s a curable disease and should definitely not kill people? Why are people still dying of the disease? Many questions remain, but the answers are never found. We need to first stop the transmission of TB from one adult to another, but how is this possible? This can be done by identifying the people with active TB, after which they should be cured through the provision of medicine and drug treatment that are easily available at government institutions.
Then the infected person should try and self-quarantine for a few days, to avoid the spread. With proper treatment and healthy eating habits, someone with TB will no longer be infectious and hence, the disease will not spread further. Hygiene and precautions such as cough etiquette must be taken into consideration to prevent the spread.
I guess all of us know that you need to take the medications each day, and follow the schedule well to beat active tuberculosis, but are we also aware that getting the right amount of nutrition can help speed up the treatment and healing process? Malnutrition is not acceptable at all, and individuals who are malnourished or underweight (unhealthy) are more likely to get TB, and are also more susceptible to a relapse even after treatment. Malnutrition decreases your immunity, and your body needs to be as strong as possible, to defend itself against any infection or the tuberculosis bacteria.
To give your body all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that it needs to fight the active infection, recoup your strength and stamina. You need to eat a diet that consists of a variety of
healthy foods like whole grain, pulses, fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and healthy fats. Make sure you stay away from processed sugar and processed food that are empty-calorie and have no nutritional value. Keep yourself well-hydrated to flush out toxins from the body.
Finally, sleep is really important, and you need to get almost seven to eight hours of sound sleep, to let your body recover and heal soon.