Tuberculosis

For a lay person:

Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that most often affects the lungs. It causes a long-lasting cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss, and spreads through the air.

For a trained medical person:

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection; diagnosis by sputum microscopy, culture and molecular tests. It is treated with a multi-drug regimen for at least six months under public-health supervision. Herbal treatment is no substitute.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Lung yin debility and detriment; Yin deficiency with fire effulgence; Qi and yin deficiency; Deficiency cold; Yin and Yang Deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: See a doctor for a cough lasting more than three weeks, especially with night sweats or weight loss. TB must be treated with the full course of prescribed antibiotics.