Medical Minute: Amy Winehouse does not have TB, but do you?
Amy Winehouse is a sick woman. The British singer has been hospitalized in a London hospital ever since fainting at home on June 16.
Winehouse was not diagnosed with the sometimes fatal lung infection Tuberculosis as some online reports suggested.
But you could be infected with Tuberculosis right now and not even know it.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious lung infection caused by inhaling an airborne bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
When a person with active TB coughs or sneezes, the bacterium becomes airborne and is then inhaled by people nearby. It isn’t just the homeless who are infected with TB: anyone can catch TB. As a matter of fact, some TB patients are well-to-do people who travel in Third World countries or underdeveloped nations where access to medical care is limited or non-existent.
You can very likely contract TB from the doctor or lawyer sitting next to you on a plane, or from a co-worker who recently returned from a trip to Africa. Most people with TB don’t know they have it because the germ is usually subdued by the body’s immune system which sends blood cells to attack it.
The problem is the TB germ can trick the body into thinking it’s dead when in fact it is lying dormant inside the lung until it’s awakened years later by an immune system that is weakened by other illnesses.
People who have the dormant or latent TB infection cannot infect others. They will not have symptoms and can live with the infection for a lifetime without ever becoming ill. When the infection is “awakened” or becomes active – that person is considered a threat to public health and must be treated immediately.
Those with active infections who refuse to comply with their treatment regimen (which can take up to 9 months to complete) can be arrested and detained for treatment.
The symptoms of active TB infection are:
- weakness or fatigue
- weight loss
- no appetite
- chills
- fever
- sweating at night
- productive or non-productive cough
A positive skin test (PPD) does not mean you have active TB. Further testing is needed to determine if you are active (contagious). Even if you are not contagious you should still seek treatment to prevent the disease from becoming active. As always, consult your doctor if you experience any symptoms or have any questions.
This has been your Medical Minute!
15 Responses to “Medical Minute: Amy Winehouse does not have TB, but do you?”
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Thanks Sandy for keeping us informed!…Recently, I read that Amy has emphysema from all of the crack smoke!..
Thanks for the medical minute
truly sad to see the road that she has choosen.
Amy whinehouse is a crack pipe away…
Thanks for the medical minute, I was exposed to TB a few years ago and was forced to take sh*t loads of pills, its a pain but I guess it beats dying
I swear I read one more of these medical minutes and my ass is buying a damn bubble!
yup i work in healthcare and we constantly get tested for that because of the risk for exposure.
sidenote: i read yesterday that amy winehouse has emphysema and her dad said that if she smokes drugs again it can kill her. hopes she gets better
Just went and got a TB shot yesterday 6/23. It is mandatory and I don’t even have patient contact. I know that B!tch of a nurse tried her best to jab that needle in further than “just under the skin”.
I would have rathered they drew blood. She murdered my arm.
I go get it re-checked tomorrow.
Sandra said:
The symptoms of active TB infection are:
weakness or fatigue
weight loss
no appetite
chills
fever
sweating at night
productive or non-productive cough
____________________________________________
Damn, those symptoms sound the same as when somebody is infected with the ABCD-HIV/AIDS.
prynsexx… I was thinking the same thing!!!
Well thanks for the Medical Minute but I want Nelly for my Morning WOOD!!!!
Now, they are saying she doesn’t have emphysema….I just hopes she gets her health and life together so she can enjoy it. Especially, being so young.
prynsexxx Says:
Sandra said:
The symptoms of active TB infection are:
weakness or fatigue
weight loss
no appetite
chills
fever
sweating at night
productive or non-productive cough
____________________________________________
Damn, those symptoms sound the same as when somebody is infected with the ABCD-HIV/AIDS.
Or somebody with “I-hate-my-damn-job-itis”
@ prynsexxx, yea the nurse at my job jacked my arm up too!! i mean i had a bruise on my arm for awhile that just now went away!!
Returning from Africa? Okkkkkk…
This crack whore!!…TB, HIV, in this chick’s case…it still translates to CRACK ADDICTION!
I saw a ticker on E! that she had Emphesema (sp). That says so much when you’re like 24/26 and you’ve jacked your lungs up that bad.