TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR

TUBERCULOSIS
(TB)
What to Expect and How to Stay Healthy
 TREATING YOUR
TUBERCULOSIS
(TB)
If you’re one of the many New Yorkers
with TB, finding treatment and support
is important. TB is a serious disease, but
it’s curable with the right treatment. The
sooner you start, the better you will feel.

Disclaimer: All photos used are for illustrative purposes

only. Any person depicted is a model.
LEARN ABOUT
THE TWO If you have latent TB, the TB germs in your

STAGES OF TB
body are “sleeping.”
If you have active TB, the TB germs in your
body are multiplying. Active TB usually
A positive TB test means you have TB affects your lungs, but it can also affect
germs in your body. Your doctor may do other parts of your body.
more tests to see if you have latent TB When a person with active TB coughs,
or active TB. speaks or sneezes, germs spread through
the air. Others who breathe in the germs
Latent (LAY-tuhnt) Active TB Disease
can get TB.
TB Infection Also called “active TB” or
Also called “latent TB” or “TB disease”
Signs of active TB:
“TB infection” • Coughing for three or more weeks or
coughing up blood

You do not feel sick You feel sick

• Feeling tired and weak
• Loss of appetite and loss of weight

TB test result is TB test result is

• Fever and/or night sweats
usually positive usually positive

You cannot spread You can spread it

it to other people to other people

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PREVENT

ACTIVE TB
“ A few years ago, I got a positive TB skin
test and my doctor told me it was latent
TB. I didn’t take the medicine she gave
me because I felt fine. Last month, I
started feeling very sick; I was coughing
and had a fever. It turns out I now have
active TB. I have to take a lot of medicine,
and I might have made other people sick.
If I had taken my medicine for latent TB,

Latent TB can become active TB if it’s not

treated. Even if you don’t feel sick, it’s
this would not have happened.
”
- Anila, 28, Queens

important to take your medicine to prevent

the TB germs from “waking up” and becoming
active TB.
Active TB can make you very sick. Taking
medicine will help you get better and keep
the germs from spreading to your friends and
family. The sooner you start taking medicine,
the sooner you’ll be able to go back to work
or school.

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MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR Take all of the medicine prescribed

TREATMENT
by your doctor. Even if you feel well
now or start to feel better, you could
start to feel worse if you stop taking
your medicine.
Some illnesses and medications can
weaken your immune system and make • Skipping or missing doses can make your TB
drug-resistant – that means that your
it more likely for latent TB to become medicine can no longer kill the germs in your
active TB. body. Drug-resistant TB is hard to treat and
can take up to two years to cure.
Before and during your treatment for active or
latent TB, tell your doctor if you: o If you miss only one dose, keep taking the
medicine as prescribed.
• Take other medications
o If you miss more than one dose, talk with
• Have HIV/AIDS, diabetes or other your doctor right away.
health problems
• Are or might be pregnant soon • Take extra care of yourself during treatment.
• Are breastfeeding o Don’t drink alcohol. Drinking while taking TB
medicine can hurt your liver.
o Quit smoking. If you need help, call 311 or
1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487), or visit
nyc.gov/health and search “NYC Quits.”

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REMEMBER TO UNDERSTAND
TAKE YOUR THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF
MEDICINE TB TREATMENT
Most people take TB medicine
without problems, while others have
side effects.
If you have any of these side effects, stop taking
your medicine and call your doctor right away:
These tips can help: • Nausea, vomiting or no appetite
• Take your medicine as directed by your doctor. • Abdominal pain
• Keep all of your medicines in the same place. • Blurred or changed vision
• Mark each day you take your medicine on a calendar. • Yellowish skin or eyes
• Post a reminder note to yourself in a room of your • Skin rash or itchiness
house, such as the kitchen.
• Tingling in the fingers or toes
• Set an alarm on your phone or watch.
• Joint pain
• Ask family or friends to remind you to take
your medicine. • Urine that is dark or brown

• Talk to your health care provider about directly • Fever that lasts for three or more days
observed therapy (DOT), a free service that can help
you stay on track with your treatment. See page 14
for more information.

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TALK
WITH YOUR
CASE MANAGER
“ My case manager asked for the names
of my contacts – the people I spent a lot
of time with before starting treatment.
My case manager said she needed to call
or visit with my contacts to let them know
they should be tested for TB. Together,
we made a list of who she should call.
My case manager promised to keep my

”
identity private.
- Carlos, 42, Brooklyn

If you have active TB, a Health

Department case manager will support
you while you are on treatment. This
service is free.
You may have spread TB germs to others, including your
family and friends, by coughing or sneezing. Your case
manager can help them get tested for TB.

Your case manager will talk with you about:

• Your symptoms
• Places you’ve visited
• People you’ve been around
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RESOURCES NEW YORK CITY
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
CHEST CENTERS:
• Provide free services in
1
your language
• Do not require health
insurance 2
• Do not ask about
immigration status
3

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT): When

it’s time to take your medicine, Health
Department staff can meet with you at work,
home, via video conference or at one of the
Health Department’s TB Clinics. They can
answer your questions and help you stay
on track with your treatment. To learn more
about DOT, including how to enroll, talk to 1 Morrisania Chest Center 2 Corona Chest Center
1309 Fulton Ave., 34-33 Junction Blvd.,
your doctor. Second Floor
First Floor
Bronx, NY 10456 Jackson Heights, NY 11372
For more information:
• Visit nyc.gov/health/tb
• Call 311 and ask about TB
3 Fort Greene Chest Center
• Visit cdc.gov/tb 295 Flatbush Ave. Ext.,
Fourth Floor
Brooklyn. NY 11201

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