If someone among your family or close associates is found to be sick with active TB, you should see your doctor and be tested for tuberculosis  .

• The dangerous contact time is before treatment. However, once treatment with drugs starts, the sick person is noncontagious within a few weeks.
• If you develop any side effects from medications — such as itching, change in color of skin, tiredness, or excessive fatigue—call your doctor immediately.

Prevention:  Pulmonary   or lung Tuberculosis is contagious

Treatment to prevent TB in a single person aims to kill walled-up germs that are doing no damage right now, but could break out years from now and become active.

• If you should be treated to prevent sickness, your doctor usually prescribes a daily dose of isoniazid (also called INH), an inexpensive TB medicine.
• You will take INH for up to a year, with periodic checkups to make sure you are taking it as prescribed and that it is not causing undesirable side effects.
• Do not spit around or breathe / cough close to any person. Do not share same utensil with others for eating food or drinking fluids.

Treatment also can stop the spread of TB in large populations.

• Tuberculosis vaccine, known as bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) may prevent the spread of tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis in children, but the vaccine does not necessarily protect against pulmonary tuberculosis.
• Health officials generally recommend the vaccine in countries or communities where the rate of new infection is greater than 1% per year.

You can expect to keep your job, to stay with your family, and to lead a normal life. However, you must take your medicine regularly to be sure of a cure and to prevent others from being infected.

• With treatment, your chance of full recovery is very good.
• Without treatment, the disease will progress and lead to disability and death.

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