We all live in heavily polluted cities today and so sore eyes and cough and cold are considered to be common everyday occurrences. Perhaps that's what even these parents thought when their 15-year-old girl's sore eyes refused to heal.
On taking her to the doctor the parents, who belong to Mumbai's Nerul area, figured that the reason for her sore eyes was not pollution but drug-resistant TB (Tuberculosis).
Yes, that's right! And what's more, the girl had no symptoms whatsoever associated with the disease. "We thought it was a stubborn case of sore eyes," the girl's father told the Times of India.
Not just sore eyes...
However, the eye surgeon they contacted knew that it wasn't just another case of sore eyes.
"It didn't seem like a sore eyes symptom. I thought it could be an associated condition to, say, pneumonia as there have been cases reported in medical literature of pneumonia affecting the eye," says eye surgeon Dr P Suresh at Fortis hospital Mulund.
Rani was then put on numerous tests which confirmed her condition
"We put her through blood tests and a CT scan that confirmed she had MDR TB. A rapid test called GeneXpert confirmed that she had MDR TB," said Dr Anita Mathew, who is an infectious disease specialist.
Rani would now undergo six months of intensive treatment to cure her of drug-resistant TB.
"She has to take daily injections for six months as a part of the treatment, but they are painful," adds Rani's mother.
Some of the common symptoms of tuberculosis are:
- A bad cough, that might include blood while coughing, lasting for more than 3 weeks
- Pain in chest
- Chronic fatigue and weakness
- Extreme weight loss
- A loss of appetite
- Fever with chills
- Night sweating
While these are the most common ones, the symptoms may vary depending on the part of the bod that has been affected by TB.
For instance, a person with tuberculosis in the lymph nodes will have a swollen throat and TB in the bones can cause severe joint pain.
It's best to consult your doctor if you experience any symptoms that refuse to go. Read more about the various kinds of TB and its symptoms, here.
Read: Mumbai boy diagnosed with skull bone TB
[Images courtesy: Pixabay]
