Tuberculosis (TB): When To Call A Doctor

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When To Call a Doctor

Call your doctor immediately if you have:

• Symptoms (such as an ongoing cough with fever, fatigue, and weight loss) that could be caused by tuberculosis (TB).
• Been in close contact with someone who has untreated active TB, which can be spread to others, or you have had lengthy close contact with someone you think has untreated active TB.
• Blurred vision or color blindness and are taking ethambutol for TB.
• Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice) or you have abdominal pain and you are taking isoniazid or other medications for TB.

Call your doctor if you:

• Have recently had a TB skin test and you have a red bump at the needle site. You need to have a reaction measured by a health professional within 2 to 3 days after the test. This measurement is important in deciding whether you need more tests or treatment.

Watchful Waiting

Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. If you get better on your own, you won't need treatment. If you get worse, you and your doctor will decide what to do next.

If you have symptoms of TB (an ongoing cough with fever, fatigue, and weight loss), you should not wait to get treatment. Contact your doctor or other health professional as soon as possible.

If you have been exposed to someone who has active TB, don't wait to see if you develop symptoms. Contact your doctor or other health professional to get a tuberculosis skin test.

Who To See

Health professionals and public health agencies can help you discover whether you have tuberculosis (TB). These include:

• Your local public health department.
• Primary care doctors (general practitioner, family medicine doctor, internist, pediatrician).
• Pulmonologists, which are doctors who specialize in treating lung problems.
• Infectious disease specialists.

Health professionals and public health agencies can also help you with treatment. They include:

• Your local public health department, which often has a TB specialist.
• Primary care doctors who know about treating TB.
• Pulmonologists, which are doctors who specialize in treating lung problems.
• Infectious disease specialists.
• Other specialists to treat complications.

If you have multidrug-resistant TB, you may need to go to a hospital that specializes in treating this type of TB.

To prepare for your appointment, see the topic Making the Most of Your Appointment.

Last updated:	May 16, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine, Alfred A. Lardizabal, MD - Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine/Tuberculosis
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC