Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis, which generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect kidneys, lymph nodes, spine, bones and joints, intestinal tract, central nervous system, circulatory system and genitourinary system.
It is one of the major killer diseases of modern times. It can spread easily though air, if an infected person coughs or sneezes, the germs spreading into the air. By inhaling the air contaminated with these germs, other people get infected.
The most common organ infected in this disease is the lungs. The symptoms begin slowly and most people do not notice them because they are mild. The common symptoms of tuberculosis of the lungs are fever, weakness, chills, fatigue, night sweats, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, chest pain, loss of weight for no apparent reason, and cough with thick sputum, which may sometimes be bloody.
The symptoms of tuberculosis in other organs depend on the area of infection. For example, tuberculosis of the lymph nodes will lead to swelling of the neck, and that of the spine will lead to back pain. Most symptoms are not obvious until the disease reaches an advanced stage.
1. Calcium is very essential to cure tuberculosis fast. So eat plenty of foods that are rich in calcium. The natural sources of calcium are milk, cheeses, yogurts, dairy products, soya bean products, nuts, sesame seeds, dried fruit, pulses and green leafy vegetables.
2. Milk diet is an effective home remedy for tuberculosis. Drink milk after a gap of every two hours. You can gradually increase the quantity of the milk you are drinking from the next day onwards. Milk diet for about one or two months will give good cure from tuberculosis.
3. Boil drumstick (sahjan) leaves in water and allow it to cool. Now add black pepper (kali mirch), limejuice and a pinch of salt. Drink this soup. This is an effective home remedy for tuberculosis.
4. Custard apple (sitaphal) is also beneficial in the treatment of tuberculosis. Take two custard apples and remove its pulp. Put this along with 25 seedless raisins in a vessel and add some water to it. Boil on low flame until one-third of the water is evaporated. Strain this solution and allow it to cool. Now add cinnamon (dalchini), cardamom (elaichi) and sugar candy (misri) into it and have it.
5. Extract the juice from the fresh fruits of Indian gooseberry (amla). Take 20 ml of this juice along with a teaspoon of honey twice a day. This is one of the simple home remedies for tuberculosis.
6. Drink more liquids at the onset of the disease. Raw fruit juices such as orange juice will give you the much-needed strength to your body. Drink one glass of orange juice after every two hours.
7. You can also drink a glass of pineapple juice on a daily basis to get speedy recovery.
8. Bottle gourd (lauki or ghiya) shows beneficial effects in this disease. Include this vegetable in your meals.
9. Prepare a mixture by adding one teaspoon each of the powders of liquorice (mulethi) and calamus (vacha) in warm water or honey. Take this mixture twice a day.
10. Cinnamon (dalchini) has anti-tubercular properties and expels phlegm. Take one or two grams of powdered cinnamon along with lukewarm water two times a day.
11. Cloves (laung) are valuable home remedy for tuberculosis. Both the external as well as internal use of cloves reduces the vitiation of both the fire and phlegm body humors.
12. Local application of coconut (nariyal) oil as well as intake of this oil is beneficial in treating this condition.
13. Coitus is strictly prohibited, because this act results in a considerable loss of energy.
14. Rest is important during this disease. Taking proper rest will ensure that your body gets enough strength and does not lose much energy. It also keeps you away from others, so that this disease does not spread to them.
