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ase ([personal profile] ase) wrote2009-02-27 10:10 pm

Gross Medical Fact Du Jour

Mycobacterium leprae (leprosy), meet your close cousin Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). Discuss in homework.
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[identity profile] ashcomp.livejournal.com 2009-02-28 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
My mother survived 22 years on 1 1/4 lungs after TB treatment in the early 1950's. Took me years to figure out why they kept sending us to hot, dry places.

Her treatment involved two years or so in a sanitarium with a lot of other folks in the same condition.

[identity profile] ase.livejournal.com 2009-03-01 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
Sanitariums were very popular, especially pre-antibiotics. Did she ever talk about what it was like? I get the impression that they ran the gamut from nice to... less-nice, but that's a pretty specious impression.
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[identity profile] norabombay.livejournal.com 2009-02-28 05:50 am (UTC)(link)
And luckily, I don't have either :)

[identity profile] ase.livejournal.com 2009-03-01 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
They're actually both very treatable! With some drug-resistant exceptions, antibiotics kill both M. leprae and M. tuburculosis very effectively. Unfortunately, you're stuck taking a pill every day for a year to absolutely clear up the infection.