Cured pulmonary Tb with scarred lungs an underlining condition?

[Tf20]

Both my lungs are severely scarred due to pulmonary tb. I tend to get consist chest pain when I breath in each time i get any mild cold.

Does that constitute an underlining condition for Covid 19?

[Soul01]

You might find this article helpful: thetruthabouttb.org/coronav...

[Tf20 in reply to Soul01]

Thank you and stay safe.

[hottchoc]

Yes it would because you have an underlying condition where your lungs don’t work 100%. But with the virus being so aggressive now, everyone is feeling like they are on the edge - the message as always in these difficult times is stay away from everyone if you possibly can. Xx

[Tf20 in reply to hottchoc]

Thank you. Stay safe.

[Hidden]

When I was about 9 years old I remember the TB doctor saying to my mother -your Michael's lungs look very 'chalky'! Now the term is the blizzard effect on the lungs and I noticed the Italian who was involved with those with Corvid virus that the lungs appeared white on the x ray. I am old now at 79 so my antibodies must still be working partially but I still firmly believe anyone with an underlying condition must protect themselves with an efficient mask.

It might look a bit silly with a half mask respirator going shopping but why not? We had to wear masks of that type when coming into contact with asbestos but no one advised that asbestos was dangerous until my thirties when we had already breathed some fibres into our lungs. None smokers lungs automatically evict particles out of the airways so in my case my body got rid of the contamination of the asbestos but as soon as we knew asbestos was dangerous on went the mask and we wetted the asbestos.

There are some cheap masks available I see on Amazon UK. They have the round filters and the dual purpose particle and fume filter is the one to choose. I have fitted pre filter material to spray a bit of fine mist of TCP and water 1 to 1 onto this pre filter. I will use it to go shopping although it might look silly. I feel strongly that it is better than going bare when any microbe has nothing to stop it going into the airways.

Incidentally,although I have always had quite fit lungs my hemoglobin levels are high side of normal similar to a smokers lungs so that may well be caused by the fact that although my x ray is clear the previous TB caused some destruction of my alvioli that is not seen on the film. Both my lung fields in 1978 showed scarring that is not visible now.

One more significant bit of knowledge that most doctors do not know is that the quiescent bacteria that I most certainly possess can re surface and cause infection anywhere in the body. That I find is well worth mentioning if symptoms occur when consulting any doctor because it is well known that only certain doctors know about TB.

[HelenC Partner TB Alert in reply to Hidden]

Nothing wrong with taking precautions to protect ourselves and other people.

[Tf20 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[HelenC Partner TB Alert]

Hi Tf20,

Our advice is that people with current or long term damage to their lungs from TB are more at risk from covid-19. Lung scarring in itself doesn't increase risk if it does not effect your lung function, but the fact that you still get chest pain would suggest greater caution is needed in your case.

Hopefully this will pass soon.

Best wishes,

Helen

[Tf20 in reply to HelenC]

Thanks