Tuberculosis in a TEOTWAWKI Society

Several months ago, I read an interesting article at Beans, Bullets, Bandages, & You about deer transmitting tuberculosis to people in Michigan.   While it is not the same strain that people normally get, it is nonetheless tuberculosis.  It is a strain carried by deer, elk, bison, and cattle.  Indeed, about ten percent of human cases come from cattle.

There are approximately one billion people in the world with tuberculosis, about one-seventh of the planet's population.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, just over 9,000 people were diagnosed with active tuberculosis in 2018 in the US.  It is estimated that 13,000,000 people in the US have latent tuberculosis.  The states with the highest incidence of the disease are Alaska, Hawaii, Califonia, New York, Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, and Maryland.  In the US, tuberculosis is more common among black, Hispanic, Asian, homeless, and incarcerated populations.  It is most common in people between the ages of 15 and 35 years. 

Latent tuberculosis causes no symptoms.  Most of the estimated 13,000,000 people in the US who have the latent form are completely unaware.  In a long-term collapse, many of these will convert to the active form, when they actually start exhibiting the common early symptoms:

• chronic coughing that lasts for more than three weeks, and which is often worse just after waking up;
• low fever in the afternoon;
• night sweats;
• chest pain;
• chronic weight loss and fatigue.

As the disease progresses, the following symptoms appear:

• blood in the sputum;
• pale, waxy skin;
• hoarseness.

The course of the disease progresses differently in younger children.  Signs in them include:

• weight loss;
• frequent fever;
• pale skin.

Clinical diagnosis with laboratory tests probably won't be an option in a collapsed society.  Before the advent of antibiotics, patients were sent to tuberculosis sanatoriums for treatment and hopeful recovery.  They were fed good food rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein.  And they spent a lot of time resting and sleeping, all of which is critical to recovery.

Because tuberculosis is very contagious, especially among family members, extra precautions need to be taken.  The patient with tuberculosis should sleep in a separate room and wear a face mask. 
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease; however, it is most frequently transmitted to people in close contact with the patient.

Conventional treatment involves the use of at least two different antibiotics that can take over a year to cure.  Unfortunately, most families will not have stocked enough antibiotics to treat a case of tuberculosis.  And using up the antibiotics to only possibly cure one person will mean that others will die of simple infections that could have been easily treated.  Hard decisions will have to be made.  That's the reality of it.

Herbal treatments may be more realistic in a long-term situation.  While some of the herbs recommended for use singly and in formulas are found in the wild, others with a track record in tuberculosis treatment do not grow naturally in this country.  Seeds need to be procured in advance and practice gained in growing the plants.

Stephen Buhner recommends the following three formulas to be used concurrently for treating tuberculosis in his book Herbal Antibiotics:

• 1.  Cryptolepis and sida tincture, in equal proportions: 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon three to six times per day, depending on the severity of the disease.
• 2.  Piperine:  20 mg, 2 times per day, first dose in morning 1/2 hour before taking other formulas.  Second dose at 4PM.
• 3.  Lomatium, licorice, and Rhodiola tincture, equal parts, 1 teaspoon 3 times per day.  

Other herbs that have been used historically by cultures around the world to treat tuberculosis include:

• Artemisia annua,
• Oregon grape and Japanese barberry,
• Japanese honeysuckle,
• juniper,
• peppermint,
• echinacea (some sources recommend echinacea for TB, and some advise against it), and
• Usnea.

The links provided below for these herbs provide some information on usage, but nowhere near as much as you or I would like.  There's nothing anywhere on how long to continue treatment.  One of the problems in treating tuberculosis today is that the antibiotic regimen needs to be strictly observed for about a year.  That's really hard to do when life is good and normal.  A year is a long time to be taking pills.  And it's difficult to remember when a patient no longer feels sick.  One Chinese study showed that Usnea resolved symptoms in most patients in two months.  That's all I could find regarding the duration of treatment.  Using the herbs for at least four months would probably be a good idea. 

To be sure, tuberculosis is going to be tough to defeat.  It's often a death sentence.  It will likely kill many in our future in the US.  These herbal treatments may make a difference, especially when combined with good food and rest.

Links to related posts:
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Honeysuckle
Juniper
Peppermint
Echinacea
Usnea 

For further reading:
https://beansbulletsbandagesandyou.com/bullets/2019/09/28/deer-tuberculosis-transmit-humans/
https://www.cdc.gov/tb/statistics/default.htm
Dr. Joseph Alton, Alton's Antibiotics, pp 83-84.
Stephen Buhner, Herbal Antibiotics.  
David Werner, Where There Is No Doctor, pp 179-180.  

18 march 2020