Tuberculosis, or TB, has been treated in a variety of ways since the first treatment in Germany in 1863. The early method of the lung disease was to place a patient in a sanitarium far from the crowds and cities. In the United States, the first sanitarium opened in 1882 in Saranac Lake, New York, and was called the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium. This was before the days of antibiotics, the main treatment for TB today.
Isoniazid
Isoniazid, marketed in the United States as Nydrazid, is an antibiotic specifically designed to treat tuberculosis. Isoniazid is available as a pill, as an injection or as a syrup. If you have TB, but the disease is not active, isoniazid may be prescribed for nine months at a dose per day or two times per week.
Since this medication can cause serious side effects, including hepatitis, it should not be taken for stretches longer than that prescribed by your doctor. Isoniazid also may cause other liver problems, so medications such as acetaminophen should be avoided and alcohol consumption should be limited or eliminated. Other side effects may include abdominal pain, depression, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weakness, blurred vision, seizures and fever.
Rifampin
Rifampin, sold under brand names Rifadin, Rifadin IV and Rimactane, is part of a four-drug combination---isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol and pyrazinamide---used to fight active tuberculosis. It can be taken as a pill, syrup, capsule or via IV. Side effects from rifampin may include mouth sores, tongue sores, diarrhea, cramps, nausea, bleeding, weakness, shivering, body pain, a rash, decreased urination, chills, dizziness, headaches, fever and difficulty breathing.
Ethambutol
Myambutol (generic: ethambutol) is another drug used in the four-drug combination to fight active TB. It is available as a pill. Side effects from ethambutol may include stomach pain, nausea, confusion, headaches, decreased appetite, vomiting, chills, fever, pain in the joints, tingling or numbness and blurred vision.
Pyrazinamide
Pyrazinamide is the final medicine used in the four-medication treatment. It is an anti-infective in pill form. Side effects may include joint pain, itching, decreased appetite, skin yellowing, eye yellowing, tiredness, a rash or weakness.
