Is lymph tuberculosis contagious?

Lymph tuberculosis is not actually an infectious disease, so it is not contagious, but we all know that this disease is more common in children and young people and can pose a threat to human health, especially when the body's immunity and resistance are reduced, it is easy to cause this disease.

1. Cervical lymph node tuberculosis is called "scrofula" in traditional Chinese medicine and is more common in children and young people. Mycobacterium tuberculosis mostly invades through tonsils and dental caries, and a few are secondary to tuberculosis lesions in the lungs or bronchus. However, it can only cause illness when the human body's disease resistance is low.

2. Clinical manifestations: There are multiple enlarged lymph nodes of varying sizes on one or both sides of the neck, generally located at the anterior and posterior edges of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. In the early stages, the swollen lymph nodes are hard, painless, and can be moved. As the lesion continues to develop, lymphadenitis occurs, causing the lymph nodes to adhere to the skin and surrounding tissues. The lymph nodes may also adhere to each other and fuse into clumps. Formation of nodular masses that are difficult to move. In the late stage, the lymph nodes undergo caseous necrosis, liquefaction, and form cold abscesses. After the abscess ruptures, bean curd-like or rice soup-like pus flows out, eventually forming a sinus tract or chronic ulcer that does not heal for a long time. The skin at the edge of the ulcer is dark red and undercover, and the granulation tissue is pale and edematous. The different stages of the above-mentioned lesions. It can appear in various lymph nodes of the same patient at the same time. After the patient's disease resistance is enhanced and appropriate treatment is given, tuberculosis lesions in the lymph nodes can stop developing and calcify.

A small number of patients may have symptoms of systemic poisoning such as low fever, night sweats, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

3. A clear diagnosis can usually be made based on the history of contact with tuberculosis and local physical signs, especially when cold abscesses have formed, or sinuses or ulcers have ruptured to form long-lasting sinuses or ulcers. If necessary, a chest X-ray can be performed to determine whether there is tuberculosis. For pediatric patients, the tuberculin test can aid in the diagnosis. If there is only swollen cervical lymph nodes but no cold abscess or ulcer formation, diagnosis is often difficult and it must be differentiated from diseases such as chronic lymphadenitis, malignant lymphoma, and metastatic tumors of the neck. If identification is difficult, a biopsy may be necessary.