Latent TB Treatment & Side effects

[Shimura 0]

Dear all,
i have some question here about latent TB and would like to know about the treatment and the side effects from the medicine.

The Quantiferon test with positive result and my chest X-Ray is clear, no bony abnormalities, the lungs and pleural spaces are clear so no active disease in lungs except this latent TB.

So i would like to know about the treatment to make sure if somebody here is still taking the medicine / already done with it

I've been searching and some said the treatment is around 9 months with Isoniazid (INH ) and the other treatment is 4 months with Rifampin

I'd like to know which one is usually always be taken? and what kind of side effects will cause from INH / Rifampin?

I read one reason why some people didn't want to do treatment because the medicine can cause liver damage.
Is this could be happen if while you take the drug and drink some alcohol or it will still causes the liver damage eventhough not drink at all?

Thank you in advance

[Bayareaguy 156]

I'm not a doctor or an expert, but this is my personal experience and anecdotal observation:

Rifampin is pretty harsh. Definitely don't want to drink alcohol with it, it is pretty hard on the liver by itself. If you are taking other medication, it may greatly effect its metabolism (induces cytochrome P-450 metabolism), which can significantly lessen their effects. I personally would not take rifampin again unless it was absolutely necessary.

My son who just immigrated here had to take isoniazid for 9 months for latent TB. It is also potentially a liver toxin, however, he didn't have any noticeable negative reactions during his treatment, though he takes no other medication nor drinks alcohol.