Meningitis symptoms and fears!
Lets discover what meningitis really is, how do we get it, what are the symptoms, treatment and in particular the risks.
Sometimes a meningitis alarm goes off and panic is spread, this is why we need to understand a little more.
WHAT IS MENINGITIS
Meningitis is a very serious illness due to inflammation of the meninges precisely. The meninges are the membranes that surround the brain. The inflammation of these membranes is reflected on the brain leading to serious neurological symptoms that can lead to death or in less serious cases to deafness, mental retards, motion paralysis, epilepsy.
Till today we know that Meningitis can be caused by either bacteria or from viruses, but it is the bacterial one to be the most dangerous and is mainly due to three germs:
– Haemophilus influenzae type B,
– Pneumococcus,
– Meningococco.
The forms of meningitis due to viruses are generally those that can be resolved without problems.
Obviously in the case of children, meningitis is serious and often leads to death.
MENINGITIS SYMPTOMS AND FEARS
The most important symptoms of meningitis are:
Fever, nausea, vomiting and irritation of the meningeal membranes, that is felt as a form of stiffness of the nuchal muscles. To these must be added the decline of the state of consciousness, with a sense of numbness, slowed heartbeat and convulsive episodes.
To recognize meningitis specific analysis of a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid collected by lumbar puncture must be carried out. This type of analysis does not entail risks for the patient, since the spinal cord in the adult does not exceed the limits of the first lumbar vertebra.
As we said meningitis of viral type is certainly hyperplasia and patients are seriously ill for some days without losing conciousness, and if subjected to antibiotic treatment, they usually are recovered within a week.
SYMPTOMS OF ACUTE MENINGITIS
The inflammation, acute or chronic, of the meninges, often produces stiffness of the vertebral column and irreparable injury to the brain: it is therefore necessary to carry out the examinations immediately as soon as we see the following symptoms:
– Strong headache especially by the nape and temples and constipation;
– Persistent Nausea, and sometimes upchuck reflex;
– Fever generally rather high with constant peaks and a rigid nape;
– Sometimes a rash may appear spread over the whole surface of the body
HOW TO PREVENT AND TREAT MENINGITIS
The only means that is really safe and effective is the vaccination.
It is important to know that the antibiotic therapy of a common respiratory infection can hide the beginning of meningitis; it is important to know that for example if a child is very weak, with fever, which presents neck stiffness and possibly small red spots spread on the skin than he/she must be immediately visited by a doctor who carry out the lumbar puncture in hospital.
The therapy for treating/fighting meningitis consists in the administration of fluids intravenously, also antibiotics and other drugs may be necessary and this is carried out in a hospital where who is affected by meningitis must remain for the whole duration of the disease.
HOW IS MENINGITIS TRANSMITTED
It is important to know how meningitis is transmitted: this infection spreads through the air and is usually transmitted by direct contact (or via infected droplets) from a so-called “healthy carrier”. It is rare that the infection is contracted directly from an ill subject, who is usually isolated from contact with other people.
The incubation period usually ranges from 1 to 7 days.
Sometimes meningitis is preceded by an infection of the upper respiratory tract or of the middle ear. It is clear therefore that where there is a case of meningococcal disease in a community (asylum, school, college, barracks), all the people who have been in contact with the sick must undergo an antibiotic prophylaxis.
Meningitis is a very serious inflammation that must not be taken lightly but theres is also no need to panic because we could only make things worse.
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