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Meningitis: Symptoms, Diagnosis and TreatmentWhat is Meningitis?Meningitis comes from the word meninges and it is an inflammation that effects the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Bacterial, fungal, amoebic and viral are the four types of infections that cause meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is the most common which the infected individual can have live dormant in the nose, throat or upper respiratory tract for days, weeks and sometimes even months before the disease manifests any signs or symptoms. Meningitis is fatal in about 1 out of 10 cases and 1 out of 7 diagnosed individuals survive but with a permanent disability such as brain damage or impaired hearing. Bacterial meningitis is estimated to be carried in about 25% of the population and viral meningitis is carried by 15% of the population at someone or another, however meningitis doesn’t develop since the body fights off the disease. Two to ten days is the typical incubation period for the existence of bacterial meningitis. The types of diagnosis that are associated with bacterial meningitis are listed below:
Cryptococcus Neoforman is a yeast fungus that is like a germ and lives in the soil. This is the fungal form of meningitis. Amoeba is geothermal and lives in fresh water stagnating pools at temperatures around thirty degrees Celsius and is found in amoebic meningitis. The infection with herpes simplex, measles, polio, chicken pox or mumps is associated with Coxsackie virus and Echoviruses which are a series of viruses that form viral meningitis. SymptomsMeningitis can have varying symptoms. Depending on the child’s age and what causes the disease the severity can be different. Some people have no sign of illness yet they carry the germ and cause meningitis. It can easily spread without symptoms of the disease. A person may not develop meningitis if they are infected with a bacterium or viral illness. A form of cancer or other diseases can inflame the brain and spinal cord, as well as some medications can develop meningitis. Cold like symptoms are the first sign of meningitis. These symptoms include runny nose, stomach ache, fever, headache, diarrhea and vomiting, which can show there is a bacteria or viral infection. During the first stages of the disease the symptoms are similar for both bacterial and viral meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is more severe than viral. Antibiotics cannot cure viral meningitis, like a cold it is best to let the virus run its course. A child will need to be hospitalized if they are exposed to bacterial meningitis so they can be monitored during treatments and a further examination of the disease can be done. A child should be seen by a physician so that the infection can have an accurate identification and a proper diagnosis can be made so that the child can recovery effectively. Signs of irritability and lethargic is present when the disease is developed in newborns and infants so this is a way of detecting meningitis in an infant. On account of the body ache a child will become distressed when the mother holds the child to comfort them thinking they have a cold since it is hard to identify meningitis. Jaundice, a stiffness of the body and neck, a mild fever, a lower than normal body temperature, poor feeding or weakness in sucking bottle or breast and a high pitched cry are the symptoms of meningitis found in infants so it is often mistaken for one of the three day crying disease. Contact you child’s physician immediately if you think your child has developed any of these signs or symptoms. TransmissionThe common cause for exposure to meningitis is through drop of fluid relating to the infected person such as runny nose or cough since it is an airborne disease. Contact related cases such as touching of counter tops or casual contact with someone at work or school do not cause a person to contract meningitis since it cannot live outside the body. Those who live together and have direct contact such as kissing, drinking from the same glass or sharing eating utensils are the mostly likely to spread and contract meningitis. Children in daycare facilities contract the disease from one another when they are exposed through the sharing toilet stool. Meningitis PreventionIt is best to practice good hand washing prior to eating and after using the restroom at all time in order to prevent your family and yourself from getting meningitis. You should avoid direct contact with any person you think is ill such as drinking and sharing of food. Receiving a vaccination for diseases such as measles, polio, chicken pox or mumps can help prevent viral meningitis but there is no vaccination that can help protect you from or minimize the spread of meningitis. You child’s body can fight off any viral disease it may encounter if you have proper immunization. In order to help children under the age of five fight off the bacterial form of meningitis there have been new vaccines made available. Hib Meningitis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and is can be fought with a Hib Vaccine which is also associated with Pnuemococcal Meningitis or Type C. A child should be given this vaccine between the ages of two, four and six months of age and then at twelve to fifteen months they should have a booster shot and it can be given simultaneously with other vaccines. ActHIB, HibTITTER or PedvaxHIB are alternate names for Hib. Prevnar Vaccine is another type of vaccine that protects against the commonalities associated with Streptococcus Pneumonia, it protects against seven out of eighty commonalities which accounts for 86% of the infant infections that develop. A vaccine called Pneumovax can be given to seniors 65 years of age and older who have sickle cell disease, HIV or other conditions. This vaccine protects adults who receive it within two to three weeks. The Menomune Vaccine is a polysaccharide vaccine for students who live in dorm rooms on college campuses and it helps fight Type A, B, C, W135 and Y bacterial meningitis, but it doesn’t give complete protection against Type B which is the one that can cause brain damage and deafness. Diagnosis of MeningitisA doctor will perform a physical examination, laboratory tests and a lumbar puncture which is a spinal tap to collect spinal fluid for inflammation signs and the type of micro-organism which started the infection to tell what stage of meningitis you child is in. A doctor will then prescribe proper medication once they determined the type of meningitis you child has so that treatment can begin. A child will be hospitalized in intensive care for monitoring if they are diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. During the symptoms and the first twenty-four hours of starting antibiotics patients are contagious Treatment Process of MeningitisTo reduce the inflammation of meninges in the spinal cord and brain a child will need to have corticosteroids depending on the cause of the disease. Anticonvulsants can be given to control the seizures if a child experiences them during the disease. To make sure a child stay hydrated after loosing fluids from sweating, fever, vomiting and poor appetite a child will be given intravenous fluids or IV. Supplemental oxygen or ventilation is given to children with bacterial meningitis who have difficulty breathing and a follow up hearing test is recommended once diagnosed with meningitis. Problems with impaired hearing are typical among children who have been exposed to the disease. A child may or may not be hospitalized depending on their condition if they have viral meningitis. Recovery at home is often allowed for children. A child should be closely monitored with nursing care instructions being given by your physician if a child is going to recover at home. A visit to the hospital is appropriate if the child doesn’t seem to recuperate or if the conditions get worse. Like a cold, viral meningitis should be treated by drinking plenty of fluids, getting plenty of rest and taking over the counter pain medicines such as Tylenol, Advil or Motrin. When given medicine to your child make sure it is acetaminophen since they should not take aspirin. After diagnosis the typical recovery time is usually within ten days, but headaches, tiredness or depression may be experienced by the child for week or months after treatment is complete. |
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