Differentiating the signs and symptoms of meningitis is critical in the final outcome of a contagious illness that is often mistaken at onset for common influenza. Two infectious forms define this illness as either viral (aseptic), which is usually milder or bacterial (spinal), which has the potential for causing fatalities.
The indications for viral infection are a result of inflammation within the meninges, the thin membranous covering the brain and spinal cord. This illness can effect either sex at any age. The causes include exposure to viruses, including polio or an autoimmune reaction to a recent bout with a variety of viral illnesses, including measles. Occasionally, fungi, such as, yeast is causative. Clusters of this viral infection are often diagnosed in local epidemics.
The course of most viral cases of this illness are usually self-limited by full function of a normal immune system. The difficulty of distinguishing viral from bacterial, however, requires medical assessment. When the cause is with a commonly acquired fungus, prescription anti-fungal therapy is necessary for curative management.
Risk management is enhanced through diligent childhood vaccines to obliterate measles, rubella and influenza, which predispose the public to acquiring meningitis during outbreaks. Drugs prescribed to transplant recipients and cancer patients suppress the immune response thereby increasing the risk of viral and bacterial infections.
Bacteria meningitis can be life-threatening if not appropriately treated with IV antibiotics in an urgent manner. This illness is more prevalent in very young children under 2 years old and adults over 50. Susceptibility is increased if the patient has an infectious illness within the lungs, ear, nose, throat or sinuses that spreads to the meninges. A head injury or concussion can provide a direct entry point for bacterial meningeal infections.
Meningeal infection shares many classically symptomatic hallmarks of influenza. Onset of symptoms, following exposure, is usually rapid. Common indications include variable fever with chills and sweating, severe headache, listlessness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea with vomiting and stiff neck. Signs of CNS involvement are extreme sensitivity to light along with nonreactive pupils of different size, irritability, confusion, sleepiness progressing to altered consciousness.
Bacterial infiltration can sometimes be distinguished from viral with additional signals that herald the seriousness of this infection. Often, the patient will have recently recovered from a sore throat with indications of a respiratory infection prior to the onset of symptoms suggestive of meningitis. The appearance of a red to purplish skin rash points toward a definitive diagnosis for bacterial meningitis.
Ill newborns will develop a significantly elevated temperature, unusual irritability and inconsolable crying. Activity levels may reduce to abnormally sluggish demeanor with poor feeding. The soft spot, known as the fontenel, at the top of the skull may bulge and the baby's body and neck may exhibit rigidity.
Since the signs and symptoms of meningitis are similar in both forms of the illness, it is imperative that the patient seek medical help without delay. Determination of the specific cause for the infection will ensure that the patient is properly treated for an uncomplicated, full recovery.
The indications for viral infection are a result of inflammation within the meninges, the thin membranous covering the brain and spinal cord. This illness can effect either sex at any age. The causes include exposure to viruses, including polio or an autoimmune reaction to a recent bout with a variety of viral illnesses, including measles. Occasionally, fungi, such as, yeast is causative. Clusters of this viral infection are often diagnosed in local epidemics.
The course of most viral cases of this illness are usually self-limited by full function of a normal immune system. The difficulty of distinguishing viral from bacterial, however, requires medical assessment. When the cause is with a commonly acquired fungus, prescription anti-fungal therapy is necessary for curative management.
Risk management is enhanced through diligent childhood vaccines to obliterate measles, rubella and influenza, which predispose the public to acquiring meningitis during outbreaks. Drugs prescribed to transplant recipients and cancer patients suppress the immune response thereby increasing the risk of viral and bacterial infections.
Bacteria meningitis can be life-threatening if not appropriately treated with IV antibiotics in an urgent manner. This illness is more prevalent in very young children under 2 years old and adults over 50. Susceptibility is increased if the patient has an infectious illness within the lungs, ear, nose, throat or sinuses that spreads to the meninges. A head injury or concussion can provide a direct entry point for bacterial meningeal infections.
Meningeal infection shares many classically symptomatic hallmarks of influenza. Onset of symptoms, following exposure, is usually rapid. Common indications include variable fever with chills and sweating, severe headache, listlessness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea with vomiting and stiff neck. Signs of CNS involvement are extreme sensitivity to light along with nonreactive pupils of different size, irritability, confusion, sleepiness progressing to altered consciousness.
Bacterial infiltration can sometimes be distinguished from viral with additional signals that herald the seriousness of this infection. Often, the patient will have recently recovered from a sore throat with indications of a respiratory infection prior to the onset of symptoms suggestive of meningitis. The appearance of a red to purplish skin rash points toward a definitive diagnosis for bacterial meningitis.
Ill newborns will develop a significantly elevated temperature, unusual irritability and inconsolable crying. Activity levels may reduce to abnormally sluggish demeanor with poor feeding. The soft spot, known as the fontenel, at the top of the skull may bulge and the baby's body and neck may exhibit rigidity.
Since the signs and symptoms of meningitis are similar in both forms of the illness, it is imperative that the patient seek medical help without delay. Determination of the specific cause for the infection will ensure that the patient is properly treated for an uncomplicated, full recovery.
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