Meningitis: signs of disease

Meningitis is an inflammatory process that develops in the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. This inflammation is triggered by an infection - a virus, a bacterium, a fungus, the simplest, that can penetrate a barrier that protects the brain and its membranes from harmful effects. The decline in human immunity, childhood and chronic problems that affect the brain itself (for example, cerebral arteriosclerosis or hydrocephalus), greatly contribute to the development of a disease such as meningitis. Signs of the disease must be known to every adult.

Where does the disease come from?

1. Bacterial meningitis is sometimes the primary, when the bacterium, having got into the body by airborne droplets, overcomes some way to get to the meninges, while nowhere, except for the nasopharynx, does it cause inflammation. This "know" meningococcus, pneumococcus and hemophilic rod. And it is in these cases that you can get infected from a patient with meningitis (and that is almost always only with meningococcal infection and only until the person begins to be pricked by antibiotics).

More common is secondary bacterial meningitis, the symptoms of which appear:

- after penetrating injury of the skull;

- In some days from the beginning of an otitis, a rhinitis, a pneumonia, a genyantritis, a frontitis, occurrence of a furuncle or a carbuncle on a head;

- with sepsis, when a bacterium from the blood spreads throughout the body, including gets into the brain.

Therefore, if you have frequent problems with the throat or ears or you have a constant outflow of cerebrospinal fluid through the ear or nose, you are particularly at risk of catching meningitis. Do not put up with the situation. The way out here is to make an MRI of the brain and come to a consultation with an operating neurosurgeon or an ENT doctor. It often turns out that it is possible to reconstruct a skull bone defect and then forget about permanent illnesses.

2. Viral meningitis develops when the virus enters the body by airborne, through the sexual way, through dirty hands, common utensils, with kisses, getting the contents of the rash onto the clean skin of another person and even through the placenta. These can be viruses like poliomyelitis (enteroviruses), measles, rubella, herpes viruses, infectious mononucleosis, chicken pox, mumps, and influenza.

Such a meningitis is not directly infected from a patient with meningitis. It may just happen that everyone is eating food in which there is such a virus. Or a sick person comes into the collective and actively (with sneezing, talking and coughing) spreads the virus further. Then a few people from communicating or eating unprocessed food fall ill with meningitis (and outbreaks occur in kindergartens and pioneer camps).

How does meningitis begin?

It takes several days from the moment the microbe enters the human body before the disease begins. Thus, signs of infectious meningitis (that is, caused by the bacterium meningococcus) develop usually 2-7 days from the time of infection. Preceding symptoms of directly meningitis can be pain and perspiration in the throat, secretion of initially non-transparent mucous membranes, and white or yellowish snot. Then there is a meningitis (signs of the disease are not so difficult to notice an experienced doctor).

In viral meningitis, too, there is a small period of prodromal phenomena. They resemble ARVI (cough, malaise, fever, runny nose), but if meningitis becomes a complication of viral diseases, then measles, chicken pox, rubella, mumps or mononucleosis may appear.

Meningitis: signs of disease

The body temperature rises, there is a strong headache of a diffuse nature. These are the two main symptoms of meningitis.

1. The temperature rises not always to very high figures, meningitis can also occur at 37.4-37.8 degrees.
2. Headache is felt in the temples or in the entire head (less often - other localization). She is first relieved by anesthetics, then stops responding to them. It is this pain that causes the person to lie, and more often on his side, pulling his knees toward his chest (so less tension in the inflamed shell of the brain). It amplifies with loud sounds and bright light.
3. Nausea and vomiting, which do not bring relief and are not associated with eating. This disease is not accompanied by diarrhea, which is the main difference from food poisoning.
4. Dizziness.
5. Increased sensitivity of the skin on the whole body, when a normal touch causes considerable discomfort.
6. Lethargy, drowsiness.
7. Seizures in adults against the background of any temperature, in children - against the background of a temperature below 38 degrees.
8. Rash: similar to measles or rubella, when meningitis is a complication of these diseases. For meningococcal and some other infections, which are often complicated by meningitis, the appearance of spots of dark color is characteristic. They appear first on the buttocks, then on the legs and on the hands, on the body in the last turn, the face may not appear at all. The peculiarity of this rash is that it does not itch, it does not disappear and does not turn pale if you stretch the skin under it or press the glass on the skin. This hemorrhage, and the danger is that exactly the same elements arise in all internal organs and even in the heart and kidneys. Death can come not from meningitis as such, but from hemorrhage to the adrenal glands. Therefore, if you see such a rash, call an ambulance, even if there are no other symptoms.