Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Identifying Symptoms in Adults and Children
• Part 2 of 3: Watching for Signs of Meningitis in Toddlers
• Part 3 of 3: Identifying the Different Types

Meningitis, sometimes called spinal meningitis, is an inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is usually caused by a viral infection, but it can also be caused by a bacterial or fungal infection. Depending on the type of infection, meningitis can be easily treated or it can be potentially life threatening.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Identifying Symptoms in Adults and Children

1. 1 Watch out for severe headaches. Headache caused by inflammation of the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord feels different from other types of pain. It is much worse than headaches from dehydration or even migraines. People with meningitis usually experience persistent, severe headaches.
   • The meningitis headache does not improve after taking over-the-counter pain pills.
   • If a headache is felt but there are no other common symptoms of meningitis, then another condition may be the cause. If the headache persists for more than one day, see your doctor.
2. 2 Watch for nausea and vomiting associated with headache. Migraines are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting, so these symptoms may not automatically indicate meningitis. However, it is important to pay close attention to other symptoms if you or the person you care for is feeling nauseous enough to vomit.
3. 3 Check the temperature. A high fever, along with other symptoms, may indicate that it is caused by meningitis and not a cold or sore throat. To determine if a high temperature is on the list of symptoms, measure it on a sick person.
   • The temperature from meningitis, as a rule, stays around 38.3 degrees, and if it rises above 39.4, then this is already a cause for concern.
4. 4 Determine if the neck feels sore and stiff. This is a very common symptom in people with meningitis. The tension and soreness is caused by pressure from the inflamed meninges.If you or someone you know has neck pain and does not seem to be related to other common causes of soreness and stiffness, such as a muscle strain or head injury, then meningitis may be the cause of the problem.
   • If this symptom appears, lay the person flat on their back and ask them to flex their hips. Flexion should cause neck pain. This is a sign of meningitis.
5. 5 Difficulty concentrating. Because meningitis causes the lining of the brain to become inflamed, patients often have perceptual difficulties. An inability to finish reading an article, focus on a conversation, or complete an assignment, combined with a severe headache, can be a worrying sign.
   • He is unable to act on his own and may be generally more sleepy and lethargic than usual.
   • On rare occasions, a person may have a condition ranging from barely aroused to comatose.
6. 6 Pay attention to photophobia. Photophobia manifests itself as severe pain caused by light. Eye pain and sensitivity in adults is associated with meningitis. If you or someone you know has difficulty going outside or in a brightly lit room, see your doctor.
   • This may initially manifest as general eye sensitivity or fear of bright lights. Pay attention to this behavior if other symptoms also appear.
7. 7 Pay attention to seizures. Seizures are uncontrollable muscle contractions, often voluntary, that tend to cause uncontrolled urination and general disorientation. A person who has had a seizure probably may not understand what year it is, where he is, or how old he is, right after the seizure ends.
   • If a person has epilepsy or has had previous seizures, they may not be a symptom of meningitis.
   • If you encounter a person who has an epileptic seizure, call 911. Turn him on his side and remove from this place any objects that he may hit. Most seizures stop on their own within one to two minutes.
8. 8 Pay attention to the characteristic rash. Certain types of meningitis, such as meningococcal meningitis, cause a rash. The rash appears as reddish or purple spots and may be a sign of blood poisoning. If you notice a rash, you can tell if it was caused by meningitis with a glass test:
   • Press the glass over the rash. Use a clear glass so you can see the skin through it.
   • If the skin under the glass does not turn white, this indicates that blood poisoning may have occurred. Go to the hospital immediately.
   • Not all types of meningitis cause a rash. The absence of a rash should not be taken as a sign that a person does not have meningitis.

Part 2 of 3: Watching for Signs of Meningitis in Toddlers

1. 1 Be aware of the challenges. It is very difficult even for experienced pediatricians to diagnose meningitis in children, especially infants. Because many harmless, untreated viral syndromes appear similarly with fever and crying, it can be difficult to distinguish between the symptoms of meningitis in young children and infants. This leads to the fact that many hospital instructions and private doctors practice a very high suspicion of meningitis, especially in children aged 3 years and younger who have received only one of a set of vaccinations.
   • With adherence to vaccination requirements, the incidence of bacterial meningitis has decreased. Cases of viral meningitis still occur, but occur in moderation and require little or no treatment.
2. 2 Pay attention to the rise in temperature. Infants, as well as adults and older children, have a high fever with meningitis. To do this, measure the baby's temperature.It does not matter whether the cause of the temperature is meningitis, if you have a high temperature, you should urgently take your baby to the doctor.
3. 3 Notice the constant crying. It can be caused by many illnesses and other problems, but if your baby seems too upset and doesn’t calm down when changing a diaper, after feeding and other actions you usually take to calm him down, you should call the doctor. When combined with other symptoms, persistent crying can be a sign of meningitis.
   • With meningitis, it is usually impossible to comfort a crying child. Note the differences in the crying of a normal infant.
   • Some parents note that if the problem is meningitis, then the babies cry even more when they are picked up.
   • Meningitis causes babies to cry with a higher pitched tone.
4. 4 Pay attention to sleepiness and lethargy. If a normally active child becomes lethargic, sleepy, irritable, he or she may have meningitis. Look for noticeable changes in your child's behavior, indicating lethargy and inability to fully wake up.
5. 5 Pay attention to weak suckling while feeding. Babies with meningitis have decreased sucking ability during feeding. If your baby is having trouble sucking, see a doctor right away.
6. 6 Pay attention to changes in your baby's neck and body. If your baby seems to have difficulty moving his head, and his or her body seems unusually tense and unyielding, this could be a sign of meningitis.
   • The child may also feel pain in the neck and back. At first, it may be just stiffness, but if the child seems to be in pain when moving, then it can be much more serious. Watch if the baby automatically raises the legs to the breast when bending the neck forward or if there is pain when the legs are bent.
   • Also, the baby is not able to straighten the shins when the hips are extended at an angle of 90 degrees. This is most common in babies when changing diapers and you cannot stretch their legs out.

Part 3 of 3: Identifying the Different Types

1. 1 Study of viral meningitis. Viral meningitis usually requires no treatment and will go away on its own. There are several specific viruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and HIV, that require specific targeted treatment with antiviral drugs. Viral meningitis is transmitted by contact. A group of viruses called enterovirus is the main source and usually appears from mid-summer to early autumn.
   • Although it can spread from person to person, outbreaks of viral meningitis are very rare.
2. 2 What you need to know about pneumococcus. There are three types of bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis that are most dangerous and deadly. Streptococcus pneumoniae Is the most common form in the United States, affecting infants, young children, and adults. However, there is a vaccination against this bacterium, so it is curable. It is most commonly spread from a sinus or ear infection and should be suspected if a person with a previous sinus or ear infection develops symptoms of meningitis.
   • Certain groups of people are at increased risk, such as those with spleen removed and the elderly. Vaccination for such persons is mandatory.
3. 3 Meningococcus... Another bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis is Meningococcus... It is an extremely contagious form that, on the contrary, affects healthy adolescents and young adults. It is spread from person to person, and outbreaks of the disease occur in educational institutions and hostels. It is especially deadly, and if not detected in time and the course of intravenous antibiotics is not started, it leads to multiple organ failure, brain damage and death.
   • In addition, it has a peculiarity and is the cause of a “petechial” rash, which means a rash in the form of many small bruises, and this is important to note.
   • It is recommended to vaccinate all adolescents between the ages of 11 and 12, and to re-vaccinate at the age of 16. If the previous vaccination has not been given, and the patient is already 16 years old, then only one vaccination is required.
4. 4 What hemophilic infection (Hib). The third bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis is hemophilic infection... It was once a very common cause of bacterial meningitis in newborns and children. However, since the mandatory Hib vaccination regimen was introduced, the number of cases has dropped significantly. With the influx of immigrants from other countries not adhering to routine vaccinations or even parents who do not believe in vaccinations, not everyone is protected from this form of infection.
   • When this or any other form of meningitis is suspected, it is critical to obtain an accurate vaccination history, preferably from a valid medical record or yellow vaccination card.
5. 5 What you need to know about fungal meningitis. Fungal meningitis is rare and occurs almost exclusively in people with AIDS or in people with weakened immune systems. This is one of the diagnoses that define AIDS, it is detected when a person has very low immunity, he is extremely weakened and is at risk of any infections. A typical pathogen is a yeast fungus.
   • To protect against this type of infection, the optimal preventive measure for an HIV-infected patient is adherence to antiretroviral therapy to reduce viral load and increase T-lymphocytes.
6. 6 Get a meningitis vaccine if needed. Mandatory vaccination is recommended for the following groups of people with a high risk of contact with patients with meningitis:
   • All children aged 11-18
   • US Army conscripts
   • Anyone with a damaged or removed spleen
   • College freshmen living in dorms
   • Microbiologists who work in contact with meningococcus
   • People with end-complement component deficiency (immune system disease)
   • Anyone traveling to countries with an outbreak of meningococcus
   • Those who were in an area with an outbreak of meningitis