What is meningitis (http://московский-доктор.рф/%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%82)?
Medical term meningitis implies inflammation of the soft membranes of the brain, spinal cord, and brain. This disease results from infection with various viruses, bacteria or fungi. Hence its varieties:�
• bacterial meningitis is too dangerous a disease that needs urgent use of antibiotics;
• viral meningitis is the most common kind which is not life threatening, but quite debilitating the whole body;
• amoebic meningitis is a very rare disease that you can catch when diving head first into dirty waters and it is, in most cases, no cure and leads to death.
The symptoms of the disease
As a rule, the symptoms of meningitis are very similar to the flu, but to recognize their needs as early as possible, because this depends on not only the healing process, but also the patient's life. Moreover, the symptoms can appear suddenly and evolve over several days. Most often there are such symptoms:
• high temperature;
• headache is usually quite severe and constant;
• vomiting, which is associated only with increased headache and does not depend on acceptance or variety of food;
• General weakness;
• pain in the muscles;
• skin rash;
• enhanced eye sensitivity, especially in bright light;
• in infants there has been a sharp and piercing cry, and you may also see coughing shortness of breath.
The treatment of meningitis
In any case, and whatever the age of the patient, the treatment is carried out only in a hospital. First, be sure to conduct a complete examination and take a lumbar puncture to confirm the diagnosis. As a rule, definitive diagnosis of meningitis is established on the basis of three syndromes (necessarily all together!), such as:�
• obscheinfektsionnye (in the blood, there is a pronounced inflammatory process, i.e., a large number of leukocytes and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate);
• shell ( there is a change around the meninges);
• various changes in the cerebrospinal fluid ( changing its color, there may be pus).
After conducting various analyses and necessary research antibiotics are mainly intravenous and antiviral drugs.
The consequences of the disease
Basically the meningitis is treatable, though it leads to a weakening of the body. Cured the disease completely, leaving no consequences. The only exceptions are severe cases, the consequences of which are sometimes expressed complete deafness and blindness, and possible death, but they are observed not more than 2% of all cases.
