It's not easy to spot the symptoms of meningitis. People
often confuse the early signs and symptoms of meningitis with the flu. In fact,
meningitis may come on the heels of a flu-like illness or infection. That's why
it's important to stay alert, learn the hallmark signs and symptoms of
meningitis, and act quickly. It may help save a life.
Common Signs and Symptoms of Meningitis
Bacterial meningitis symptoms may develop within hours or
days. Viral meningitis symptoms may also develop quickly or over several days.
Here are more common signs and symptoms of both types. Not
all symptoms may appear or appear in the same order. Fever, headache, and neck
stiffness are the hallmark symptoms of meningitis.
Fever
Severe, persistent headache
Neck stiffness and pain that makes it difficult to touch
your chin to your chest
Nausea and vomiting
Confusion and disorientation (acting "goofy")
Drowsiness or sluggishness
Sensitivity to bright light
Poor appetite
More severe symptoms include seizure and coma
In infants, symptoms may include fever, irritability, poor
feeding, and lethargy.
Other Potential Signs and Symptoms of Meningococcal Disease
These are additional signs and symptoms of meningococcal
infection that has entered the bloodstream:
Abnormal skin color
Stomach cramps
Ice-cold hands and feet
Skin rash
Muscle ache or joint pain
Rapid breathing
Chills
When to Seek Medical Care for Possible Symptoms of
Meningitis
If you suspect that your child or someone you know has
meningitis, seek medical care right away.
Call the doctor and describe the signs and symptoms.
Go immediately to the nearest emergency room if a doctor is
not reachable right away. The person who is sick should not drive. Call 911 if
transportation is not available.
How
to Treat Meningitis
Bacterial meningitis is treated with antibiotics, but there
are no specific treatments for viral meningitis.
If your doctor suspects you have meningitis, he or she will
likely put you on a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics to fight potential non-viral
types of infectious meningitis. Once he or she has determined the type of
meningitis you have — viral, bacterial, or fungal — your doctor will provide a
more specific treatment.
If your doctor suspects you have meningitis, he or she will
likely put you on a round of broad-spectrum antibiotics to fight potential
non-viral types of infectious meningitis. Once he or she has determined the
type of meningitis you have — viral, bacterial, or fungal — your doctor will
provide a more specific treatment.
Viral Meningitis
Treatment
Antibiotics cannot kill viruses. If you have viral
meningitis, you will be taken off whatever antibiotic therapy you may have been
using.
There is no specific treatment for viral meningitis, which
is often mild.
Most of the time, people recover from their viral meningitis
in seven to 10 days, with little more than rest, over-the-counter fever
reducers/pain medications, and proper fluid intake.
However, if you have meningitis caused by a herpes virus or
influenza, your doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication.
For instance, the antiviral drugs ganciclovir (Cytovene) and
foscarnet (Foscavir) are sometimes used to treat Cytomegalovirus meningitis in
people with weakened immune systems (from HIV/AIDS or other issues), infants
born with infection, or severely ill individuals.
In some cases, acyclovir (Zovirax) may be used to treat
meningitis from the herpes simplex virus, although it appears to have a
positive effect only when given very early in the illness.
Influenza may be treated with one of several different
licensed antiviral agents, including peramivir (Rapivab) and oseltamivir
(Tamiflu).
Bacterial Meningitis
Treatment
If you have bacterial meningitis, you will be treated with
one or more antibiotics that target the bacteria causing your infection.
These antibiotics commonly include:
Cephalosporin antibiotics, such as cefotaxime (Claforan) and
ceftriaxone (Rocephin), for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitides
Ampicillin (a penicillin-class drug), for Haemophilus
influenzae type B and Listeria monocytogenes
Vancomycin, for penicillin-resistant strains of
Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumonia
A number of other antibiotics may also be used, such as
meropenem and the aminoglycoside antibiotics tobramycin (Tobi, Tobrex) and gentamicin
(Garamycin, Gentak).
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and rifampin (Rifadin) are sometimes
given to family members of people with bacterial meningitis to help protect
them from catching the infections.
Other Meningitis
Treatments
Fungal meningitis is treated with long courses of high-dose
IV antifungal medications.
These medications are often part of the azole class of
antifungal drugs, such as fluconazole (Diflucan), which is used to treat
infections from Candida albicans, the fungus behind yeast infections.
Depending on the type of infection, other antifungals may
also be used.
Written by Joseph Bennington Castro
Joseph Bennington-Castro is a freelance science journalist,
who holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Hawai'i at
Mānoa and a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. His
work has appeared in Live Science, Space.com, National Geographic, Scientific
American, and Men’s Journal, among other venues. Except for a brief adventure
in New York City, Joseph has lived his entire life in beautiful Hawai'i — and
he wouldn’t dream of it being any other way.
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