Information on Meningitis - By: Rick Hutch

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. Meningitis is usually caused by an infection with a virus or a bacterium. Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or a bacterium is important because of differences in the seriousness of the illness and the treatment needed.bacterial meningitis is very serious. Severe bacterial meningitis can result in brain damage and even death. Viral meningitis is usually relatively mild. It clears up in a week or two without specific treatment.

Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. People sometimes refer to it as spinal meningitis. Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Knowing whether meningitis is caused by a virus or bacterium is important because the severity of illness and the treatment differ. Viral meningitis is generally less severe and resolves without specific treatment, while bacterial meningitis can be quite severe and may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.

Encephalitis or meningitis is suggested when the symptoms described above are present. The doctor diagnoses encephalitis or meningitis after a completing a thorough history (asking the patient questions) and examination.. The examination includes special maneuvers to detect signs of inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges).

Viral meningitis is milder and occurs more often than bacterial meningitis. It usually develops in the late summer and early fall, and often affects children and adults under age 30. Most infections occur in children under the age of 5. Most viral meningitis is associated with enteroviruses, which are viruses that commonly cause intestinal illness.Many other types of viruses can also cause meningitis. For example, viral meningitis can be caused by herpes viruses, the same virus that can cause cold sores and genital herpes

The symptoms usually last no more than about 10 days, and then the person recovers fully without any treatment. The viruses that cause viral meningitis are contagious and are very common in the summer and early fall, but most people who have one of the viruses show no symptoms of any kind. Sometimes a person may develop a cold or a rash, but full-blown meningitis develops in fewer than 1 in 1000 people who are infected with a meningitis virus.

Mainly the Symptoms of bacterial meningitis develop suddenly and for viral meningitis may develop suddenly or gradually over a period of days. For example, the symptoms of viral meningitis after mumps may take several days or weeks to develop. meningitis can lead to brain swelling and cause further disability, including coma and even death.

Meningitis often begins like the flu does. The major meningitis symptoms include a severe headache that will not go away, stiffness in the neck, stiffness in the upper back, pain in one or both eyes, or an aversion to light, nausea, or the feeling of an upset stomach, vomiting, achy body, fever, sleepy feeling, or the feeling that you just cannot wake up completely, confusion, or a feeling of just not being with it.

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