Your Childrens Health

Meningitis is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease, and involves an inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord, called the meninges. This inflammation can be caused by a variety of factors, including bacterial infections and viral infections, and also by some species of fungi, protozoa, and other parasites. The vast majority of meningitis cases result from infections that are themselves contagious. Many of the bacteria and viruses that are responsible for meningitis are fairly common. Good personal hygiene is an important means of preventing any infection. In addition, a range of vaccines are now available that protect against various forms of the disease.

Some of the more common symptoms of meningitis include fever, lethargy (decreased consciousness), irritability, headaches, photophobia (eye sensitivity to light), and a stiff neck.

Meningitis can also cause or lead to skin rashes. The rashes caused by bacterial meningitis look different to those caused by viral meningitis. Meningitis may also cause seizures.

Newborns and infants with meningitis may lack most or all of the common symptoms and may simply be irritable or lethargic.

Normally, infants who are not feeling well will be comforted when their mother picks them up. However, a baby with meningitis may become more distressed when their mother picks them up, a condition known as paradoxical irritability.

Other symptoms of meningitis in infants can include:
• jaundice (a yellowish tint to the skin),
• a stiffness of the body and neck (neck rigidity),
• a mild fever,
• a lower-than-normal temperature,
• poor feeding and a weak suck, and,
• a higher-pitched cry.

Parents may also notice bulging fontanelles on their baby’s head caused by welling of the brain as a result of the meningitis. (Fontanelles are the soft spot at the top/front of the baby’s skull, where the bones of the skull join. In babies these bones have not yet fused.)

However, the possible symptoms displayed by someone suffering from meningitis can vary greatly, and depend on the age of the child and on the factor(s) which are causing the infection(s).

The symptoms of viral meningitis are usually milder than those of bacterial meningitis, even though both types of meningitis can cause similar symptoms during the early stages of the disease. As a result, prompt and accurate identification of the infectious agent is crucial to the effective meningitis treatment.

The initial symptoms of meningitis may appear several days after a child has had a cold and runny nose, stomach ache, headache, fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, or any other signs of a bacterial or viral infection.

Bacterial meningitis is not common, and it can be extremely dangerous. About 10% of cases are fatal, and about 15% of those people who survive are left with a serious disability, such as deafness or brain damage.

Meningococcal meningitis is caused by meningococcal bacteria, which can cause either meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) or both, making this form of meningitis particularly serious. In fact, septicaemia can be more life threatening than meningitis and can also be caused by a range of other germs. Septicaemia is a medical emergency that requires urgent treatment with strong antibiotics.

Other forms of meningitis can be less dangerous, but all are serious and require professional medical advice and proper treatment.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 9th, 2006 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Meningitis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.