Consequences of encephalitis in adults and children

Encephalitis is a disease of a viral or infectious nature that affects the brain. The causes of the ailment are diverse, and the consequences are sometimes unpredictable. Any person, regardless of gender and age, should take preventive measures that reduce the likelihood of the appearance of the disease.

How dangerous is encephalitis?

In case of a disease, the immune system receives erroneous signals and begins to attack its own cells. The development of inflammation occurs very quickly, treatment is carried out exclusively in the hospital (sometimes in the intensive care unit).

The consequences of encephalitis are unpredictable - at best there comes a complete recovery, at worst - a fatal outcome. Even if the treatment is completed successfully, the rehabilitation process can drag on for several months and even years.

Who is at risk?

No one is immune from a dangerous disease, but more often it affects children and older people. This is due to the fact that their immune system is weakened. For the same reason, people at risk are those who suffer from cancer, HIV-infected people, etc.

In spring and summer, with the appearance of ticks and mosquitoes, the group of risk also includes lovers of outdoor activities.

Causes

Encephalitis can be primary or secondary. In the first case, the causative agent immediately penetrates into the cells of the brain. In the second - the defeat of brain cells occurs as a complication of an already existing disease.

Pathogens of primary encephalitis:

• Viruses: herpes, Epstein-Barra, rabies, arbovirus (transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes);
• Bacteria.

The causative agents of secondary encephalitis:

• Viruses: measles, smallpox, influenza, HIV, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis;
• Vaccines against measles, rubella, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus (including DTP vaccine);
• Bacteria;
• Parasites.

Sometimes the appearance of encephalitis provokes allergens or toxic substances, but these are isolated cases.

The first reaction of the organism to the pathogen

After the end of the incubation period (it can last up to 20 days), there are symptoms that make it difficult to diagnose encephalitis, since they accompany a variety of diseases.

These include:

• Lethargy, apathy;
• insomnia;
• loss of appetite;
• Aching muscles and joints;
• Increased body temperature;
• Redness on the body;
• diarrhea.

Depending on the type of pathogen, some symptoms may manifest themselves more than others. In rare cases, the diseased does not feel any changes in the body.

Symptoms

There are the following subgroups of symptoms of encephalitis:

• Cerebral; cerebral;
• Focal.

Symptomatic symptoms include:

• Loss of consciousness - it can be either short-term or leading to a coma;
• Headache is a symptom that accompanies the development of encephalitis in almost all cases. It does not have a certain character and localization, its main feature is the gradual strengthening of the pain syndrome up to the intolerable;
• Nausea - often accompanied by vomiting that does not bring relief;
• Epileptic seizures - appear almost immediately;
• Mental disorders - the patient becomes unnecessarily emotional, does not always control his behavior; Overexcitement increases, leading to hallucinations and bouts of delirium;
• Exacerbation of sensitivity - fear of light and noise, touching the skin becomes painful.

Focal symptoms include:

• Difficult motor activity up to impossibility to move a hand or a foot;
• Violation or complete loss of sensitivity - the patient is unable to distinguish hot from cold, to recognize the nature of the touch;
• Violation of the function of the speech apparatus - from difficult speech to the complete loss of the ability to reproduce sounds;
• Impossibility to read and write;
• Violation of coordination - there is no certainty when walking, it is impossible to take any object in hand from the first attempt;
• Hearing impairment;
• Disturbed perception of the surrounding world - long objects seem short, large - small, etc .;
• Sudden muscle spasms in any part of the body;
• Involuntary acts of urination and bowel movement;
• Violation of face symmetry;
• Psychoemotional disorders.

In each case, the symptoms manifest themselves in different ways. The disease is not always accompanied by all of the above signs.

Diagnostic measures

For an accurate diagnosis, it is necessary to undergo a survey including:

• Examination of a neurologist;
• blood test;
• Investigation of cerebrospinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid);
• Computed tomography;
• Electroencephalography.

Consequences of the disease in adults

The age of the patient and the degree of severity of the disease are the main factors influencing the appearance and nature of the consequences after encephalitis. With the timely diagnosis of the disease, the probability of successful treatment is significantly increased.

Extremely dangerous is the situation when the disease develops without pronounced symptoms. The person does not feel a strong discomfort, meanwhile, the inflammation spreads to the cells of the brain with great speed.

In this case, it is impossible to predict the severity of the consequences of encephalitis in adults, there may be:

• Constant feeling of fatigue;
• Difficult concentration of attention;
• Personal changes;
• Loss of memory - complete or partial, after its restoration throughout life, short-term dips may occur;
• A violation of coordination, even to the impossibility of making movements by the limbs of the body;
• Psychoemotional disorders, sometimes - full disability;
• Disturbance in the work of the senses.

The most dangerous consequences of encephalitis are those caused by degenerative changes in brain nerve cells. They inevitably lead to disability, often to a fatal outcome.

In each individual case, complications are unpredictable. The situation is complicated by the fact that in the first stage of the disease a person does not attach importance to the symptoms, considering them a manifestation of a cold.

Self-medication and unwillingness to go to a medical institution lead to death - sometimes encephalitis in a short time completely destroys the brain cells.

Consequences of encephalitis in children

If the child became restless, his sleep deteriorated, vomiting, headache, redness on the skin, you need to immediately call an ambulance.

The course of the disease in children can be asymptomatic, often the first signs are taken for a flu-like condition. When they appear, parents should be safe to avoid threatening the child's life.

The common consequences of encephalitis in children are:

• Atrophy of muscle tissue;
• Mental retardation;
• Mental disorders;
• Deterioration of hearing and vision;
• Epileptic seizures;
• Difficult speech.

There are situations when a child who has suffered a severe form of encephalitis has no negative consequences, but the likelihood of a lethal outcome is very high.

Preventive measures

The spring-summer period is the time of activity of ticks that are carriers of arbovirus. Currently, the disease, provoked by their bites, is of a massive nature. The most common consequence of tick-borne encephalitis in adults and children is disability. Protection from it is vaccination. When you are in a place of a large cluster of mites (for example, in the forest) you need to use repellent repellents, carefully cover the skin with clothing and shoes.

Timely vaccination should be carried out against measles, diphtheria, tetanus, rubella, etc. (postvaccinal encephalitis is much less common than that that develops against the background of these diseases).

Particular attention should be paid to the already existing diseases - not to allow complications, having started competent and timely therapy.

Below is a tick in the photo. The consequences of encephalitis, which it causes, are often terrible; Among those who suffered a high percentage of death.

Recovery period

Encephalitis can cause both short-term effects, and those that will accompany the rest of life. On average, with a mild form of the disease, the body recovers in 1-2 months, at an average - for 3-4 months, heavy - for several years.

People who have experienced a dangerous ailment are shown sanatorium treatment, the consequences of encephalitis after it are less pronounced or retreat altogether.

In rehabilitation centers, the following types of care are provided:

• physiotherapy;
• Carrying out physiotherapy;
• Health-improving massage;
• Kinesiotherapy;
• Hirudotherapy;
• Ergotherapy.

For each case, a program is prepared, including the necessary measures. A qualified physician works with a person: a psychologist, an ophthalmologist, an otorhinolaryngologist, a speech therapist. There are cases when the patient "learns to live" again - to walk, read, write, eat, and conduct a dialogue.

Encephalitis is a dangerous disease that rapidly destroys the cells of the brain. Symptoms and consequences of encephalitis often have a pronounced character, when the first signs of a person's illness appear, one must immediately be hospitalized in a medical institution. Timely treatment begun significantly increases the probability of successful recovery from the disease without the occurrence of consequences.