Meningeal symptoms - what is it?

Meningeal symptoms (meningeal signs) - a concept that includes subjective disorders and objective symptoms, which can be determined by examining the patient.

A cardiac meningeal symptom is a headache that is characterized by a high intensity (so strong that the patients can grasp the head, groan and even scream for pain), diffuse (that is, the entire head region hurts) and the sensation that the head is bursting.

Patients suffering from meningeal symptoms, constantly feel pressure on the ears, eyes and the back of the head. In addition, pain in the head may be accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the neck, spine. Also, its amplification occurs in bright light, loud sound or simply a change in the position of the human body.

If, in the main, the membranes of the spinal cord are affected, the pain may not be so strong. It almost goes away after the person takes the loop duet.

Meningeal symptoms are characterized most often by the fact that the headache is accompanied by vomiting and nausea. And the vomiting is not connected with the reception of food. It arises suddenly. In addition to too much sensitivity to photo and sound stimulation, there is also pronounced hyperesthesia of the skin. Painful sensations can occur when palpation, stroking the shoulders, hips and abdomen. In some cases, such symptoms, especially in combination with vomiting and nausea, deceptively imitate the picture of the acute abdomen.

The most demonstrative of the objective symptoms of meningeal syndrome can be called: the lower and upper symptoms of Brudzinsky, the stiff neck muscles and the symptoms of Kerning.

Rigidity can be checked by placing a person on his back and bending his head with closed jaws. When the syndrome is present, the patient can not reach the chest with his chin. This is due to the fact that the muscle tone in the extensor muscles of the head is increased.

Meningeal symptoms can have different degrees of severity: weak, in which case the patient is not enough to touch the chest only one or two centimeters. Moderate meningeal symptoms, when a patient's chin does not reach the sternum by 3-5 centimeters. With a pronounced symptom, the head does not leave the vertical position at all and is thrown back.

It is necessary to distinguish the rigidity of the muscles and the radicular symptom of Neri. At the last to bend a head or in general it is impossible, or it is very complex or difficult because of that there is a strong pain. It should be noted that rigidity can be combined with Neri-symptom. In addition, difficulties with the bending of the head may be due to the fact that the cervical spine has begun to damage.

There are several degrees of manifestation of meningeal symptoms - from quite small to very pronounced. When the disease has reached late terms, and adequate treatment has not been carried out, patients take a characteristic posture: lying on their side, with their head tilted back and their legs pressed to the stomach. It is also called the pose of a dog.

The patient can determine all meningeal symptoms:

- complete syndrome;

- when there is no part of the characteristic symptoms;

- incomplete syndrome, which appears in viral serous meningitis.

There is still such a thing as pseudo-meningeal syndrome. It arises from the causes that make it difficult or impossible to move in the neck, knees, thereby leading to the appearance of meningeal symptoms (Kernig symptom and neck stiffness).

Most often, it is due to the fact that muscle tone (parkinsonism), paratonia or orthopedic pathologies such as spondylarthrosis and spondylosis increases. There is always a strong pain syndrome.