What is meningitis?

Inflammation of the membranes of the brain causes such a disease as meningitis. It can be caused by a variety of microorganisms. There are two forms of the disease: primary and secondary.

What is primary meningitis ? It is said about it if the brain shells are immediately affected. The source of it can be a sick person or a carrier of infection. Meningitis is transmitted through coughing, sneezing, talking in the process of communication, with kisses. The susceptibility to it is marked by persons suffering from bronchitis, diseases of the lungs, trachea, larynx. This explains the outbreak in the spring, winter and autumn. It occurs with infectious diseases transmitted by ticks (encephalitis) and mosquitoes.

Mostly they are affected by children of different ages. As a rule, meningitis is accompanied by high fever and other signs. In addition to fever and chills, vomiting is repeated, which has nothing to do with food intake and does not bring relief. Older children complain of a headache. The little ones cry helplessly from the pain, they behave restlessly. Breast children, in addition to manifesting other symptoms, do not take the chest, regurgitate, cramps are possible. The patient is irritated by bright lighting, loud sounds, and touches. With a severe form of meningitis, they lie on their side, tilt their head and pull up their legs, painfully perceive an attempt to straighten their neck.

Also there is a pallor of the skin surface, cyanosis of the lips and the zone near them, rapid breathing. In addition, the disease can appear as a complication after the inflammation of the middle ear, sinusitis, mumps, tuberculosis, measles, syphilis, influenza and others - that's what secondary meningitis is. It often flows and is not so pronounced. The general condition and headache increase slowly, but if you do not take measures, lead to the above picture of the severe stage of the disease.

There is also a reactive meningitis. This is an extremely rapidly developing form of the disease. What is reactive meningitis, how is it manifested? It is bacterial in nature, develops lightning fast, often leads to coma or even death from purulent inflammation of the membranes of the brain. Distinguish from other forms of reactive meningitis that this particular disease is determined by the puncture of the spine in the lumbar region to take the cerebrospinal fluid for analysis. If to delay with this procedure, further treatment will not be so effective. In addition, the puncture is not only diagnostic. When the cerebrospinal fluid is extracted , the pressure inside the skull decreases and the patient's condition improves, he regains consciousness, the headache disappears, and vomiting stops. Sometimes punctures are repeated to alleviate the condition of the patient and to analyze and monitor the changes in the composition of cerebrospinal fluid, and thus assess the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the treatment.

Complications that arise after a prolonged course of the disease, allow us to understand what meningitis is, how dangerous it is, and seriously treat its treatment. At best, they are limited only to a headache, and at worst - by deafness, strabismus, seizures with convulsions and even dropsy of the brain.

Of course, prevention is preferable to any treatment. Therefore, in order not to have to experience what meningitis is, one must take care of its prevention. Prophylaxis is concluded in the immediate isolation of the diseased persons and carriers of the pathogen. As for the emergence of secondary meningitis, timely treatment of ear, nose, tuberculosis, cough, and flu diseases will help to avoid it. Also, beware of bites of ticks and mosquitoes, especially in places of their increased congestion.