Introduction: Meningitis must not be ignored. Meningitis often occurs in children. So what causes meningitis? What are the early symptoms of meningitis? Let’s take a look below! What is meningitis?
Officially, meningitis is an infection of the meninges, or meninges (the membrane between the skull and the brain), usually with the complication of bacterial or viral infection of any part of the body, such as the ears. Head or upper respiratory tract infection, etc. In layman's terms, meningitis is a disease caused by pathogens.
According to different pathogenic infections, meningitis can be divided into bacterial meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, viral meningitis, and cryptococcal meningitis. Of course, in addition to germs, bacteria, and other microorganisms that cause meningitis, in rare cases certain medications can also cause meningitis symptoms. Not only adults, but even children can get meningitis.
The most common symptoms of meningitis are headache and neck stiffness, along with fever, confusion or changes in consciousness, vomiting, and intolerance of bright lights (photophobia) or loud sounds (phonophobia). . Meningitis in children usually presents with nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability and listlessness.
Because meningitis infects areas close to the brain and spinal cord, it can be fatal in severe cases. However, since the widespread use of antibiotics, the incidence of meningitis has been greatly reduced worldwide. Coupled with the continuous development of medical conditions, the treatment of meningitis has also achieved great success.
What causes meningitis?
1. Cause of bacterial meningitis: Bacterial meningitis is caused by a certain bacterial infection. This kind of bacteria is carried in the nose or body of healthy people. Under normal circumstances, it will not cause harm to the human body. However, people are easily infected by this kind of bacteria when they have a cold, because the inflammation of the nose may cause the bacteria to enter the skull. Bacterial meningitis can easily develop if not detected and treated in time. Additionally, bacterial meningitis can be spread through coughing or sneezing.
2. Cause of tuberculous meningitis: Tuberculous meningitis is a non-suppurative inflammation of the meninges caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, accounting for about 6% of systemic tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection spreads through the blood and implants under the leptomeninges to form tuberculous nodules. After the nodules rupture, a large number of tuberculosis bacteria enter the subarachnoid space. In recent years, the incidence and mortality of tuberculous meningitis have increased.
3. Causes of viral meningitis: Viral meningitis can be caused by several viruses, including several viruses related to diarrhea, one of which may be infected after being bitten by a large vole.
4. Causes of cryptococcal meningitis: Cryptococcal meningitis can be caused by fungi. The most common one is Cryptococcus, which can be found in pigeons. Healthy people are less susceptible to fungal-related meningitis, but the same is not true for people infected with HIV, the immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. Therefore, people with AIDS are more likely to get cryptococcal meningitis. What are the symptoms of meningitis?
Adult meningitis
1. Early symptoms of meningitis may include extremely low blood pressure, especially in epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, but the phenomenon of hypotension is not limited to epidemic meningitis. Meningitis; low blood pressure may cause insufficient blood supply to other organs.
2. Brain tissue may swell and pressure within the skull may increase. Symptoms include decreased level of consciousness, loss of pupillary sensory reflexes, and abnormal posture.
3. Meningeal inflammation may cause brain nerve abnormalities, such as visual impairment, hearing loss, abnormal movement of body parts (such as inability to control facial expressions), etc.
4. It should be noted that common symptoms of meningitis include: high fever (40℃), stiff neck, severe headache, loss of appetite, confusion, vomiting, convulsions, fatigue, drowsiness, Sensitivity to light, small blood spots on the skin, and skin rashes (especially on the armpits, hands, and feet), these symptoms of meningitis are somewhat similar to cold symptoms. This is also the reason why meningitis patients have early symptoms but are misdiagnosed.
Meningitis symptoms in children:
1. The common meningitis in children is tuberculous meningitis. Its early symptoms are irritability, crying, mental sluggishness, not liking games, and sometimes There are symptoms such as low fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, restless sleep, and weight loss. Older children may also experience headaches, worsening vomiting, and gradual drowsiness. If the condition worsens, they may develop coma, frequent convulsions, limb muscle relaxation, paralysis, etc., which may lead to death.
2. Another common type of meningitis in children is purulent meningitis, with fever, headache, vomiting, irritability and other symptoms as the main symptoms. Patients with an acute onset may have a high fever of over 39°C, severe headache, poor energy, fatigue, loss of appetite, and frequent vomiting. Children are generally conscious when the disease develops. As the disease progresses, they may develop drowsiness, confusion, disorganized speech, and the inability to correctly identify directions. Severe cases may develop convulsions and coma within 24 hours of onset. If not treated in time, children may also develop symptoms such as neck stiffness, head tilting back, back stiffness, and the entire body bending behind like a "bow".