Meningitis in children: symptoms, causes, treatment

Meningitis is a dangerous infectious disease that develops in the central nervous system. You can get it at any age. But it is most common in children. This is caused by a fragile organism in which the disease spreads rapidly. Meningococcal infection in children usually does not go away without leaving a trace and leaves behind serious consequences. Even if you start treatment on time, complications cannot be avoided.

Causes of meningitis

Meningitis is transmitted by airborne droplets. Therefore, you can get it from a sick person or animal. The infection can also be transmitted through contaminated objects.

The causes of inflammation can be both bacteria and viruses.

The most common causes of the disease are:

• pathogenic bacteria such as tuberculosis bacillus, pneumococcus, syphilis, various types of staphylococcus and streptococcus;
• viruses in the form of sore throat, measles, herpes, rubella, chickenpox;
• fungi such as cryptococcus;
• simple microorganisms, for example, amoeba and toxoplasma.

Moreover, at different ages, different pathogens predominate. In children in the newborn period, meningitis is a rare case. They can only get an intrauterine infection through the mother.

In infants, an infectious disease can manifest itself from the immunodeficiency virus or from congenital syphilis. The most common cause of this disease in children 1 year of age is a bacterial infection due to meningococcus.

Staphylococcus and streptococcus often become the causative agents of meningitis in schoolchildren. In adolescents and adults, the diagnosis can be made as a result of tuberculosis.

Symptoms of meningitis in children

The predominant signs of meningitis are vomiting, headache and fever in the patient.

From the very beginning of the disease, headache appears. Moreover, it is quite strong and spreads over the entire head. The manifestation of this symptom is associated with processes occurring in the brain. It swells and the nerve endings begin to become irritated. Therefore, a headache may also be accompanied by pain in those places where the nerve endings exit. Particularly painful is felt when palpating nerve points on the upper lip, middle forehead, around the nose and in the ears.

Meningitis is also accompanied by severe vomiting. There is no feeling of nausea. But it usually does not bring the slightest relief. It appears as a result of irritation due to swelling of the brain.

With this disease, the temperature can rise to 40 degrees. It, like a headache, begins to rise from the very beginning of the disease and can last for several days. Even if therapy is started on time, the temperature in children begins to subside only 3-4 days after the onset of the disease.

During illness, children begin to experience intoxication syndrome, which manifests itself through symptoms such as lethargy, weakness, decreased appetite, foggy head, constant desire to sleep, and muscle weakness.

Meningitis is accompanied by all of the above symptoms. Therefore, the presence of only one of them does not mean that the child has contracted this particular disease.

Also, during meningitis, children become irritable. This is due to a decrease in the sensitivity threshold, as a result of which irritating factors such as light and sound intensify the headache. A sick child begins to be very sensitive to sharp sounds and bright lighting.

In infants, as a result of increasing intracranial pressure, thickening and swelling of the fontanel can be observed.

In severe forms of the disease, the child may experience seizures, which can lead to loss of consciousness.

Treatment of meningitis in children

Only a doctor can diagnose meningitis. The diagnosis is made based on interviewing the child and his parents about the symptoms, their duration and severity. It is also necessary to find out what viral pathologies the child suffered. This is followed by an examination, on the basis of which the symptoms can be confirmed. It is necessary to take blood and urine tests.

But the main indicator for diagnosis is a spinal puncture, which involves puncturing the lower back to collect fluid.

Treatment of meningitis is carried out only in hospital settings. In this case, the child must be on bed rest and a special diet.

Drug treatment will depend on the type of meningitis. If the cause of the disease is a bacterial pathogen, then antibiotics with a wide range of effects are prescribed. In case of viral meningitis, antiviral drugs are used.

If treatment is started in a timely manner, the symptoms begin to go away within 3-4 days, and the cerebrospinal fluid returns to normal within a week. On the 10th day after the onset of positive dynamics, a puncture is performed again.

The result of treatment depends on at what stage of the disease development therapy began. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately go to the hospital at the first signs, since meningitis can lead to complications in the form of a brain tumor, pneumonia, kidney failure and paralysis.

Prevention of meningitis in children

To avoid meningitis, you need to strengthen children's immunity and follow sanitary and hygienic rules. Prevention is aimed at eliminating the child’s contact with pathogens.

Boost immunity Frequent walks in the fresh air and hardening will help. Bright light in the children's room, periodic ventilation and high-quality cleaning will help get rid of germs.

If a child goes to kindergarten or school, it is necessary to impose quarantine during the exacerbation of infectious diseases such as measles, chickenpox and rubella.

Another effective way of prevention is timely vaccination of the child in accordance with age. Since the vaccinated organism creates increased immunity against meningitis pathogens.

At the slightest suspicion, you should consult a specialist. You should not self-medicate, as this can lead to irreversible consequences.