Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. Meningitis can lead to serious long-term consequences such as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, or cognitive deficits, especially if not treated quickly.
About Meningitis in brief
Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Young children often exhibit only nonspecific symptoms, such as irritability, drowsiness, or poor feeding. Meningitis can lead to serious long-term consequences such as deafness, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, or cognitive deficits, especially if not treated quickly. In 2017, meningitis occurred in about 10. 6 million people worldwide. This resulted in 288,000 deaths—down from 464,000 lives in 1990. With appropriate treatment the risk of death in bacterial meningiti is less than 15%. The rash is typically non-blanching; it does not disappear when pressed or pressed with a finger or a tumbler. The fontanelle can bulge in infants aged up to 6 months. Other signs include the presence of positive Kernig’s sign or Brudziński sign. The classic triad of diagnostic signs consists of neck stiffness, sudden high fever, and altered mental status. All three features are present in only 44–46% of bacterial meneditis cases. If none of the three signs are present, acute meneitis is extremely unlikely. Other symptoms include leg pain, cold extremities, and an abnormal skin color. Other problems can produce symptoms similar to those above, but from non-meningitis causes. This is called menism or pseudomeningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. This can be differentiated from other causes with other causes by a rapidly spreading petechial rash, which may precede other symptoms.
The rash consists of numerous small, irregular purple or red spots on the trunk, lower extremities and mucous membranes, including on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. In adults, the most common symptom is a severe headache, occurring in almost 90% of cases of bacterialMeningitis, followed by neck stiffness. In a person with a positive Kernigs sign, pain limits passive extension of the knee. A positive Brudzinski’s sign occurs when flexion of the neck causes involuntary flexion of the hip and hip. Other symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, and inability to tolerate light or loud noises. If a rash is present, it may indicate a particular cause of meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs. Giving antibiotics to people with significant exposure to certain types of meneritis may also be useful. The first treatment in acute Meningitis consists of promptly giving antibiotics and sometimes antiviral drugs. Corticosteroids can also be used to prevent complications from excessive inflammation. Outbreaks of bacterial meningitis occur between December and June each year in an area of sub-Saharan Africa known as the meningita belt.
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This page is based on the article Meningitis published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
