Live Life Team
Meningitis refers to an infection of the meninges. Meninges are protective membranes that encase the spinal cord and brain. This infection leads to meninges getting swollen up and inflamed, further causing severe damage to the nerves and brain. Meningitis has been classified into two, on the basis of their causes. They are:
Viral Meningitis – caused by viruses, like the herpes simplex virus
Bacterial Meningitis – caused by bacteria, like the streptococcus pneumonia
Further details have been explained under Causes of Meningitis.
Symptoms of Meningitis
The symptoms of Meningitis among children are:
Hands and feet of the child are cold constantly
Extreme pain felt in their hands and legs
Skin turns pale
Lips appear bluish
The symptoms of Bacterial Meningitis are:
Stiff neck (less common among children)
Vomiting
Severe headache
Fever
Confusion
Drowsiness
Fits or seizures
Photophobia – unable to bare bright lights
Blotchy red rashes on the skin (the colour of these rashes will not change or fade away when keep a glass against it)
The above mentioned symptoms of bacterial meningitis begin unexpectedly and quickly worsen. The rash may not occur in all the cases; hence it should not be assumed that the absence of the rash indicates the diagnosis of meningitis to be ruled out.
The symptoms of Viral Meningitis are:
Headache
Nausea
Fever
Vomiting
Photophobia
Muscles and joint pain
The above listed symptoms of viral meningitis are usually mild.
How can Bacterial and viral meningitis be distinguished,
The difference between the two can be identified by carrying out clinical tests, and not by the symptoms alone.
Causes of Meningitis
Bacterial Meningitis
There are numerous different types of bacteria that could be responsible for meningitis. Although various vaccination programmes have been introduced, reducing the number of cases. The vaccines for a few bacteria still seem to be undiscovered. Those include bacteria such as,
Neisseria meningitis bacteria – this is better known as meningococcus bacteria. This kind of bacteria usually spreads by sneezing, coughing, sharing personal possessions such as cigarettes, toothbrush or utensils. Most of the adults over the age of 25 are immune to meningococcus bacteria.
Streptococcus pneumonia bacteria – this is better known as pneumococcus bacteria. This usually tends to affect babies and children, as a result of the lack of immunity to these bacteria by their immune system.
Viral Meningitis
Just like Bacterial meningitis, there are numerous vaccination programmes that have been designed to eliminate the risk of several viruses that are responsible for causing meningitis. For instance, a vaccine called MMR provides immunity to children against mumps, a virus that acts as one of the major causes of viral meningitis. The vaccines for a few viruses still seem to be undiscovered. Those include viruses such as,
The herpes simplex virus – these viruses are the cause of cold sores and genital herpes.
Enteroviruses – this includes a series of viruses that lead to a mild stomach infection.
