Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes lining the brain and spinal cord due to the entry of a virus into this region. Symptoms of meningitis initially manifest as high fever and severe headaches.
After a few hours, the meninges become irritated when they report pain when the person tries to rest their chin on their chest. Illness and refusal to eat occur soon after. Increased pressure inside the skull causes symptoms such as impaired consciousness, severe headaches, vomiting and difficulty with light.
Therefore, symptoms of viral meningitis are usually
In children younger than 2 years, drowsiness, irritability and easy crying may occur.
In addition, Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome may develop in some people, which is an extremely severe version of viral meningitis caused by meningitis in Neisseria. In this case, symptoms such as very severe diarrhea, vomiting, seizures, internal bleeding, very low blood pressure occur and the person may go into shock, at risk of death.
The person who has 3 symptoms like these should be considered suspected of meningitis and antibiotics should be started. However, if purchased through tests other than bacterial meningitis, these medications are not necessary.
The diagnosis of viral meningitis is made by examining the blood, urine, faeces and also the lumbar puncture, which takes a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid covering the entire nervous system. This test can identify the disease and its causative agent. After identifying the disease, it’s also important to know where the person is. There are three phases of gravity:
People diagnosed with viral meningitis in stages 1 and 2 are more likely to recover than those in stage 3.
After diagnosis of the disease, treatment should be initiated, which is done by taking medicines to lower the fever and relieve other discomfort. Antibiotics are only effective in cases of meningitis caused by bacteria, so most of the time they are not indicated in this situation.
Most of the time, treatment is done in the hospital, but in some cases, your doctor may let the person perform treatment at home. Because viral meningitis has a better cure than bacterial meningitis, hospitalization is only recommended to keep the person well hydrated, even after vomiting and diarrhea.
Healing usually occurs within 1 to 2 weeks, but the person may become weak and feel dizzy for weeks or even months after treatment ends. Sometimes, the person may have sequelae such as memory loss, smell, difficulty swallowing, personality changes, imbalance, seizures and psychosis.