Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that line the brain and spinal cord due to the entry of a virus in this region. The symptoms of meningitis initially manifest with a high fever and severe headache.
After a few hours, irritation of the meninges can be noted when reporting pain when the person tries to touch the chin to the chest. Sickness and refusal to eat occur shortly thereafter. The increased pressure inside the skull causes symptoms such as altered consciousness, severe headache, vomiting and difficulty with light.
Thus, the symptoms of viral meningitis are usually:
- High fever; Severe headache; Nucular stiffness that manifests itself through difficulty in moving the neck and resting the chin on the chest; Difficulty in raising the leg while lying on its back; Sickness and vomiting; Intolerance to light and noises; tremors; hallucinations; drowsiness; convulsions.
In children under 2 years of age, drowsiness, irritability and easy crying may still appear.
In addition, Waterhouse-Friederischsen syndrome may develop in some people, which is a version of extremely severe viral meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitis . In this case, there are symptoms such as very strong diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions, internal bleeding, very low blood pressure and the person may go into shock, with the risk of death.
How to Confirm Viral Meningitis
The person who has 3 symptoms like these should be considered suspicious of meningitis and antibiotics should be started. However, if it is purchased through tests that are not bacterial meningitis, these drugs are not necessary.
The diagnosis of viral meningitis is made by examining blood, urine, feces and also lumbar puncture, which takes a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid that lines the entire nervous system. This test can identify the disease and its causative agent. After identifying the disease it is also important to know what stage of severity the person is in. There are 3 phases of gravity:
- Stage 1: When the person has mild symptoms and has no changes in consciousness; Stage 2: When the person has drowsiness, irritability, delirium, hallucinations, mental confusion, personality changes; Stage 3: When the person experiences apathy or falls into a coma.
People diagnosed with viral meningitis in stages 1 and 2 have a better chance of recovery than those in stage 3.
Treatment for Viral Meningitis
After the diagnosis of the disease, treatment should be started, which is done with medication to lower the fever and relieve other discomforts. Taking antibiotics is only effective in cases of meningitis caused by bacteria, and therefore, most of the time they are not indicated in this situation.
Most of the time the treatment is done at the hospital, but in some cases the doctor may let the person perform the treatment at home. As viral meningitis has a better recovery than in the case of bacterial meningitis, hospitalization is advised only so that the person remains well hydrated, even after vomiting and diarrhea.
Recovery usually occurs within 1 or 2 weeks but the person may become weak and feel dizzy for weeks or even months after treatment ends. Sometimes, the person can have some sequels such as loss of memory, smell, difficulty swallowing, personality change, imbalance, seizures and psychosis.
Discover 5 practical steps to protect yourself from viral meningitis on a daily basis.
