How to Detect Meningitis!

There are two forms of Meningitis, viral and bacterial. It is a disease that causes inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. How do you get Meningitis? How can you prevent meningitis? Are they both fatal? What are the symptoms? All these issues are discussed in the following EHow article.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. What is Meningitis?
   Cerebrospinal fluid protects the brain and spinal cord with the help of the meninges. Meninges are membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. MENINGitis is an infection of the meninges. There are two kinds of infections: Viral and Bacterial!
2. Viral Meningitis is caused by a virus which can be spread by coughing or sneezing in a person's face, not washing your hands after using the toilet, sharing eating or drinking utensils with an infected person, kissing an infected person AND sharing a cigarette (or joint) with an infected person. (Spit, poop and snot!) Viral meningitis is serious, but rarely fatal. Antibiotics do not cure viral meningitis, but treatment will include bed rest, plenty of fluids and medications to relieve some of the symptoms.
3. Neisseria meningitidis! Bacterial Meningitis is very serious, can be contagious and requires hospitalization during treatment. Bacterial meningitis may result in brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, and even death. For bacterial meningitis, it is important to know which type of bacteria is causing the meningitis because antibiotics can prevent some types from spreading and infecting other people. Neisseria meningitidis is the common cause of bacterial meningitis. There are 4 known types, and there are vaccines. Unfortunately the vaccine is not always effective in young children.
4. Symptoms:
   A very bad headache that won't go away
   Neck Stiffness
   Back Stiffness
   Eye Pain or irritation when exposed to light
   Nausea or being sick to the stomach
   Vomiting or throwing up
   Body aches
   Fever
   Feeling very sleepy or unable to fully wake up
   Feeling very confused or out of it
   *Symptoms can come on very quickly or take a couple of days to appear.
5. Diagnosis:
   A spinal tap is performed to collect cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the spinal cord for examination under the microscope. The doctor will numb an area along the spine and then insert a needle between two vertebras to collect a sample for testing. Treatment depends on the type of meningitis. If bacterial meningitis is suspected the diagnosis is usually made by growing bacteria from a sample of spinal fluid.

Tips & Warnings

• Appropriate antibiotic treatment of most common types of bacterial meningitis should reduce the risk of dying from meningitis to below 15%, although the risk is higher among the elderly.
• Washing your hands after using or even entering a public restroom is just good common sense!