Meningitis is a disease that can be a complication of some diseases - viral, bacterial or fungal, but can also develop as an independent pathology. Symptoms of viral meningitis in children most often appear during or after trips to the sea, from June to September, they can also manifest when a child with insufficiently strong immunity and / or diseases of the central nervous system has been sick for some time with chicken pox, measles, rubella, mumps, colds. Parents should be especially vigilant about checking for symptoms of viral meningitis in children every time after the offspring is 1-1.5 years old, especially if the child likes to interact with children, exchange toys with them, or simply attends a nursery or kindergarten.
How can you get viral meningitis?
The virus can get to a child or an adult in any known way: airborne, household, contact, through dirtyhands or even when bitten by certain insects. A very large number of these microbes can potentially cause meningitis, but this does not necessarily happen - it all depends on the immune defense.
So, enteroviruses that caused outbreaks of meningitis in kindergartens and summer camps are transmitted by airborne droplets, as well as through sea, not boiled drinking water or milk, when using common utensils or toys (that is, a he althy child swallows a virus that was on a household item). In the same way, you can "catch" chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, which can be complicated by meningitis.
The most dangerous viruses - herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus - can be transmitted by airborne droplets, sexual contact, and through the placenta, and through shared toys and utensils. The same viruses can infect a child if the contents of a rash vesicle accidentally get on his skin.
Adults also get sick with viral meningitis, only it happens much less often: for several decades of life, the immune system already has time to get acquainted with more than a dozen viruses and the results of their natural mutations, and it does not allow the microbe to reach the "desired" meninges. An adult gets sick only when either he himself went to the habitat of atypical viruses, or another person - sick or carrier - came from another country (region) and brought with him several unfamiliar strains of the microbe.
Symptoms of viral meningitis in children
Illness caused by any virus begins, usually with symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, feelingdiscomfort in the throat, a feeling of aching in the joints and muscles. In addition, various types of rash may appear. Body temperature may rise or remain normal. The child will behave very actively or, on the contrary, get tired faster and not show the usual cheerfulness - it all depends on the type of virus and the initial state of the baby.
The next stage is when the virus has overcome the cellular barrier that protects the brain. This is meningitis. His symptoms are:
- The body temperature usually rises to high numbers.
- The child begins to complain that his head hurts. At the same time, he can show his whole head, say that some specific area hurts, for example, whiskey. This pain in itself is very strong, it can wake you up at night. It is briefly relieved with painkillers. Rising and sitting aggravate the headache, as do loud noises and bright lights. Parents may notice that the child lies more, tries to create a semi-dark room for himself, does not turn on his favorite music and hardly uses the computer.
- Nausea and vomiting appear. Vomiting can be one or two times, while you know for sure that you didn’t give anything “suspicious” food, and besides, the child’s stomach does not hurt, there is no diarrhea. It doesn't get better after vomiting.
- Drowsiness, lethargy due to fever and headache are observed.
- Harder touch (like stroking) feels more uncomfortable.
- May be dizzy.
- Possibleconvulsions (dangerous symptom).
- There are strabismus, sensory loss, decreased hearing or vision, unsteady gait, which complement the symptoms of viral meningitis in children described above. It is necessary to immediately go to the hospital, as not only the shell of the brain is already suffering, but also he himself.
- Complement meningitis (symptoms in children) rash can. With viral meningitis, it resembles that which appears with chickenpox, with rubella or measles, if inflammation of the meninges has become a complication of these diseases. Enteroviral meningitis is characterized by a small, red rash.
What signs of illness can a doctor check for meningitis?
- Rigidity of the neck muscles: in the prone position, the adult puts his hand under the child's head and bends his neck so that his chin reaches the sternum. If there is meningitis, there is an empty space between the chin and the sternum. An important condition: this symptom should not be checked when the patient has a high body temperature, as the symptom may be false positive.
- There is another way to check for meningitis (symptoms in children). Photos of signs that are checked with flexion-extension of both legs alternately are presented in the article:
- if you bend the leg at the hip and knee joint, it becomes impossible to extend the leg at the knee;
- if you bend the leg in the same way, then when you try to straighten it at the knee, the second leg bends and pulls up to the stomach;
- when checking neck stiffness, both legsinvoluntarily pulled up to the stomach.
Diagnosis is based solely on the results of a lumbar puncture. Therefore, if only one or two symptoms are determined, the doctor will decide to do a lumbar puncture immediately. However, he may wait a few hours while receiving anti-inflammatory therapy, and then reassess the severity of the symptoms.
