Encephalitis is a viral or infectious disease that affects the brain. The causes of the disease are varied, and the consequences are sometimes unpredictable. Any person, regardless of gender and age, needs to follow preventive measures that reduce the likelihood of the onset of the disease.
How dangerous is encephalitis?
When you get sick, your immune system gets the wrong signals and starts attacking your own cells. The development of inflammation occurs very quickly, treatment is carried out exclusively in a hospital (sometimes in an intensive care unit).
The consequences of encephalitis are unpredictable - at best, a full recovery occurs, at worst - a fatal outcome. Even if the treatment is completed successfully, the rehabilitation process can drag on for several months or even years.
Who is at risk?
No one is immune from a dangerous disease, but children and the elderly are more likely to suffer from it. This is because their immune system is weakened. For the same reason, at risk are people suffering from cancer, HIV-infected andex.
In the spring-summer period, with the appearance of ticks and mosquitoes, outdoor enthusiasts are also at risk.
Causes of occurrence
Encephalitis can be primary or secondary. In the first case, the pathogen immediately penetrates the brain cells. In the second, damage to brain cells occurs as a complication of an existing disease.
Causative agents of primary encephalitis:
- viruses: herpes, Epstein-Barr, rabies, arbovirus (carried by ticks and mosquitoes);
- bacteria.
Causative agents of secondary encephalitis:
- viruses: measles, varicella, influenza, HIV, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough;
- vaccines against measles, rubella, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus (including DPT vaccine);
- bacteria;
- parasites.
Sometimes the appearance of encephalitis is provoked by allergens or toxic substances, but these are isolated cases.
The first reaction of the body to the pathogen
After the end of the incubation period (it can last up to 20 days), symptoms appear that make it difficult to diagnose encephalitis, because they accompany many diseases.
These include:
- lethargy, apathy;
- insomnia;
- loss of appetite;
- aches in muscles and joints;
- high body temperature;
- redness on the body;
- diarrhea.
Depending on the type of pathogen, some symptoms may be more severe than others. In rare cases, sickdoes not feel any changes in the body.
Symptoms
There are the following subgroups of symptoms of encephalitis:
- general brain;
- focal.
Cerebral symptoms include:
- loss of consciousness - it can be both short-term and leading to a coma;
- Headache is a sign that accompanies the development of encephalitis in almost all cases. It does not have a specific character and localization, its main feature is a gradual increase in pain up to unbearable;
- nausea - often accompanied by vomiting without relief;
- epileptic seizures - appear almost immediately;
- mental disorders - the patient becomes overly emotional, does not always control his behavior; overexcitement builds up, leading to hallucinations and bouts of delirium;
- exacerbation of sensitivity - fear of light and noise, touching the skin becomes painful.
Focal symptoms include:
- difficult motor activity up to the inability to move an arm or leg;
- violation or complete loss of sensitivity - the patient is unable to distinguish hot from cold, recognize the nature of touch;
- violation of the function of the speech apparatus - from difficult speech to complete loss of the ability to reproduce sounds;
- inability to read and write;
- discoordination - lack of confidencewhen walking, it is impossible to pick up any item in the hand on the first try;
- hearing loss;
- impaired perception of the surrounding world - long objects seem short, large objects seem small, etc.;
- sudden muscle spasms in any part of the body;
- involuntary acts of urination and bowel movements;
- dissymmetry of the face;
- psycho-emotional disorders.
In each case, the symptoms manifest differently. The disease is not always accompanied by all of the above symptoms.
Diagnostic measures
For an accurate diagnosis, you must undergo an examination, including:
- examination by a neurologist;
- blood test;
- study of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid);
- computed tomography;
- electroencephalography.
Consequences of the disease in adults
The age of the patient and the severity of the disease are the main factors influencing the appearance and nature of the consequences after encephalitis. With timely diagnosis of the disease, the likelihood of successful treatment increases significantly.
Extremely dangerous is the situation when the disease develops without pronounced symptoms. A person does not feel severe discomfort, meanwhile, inflammation spreads to brain cells at a high speed.
In this case, it is impossible to predict the severity of the consequences of encephalitis in adults, there may be:
- constant feeling of tiredness;
- difficulty concentrating;
- personal change;
- memory loss - complete or partial, after its restoration, short-term failures may occur throughout life;
- impaired coordination up to the inability to move the limbs of the body;
- psycho-emotional disorders, sometimes - complete incapacity;
- disturbances in the functioning of the senses.
The most dangerous consequences of encephalitis are those caused by degenerative changes in the nerve cells of the brain. They inevitably lead to disability, often to death.
In each individual case, complications are unpredictable. The situation is complicated by the fact that at the first stage of the disease, a person does not attach importance to the symptoms, considering them to be a manifestation of a cold.
Self-medication and unwillingness to go to a medical institution lead to death - sometimes encephalitis completely destroys brain cells in a short time.
Consequences of encephalitis in children
If a child becomes restless, his sleep worsens, vomiting, headache, redness on the skin, you need to immediately call an ambulance.
The course of the disease in children can be asymptomatic, more often the first signs are mistaken for a flu-like condition. When they appear, it is better for parents to play it safe so as not to endanger the life of the child.
Common consequences of encephalitis in children are:
- muscle atrophyfabric;
- mental retardation;
- mental disorders;
- impaired hearing and vision;
- epileptic seizures;
- difficult speech.
There are situations when a child who has had a severe form of encephalitis has no negative consequences, but the probability of death is very high.
Preventive measures
Spring-summer period is the time of activity of ticks, which are carriers of arbovirus. Currently, the disease provoked by their bites is massive. The most common consequence of tick-borne encephalitis in adults and children is disability. Vaccination is the protection against it. When you are in places with a large concentration of ticks (for example, in the forest), you need to use repellent sprays, carefully cover the skin with clothes and shoes.
Timely vaccination should be carried out against measles, diphtheria, tetanus, rubella, etc. (Post-vaccination encephalitis is much less common than that which develops against the background of these diseases).
Particular attention should be paid to existing diseases - to prevent complications by starting competent and timely therapy.
Below is a tick in the photo. The consequences of the encephalitis it causes are often dire; among the sick, a high percentage of deaths.
Recovery period
Encephalitis can cause both short-term effects and those that will accompany the rest of your life. On average, with a mild formdiseases, the body recovers in 1-2 months, with an average - in 3-4 months, severe - in a few years.
People who survived a dangerous illness are shown sanatorium treatment, the consequences of encephalitis after it are less pronounced or recede altogether.
Rehabilitation centers provide the following types of assistance:
- therapeutic gymnastics;
- carrying out physiotherapy;
- wellness massage;
- kinesio taping;
- hirudotherapy;
- ergotherapy.
For each case, a program is drawn up, including the necessary measures. Qualified doctors work with a person: a psychologist, an ophthalmologist, an otorhinolaryngologist, a speech therapist. There are cases when the patient "learns to live" again - to walk, read, write, eat, engage in dialogue.
Encephalitis is a dangerous disease that rapidly destroys brain cells. Symptoms and consequences of encephalitis are often pronounced, when the first signs of illness appear, a person should be immediately hospitalized in a medical facility. Timely treatment significantly increases the likelihood of successfully getting rid of the disease without consequences.
