Meningitis in children: symptoms and treatment, prevention, photo. Symptoms of meningitis in children: when delaying death is like

Inflammation of the meninges or meningitis in newborn babies and infants is not the most common disease. However, parents should not forget about this disease at all. Meningitis in a child under one year old can occur with numerous severe complications. Only the timely provision of treatment will help the baby recover and even save a life.

The reasons

Among the various forms of meningitis, infectious forms occupy the most part. Often they are caused by various viruses or bacteria. Meningococcal infection is the undoubted leader among the causative agents of the inflammatory process of the meninges. It occurs in 70-80% of cases in patients with meningitis.

Bacterial meningitis, which is quite severe and turns into purulent forms, is caused by various types of bacteria. The most common in newborns and infants are meningococcal and streptococcal forms of meningitis. These diseases are characterized by a severe course and frequent development of complications.

Serous meningitis is caused in 80-85% by viruses. Often the causative agents of the disease are rubella, chicken pox, measles, herpes and Epstein-Bar viruses. In weakened babies, meningitis can also be caused by a common flu infection. In such cases, the child, as a rule, has disorders in the functioning of the immune system or even immunodeficiency.

For children with diabetes mellitus or taking glucocorticosteroids from birth, infection with candidal meningitis is possible. In this case, an opportunistic fungus, Candida, quickly spreads in a weakened child's body. Getting into the meninges with the blood flow, the microorganism quickly multiplies there and causes severe inflammation. Treatment of such forms of the disease is usually longer than bacterial forms.

The most rare forms of meningitis in babies of the first year of life include a tuberculous variant or a disease caused by protozoa. Such forms of the disease occur only in 2-3% of all cases.

A traumatic variant occurs after a birth injury. Usually the disease develops within a few days or months after the birth of the child. Traumatic meningitis is severe. Numerous complications may also occur. For the treatment of a child with a traumatic form of meningitis, a mandatory consultation with a neurosurgeon and supervision by a neurologist is required.

At-risk groups

Babies of any age are not immune from meningitis. Features of the structure and functioning of the nervous and immune systems of babies in the first months after birth make them quite vulnerable to various inflammatory diseases.

Not all babies are equally at risk for meningitis. To control and monitor babies who are more likely to get sick, doctors identify risk groups for the development of meningitis. These include:

Newborn babies with very low birth weight, as well as premature babies. These babies have not yet fully formed the nervous and immune systems. The blood-brain barrier in newborns functions very differently than in adults. Microorganisms that are small in size easily penetrate this barrier and can cause inflammation.

Children with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency. The imperfection of the cells of the immune system does not allow timely response to an external pathogenic factor. The leukocyte link of immunity is not yet able to effectively eliminate any infectious agents from the body. In such children, the risk of a severe course of any, even the most harmless infection, increases many times over.

Birth trauma. They have adverse effects on the nervous system. Damage to the nerve trunks and membranes of the brain during traumatic external influences also contributes to the development of meningitis in babies.

Chronic congenital diseases. Weakened babies with many comorbidities are not able to fight the infection adequately. The presence of congenital heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cerebral palsy affect the possible prognosis for meningitis.

What are the main signs in newborns and infants?

Determining the first manifestations of meningitis in infants is a rather difficult task for any mother. The behavior and well-being of the child during the incubation period practically does not suffer. Usually this period is from 3-5 days to two weeks. Attentive mothers can pay attention to the fact that the child becomes more lethargic, tries to rest more often.

Typical symptoms of meningitis usually appear as:

Temperature rise. Usually fast. In a few hours the temperature rises to 38-39 degrees. Babies may be shivering or have a fever. Paracetamol and other antipyretic drugs do not bring relief. The temperature remains high for 4-5 days of illness. In severe cases - more than a week.

Severe headache. Babies still can't say what's bothering them. If the child becomes more lethargic, cries, tries to tilt his head below the level of the pillow - you should definitely be alert! Often this symptom is a manifestation of high and requires immediate medical care.

Changing the child's behavior. Babies refuse to breastfeed, become lethargic. When touching the head and neck, the baby may cry or avoid contact. Any attempts to pull the legs to the stomach or take them to the sides can cause the baby severe discomfort and even lead to increased pain.

Frequent vomiting. Despite the usual feeding, the baby can constantly spit up food. This is a manifestation of severe nausea. Some babies may even experience a single, but severe vomiting.

In severe cases - the appearance of seizures. Usually this symptom occurs in babies with congenital diseases of the nervous system or episyndrome. The appearance of this manifestation of the disease is an unfavorable prognostic sign of the disease and requires urgent hospitalization of the baby in the intensive care unit.

With a deterioration in the general condition and an increase in signs of the inflammatory process - clouding of consciousness or even coma. Be sure to pay attention to the eyes of the child. If it becomes "absent" - urgently call your doctor! This may be one of the manifestations of meningitis.

Diagnostics

To establish a diagnosis, the doctor conducts special tests. Usually, the doctor presses the child's legs to the stomach or torso and evaluates the reaction. Increased pain syndrome is a positive meningeal sign and requires additional diagnostics.

One of the most accessible tests is a complete blood count. Its result gives information to doctors about the specific cause of the disease. Most often, a viral or bacterial etiology of the disease can be established. The leukocyte formula in the general blood test shows how severe the inflammatory process is.

You can more accurately determine the causative agent of the disease using bacteriological tests. They allow you to identify various types of viruses, bacteria, fungi and even protozoa. The undoubted advantage of such a test is that it is possible to carry out an additional determination of the sensitivity of the microbe to various drugs. This allows doctors to prescribe the correct and effective treatment, eliminate the cause of the disease.

In difficult cases, doctors resort to puncture. The doctor makes a puncture in the spine with a special needle and takes some cerebrospinal fluid for examination. With the help of laboratory analysis, it is possible to determine not only the pathogen, but also the nature of the inflammatory process and the form of the disease.

What consequences?

In many children who received adequate treatment of meningitis on time, the disease ends with a complete recovery. However, this result is not guaranteed in all cases. If the child had aggravating factors, then the course of the disease becomes quite severe. In this case, the risk of developing adverse last increases significantly.

Most often in babies of the first year of life, the following complications occur:

Nervous system disorders. These include: a decrease in concentration and attention, some lag in mental and even physical development. After rubella meningitis - hearing loss and poor speech perception.

The appearance of an episyndrome. Some babies may experience seizures. This symptom is often temporary. To eliminate adverse manifestations, a mandatory consultation with a neurologist and additional diagnostic tests are required. Babies undergo EEG, neurosonography, as well as other tests to assess the level of damage to the nervous system.

Heart rhythm disorders. Transient arrhythmias are more common. They usually appear months or even years after recovery from infection. Babies with such complications require mandatory observation by a cardiologist or an arrhythmologist.

How to treat?

All babies with suspected meningitis must be hospitalized without fail. Newborn babies are delivered to hospitals equipped with all necessary resuscitation equipment. The child must be monitored by medical staff around the clock.

Treatment of the disease is carried out in a complex manner. The leading role in therapy is played by the elimination of the underlying cause that caused the disease. For infectious meningitis, large doses of antibiotics are prescribed. All antibacterial agents are administered parenterally. Intravenous administration of drugs allows you to quickly achieve the desired clinical effect and speed up recovery.

To restore the nervous system, the introduction of B vitamins is used. Such injectable forms of drugs can reduce the toxic effect of bacterial agents on the nerve trunks. Vitamins are usually prescribed for a long time, in courses of 10 days.

In order to eliminate the symptoms of intoxication, various detoxification drugs are used. Often, babies are given large doses of 5% glucose solution or isotonic sodium chloride solution. When convulsions or movement disorders appear, electrolyte solutions are added to the treatment. With this introduction of drugs, the baby's well-being normalizes quickly enough.

After stabilization of the condition, babies are prescribed immunostimulating drugs. They boost the immune system and help the immune system fight infection. Such drugs are quite effective for newborns and babies of the first year of life. They are generally well tolerated and do not cause adverse side effects.

Prevention

Compliance with the rules of personal hygiene for babies of the first year is also a necessary condition for the prevention of meningitis and other inflammatory diseases. In order to prevent infection by the contact-household method, it is imperative to monitor the cleanliness of all objects that touch the skin and mucous membranes of the child. Towels need to be washed daily. Iron textiles with a hot iron on both sides.

Treatment of meningitis in babies of the first year of life should be started as soon as possible. This will not only prevent possible adverse complications of a dangerous disease, but also save life and health.

All about meningitis in a child, see the following video by Dr. Komarovsky.

In the list of diseases that pose a danger to the health and life of children, meningitis is not the last. This serious pathology is marked by inflammation of the meninges of the brain of small patients. How to identify the first signs of meningitis in children? And how to alleviate the suffering of the child before the arrival of doctors? What is fraught with the lack of full and timely therapy of this pathology? This useful article will help save the life and health of the younger generation.

Incubation period of meningitis

The duration of the incubation period in sick children may vary. On average, it takes up to 10 days. During this period, the causative agent settles in the membranes of the brain. The time of the incubation period can also vary depending on the form of brain pathology: subserous or purulent.

It's important to know! If we talk about a disease that affects a child, then most often the culprit is meningococcus. The incubation period for meningitis caused by this microorganism is 2-5 days.

The first symptoms of meningitis in children according to the forms of the disease

There are several types of meningitis:

bacterial;
viral;
fungal.

The first sign of bacterial meningitis (children are often susceptible to it) is considered an infectious toxic syndrome. The onset of the pathology is marked by suddenness. The child may feel great, and after a short time, frighten the parents with a temperature that has risen to high levels. Additionally, a small patient has a bursting headache, discomfort in the area of the eyeballs, dizziness. The child loses his appetite, there are bouts of vomiting, beating with a fountain. The patient is very sensitive to external stimuli - noise, touch, light - all these factors only worsen his condition. Tendon reflexes are increased, muscle cramps and tremors are observed (very often observed in infants). For older children, psychomotor agitation syndrome is characteristic. Hallucinations and delusions are possible.

In the case of pronounced intoxication, the following symptoms of meningitis in children are observed:

extinction of tendon reflexes;
disorders of the oculomotor nerve (spontaneous drooping of the eyelid, strabismus, etc.);
hearing disorders;
the appearance of a necrotic rash (areas with dead tissue) appear 6 hours after the onset of the disease. The rashes have the outlines of a star, are localized on the limbs, trunk, eyelids and buttocks.

How to recognize a disease in a child by the first symptoms of the disease

Features of the course of meningitis vary depending on the age of young patients, because much depends on the degree of physical development of the child. Meningitis in infants or newborns proceeds somewhat differently than, for example, in schoolchildren.

It's important to know! The most dangerous period in terms of contracting meningitis is considered to be under 5 years of age.

For children under one year old

The main problem of infant diseases is to recognize meningitis in a child under one year old. The process is complicated by the fact that children cannot indicate the degree of discomfort due to their immature age. The disease in such babies practically does not manifest itself in any way, often resembling the common cold in terms of symptoms.

The presence of an inflammatory process in the meninges in the baby will be indicated by 3 main signs:

continuous, monotonous crying;
swelling of the fontanel;
symptom of Lessage (when raised under the armpits, the baby throws his head back and tries to pull his legs up to his chin).

For a 2-3 year old child

For children of this age, intoxication and hyperthermia are considered typical symptoms - the result of age-related thermoregulatory features. So, temperature indicators can reach 39-39.5 C °, children become lethargic and lethargic, lose their appetite. Against the background of hyperthermia, headaches and vomiting are often observed.

At the age of 4-5 years

As a rule, children of this age can already describe to their parents the symptoms that bother them, which greatly facilitates the diagnosis of the disease and saves precious time in this case. Toddlers are distinguished by drowsiness, they become capricious, even their favorite activities at this time are not a joy. Headaches are often accompanied by increased sensitivity to light and sound.

Primary symptoms in children at 6 years of age

In six-year-olds with a dangerous disease, dryness of the mouth and eye membranes often manifests itself. The child has difficulty swallowing. After eating, there is profuse vomiting, after which the desired relief does not come. Instinctively, the baby takes the position of a pointing dog - throws his head back and tightens his limbs.

Signs in a child 7, 8, 9 and 10 years old

Typical signs of meningitis at this age are a red swollen face, redness of the whites of the eyes, and vomiting. The temperature reaches high rates (under 40 ° C), there are severe pains in the abdomen, in some cases - delirium and clouding of consciousness.

Adolescents aged 11 to 12

As a rule, the symptoms of meningitis in adolescents are almost the same as in small patients of the previous age category. Additionally, you can note the increased sensitivity of the skin - children can hardly tolerate touch. Serious mental disorders can occur: loss of spatial orientation and even hallucinations.

First aid for meningitis

How to help a child whose parents suspected meningitis? The most important measure to be taken by adults is to call an ambulance.

Additionally, primary care before the arrival of specialists consists of the following steps:

Antibiotic injections: streptomycin and penicillin.
Anesthesia. For this purpose, injections of analgesics are suitable.
Dehydration. It is carried out by introducing magnesium sulfate or a glucose solution (in the form of an injection).

Basic principles of treatment

Regardless of age characteristics, a child with a similar diagnosis must certainly be hospitalized. Procrastination or ignoring the symptoms is fraught with irreversible consequences, up to a tragic outcome.

Being in stationary conditions, the patient receives an extensive range of therapeutic procedures, undergoes drug treatment and control.

Diuretics are used to reduce headaches and nausea. Additionally, they are able to prevent cerebral edema and possible impairment of consciousness.
With existing heart rhythm disturbances, doctors often prescribe special antiarrhythmic medications to small patients. In case of heart failure, cardiac glycosides are used.

All medicines for a baby with meningitis are administered intravenously or drip. This approach allows the drug to enter the bloodstream faster and thereby speed up the patient's recovery.

In cases where meningitis is provoked by an infection, antibiotics are prescribed for a small patient. In the process of their selection, the doctor is guided by the characteristics of the susceptibility of pathogens to such drugs. The most commonly used drugs are a wide range of effects, administered by injection.

Attention! Meningitis is not a disease that can be effectively treated at home. Only a doctor should refute or confirm the presence of meningitis in a child. The disease is treated in stationary conditions and under the vigilant supervision of qualified medical specialists!

Consequences of meningitis in children

Effective drugs for the treatment of meningitis have been developed relatively recently: not earlier than 70 years ago. Prior to their appearance, complications after this pathology were massive and often irreversible. So, children who had been ill with it lost their hearing, vision, intelligence (in some cases - up to idiocy). Quite often at such patients paralyzes remained, epilepsy was shown.

Although at present this disease is still considered dangerous and serious, timely access to a medical institution and rational therapy prescribed on time gives young patients a chance to recover without subsequent complications. The risk of a tragic outcome often remains in infants, subject to the lightning-fast course of this dangerous disease.

If the child was not provided with medical assistance on time, the consequences of meningitis, in particular, meningococcal, are extremely serious.

The most negative ones are:

severe systematic headaches;
a clear developmental delay (physical and emotional);
failures in the development of the psyche;
loss or significant decrease in hearing, vision;
spontaneous incessant convulsive conditions;
kidney failure;
epilepsy;
swelling of the brain.

It's important to know! Children who have had meningitis, especially bacterial meningitis, should be observed by a pediatric neurologist and ophthalmologist for at least a year.

Children's meningitis is a pathology that modern doctors have learned to deal with quickly and very successfully. However, the seriousness of this disease should not be discounted. In the absence of timely therapy, inflammatory processes of the meninges can lead to severe complications that affect the further health, development and life of the child. At the same time, well-organized treatment can stop the main symptoms of the disease without any negative consequences in the long term. A recovered child is only charged with visiting a number of specialists during the 12 months following discharge from the hospital.

The reasons

For infectious meningitis to occur in children, the pathogen must cross the blood-brain barrier. It can enter the body in the following ways:

Airborne. Coughing and sneezing of seemingly healthy people can transmit the infection. According to epidemiologists, for 1 person affected by the meningococcal form of the disease, there are up to 3 thousand passive carriers and 200-300 people with inflammation of the nasopharynx only. Adenoviruses and enteroviruses are also transmitted in this way.
Fecal-oral. This is how enteroviruses are transmitted, causing not only intestinal infection, but also meningitis under certain conditions.
Hematogenous. The most common way. It is characteristic of secondary meningitis, when the blood carries the pathogen from the source of infection to the brain. HIV, cytomegalovirus and other infections can pass through the placental barrier during pregnancy and cause inflammation of the brain in a child in the womb.
Lymphogenic. The pathogen moves through the lymphatic system.
contact. An open trauma to the head or back can lead to the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the membranes of the brain or cerebrospinal fluid.

The incubation period of meningitis is affected by a specific pathogen, for example, in children, enterovirus causes inflammation in a week, and meningococcus in 4 days.

For the occurrence of the disease, it is not enough that the infection simply enters the body. The probability of transfer and reproduction of pathogens depends on the state of immunity - weakened due to lifestyle, chronic or congenital diseases, it is not able to resist microorganisms. The protective barriers of the child are imperfect, so more than half of the cases are children under 5 years old.

Of particular danger are bacterial meningitis, since any purulent focus - otitis media, tonsillitis, abscess - can cause a disease. The most common causative agent of bacterial meningitis is meningococcus. If the immune system fails to keep it in the nasopharynx, it enters the blood through the mucous membranes and can cause inflammation in any organ of the body, including the brain.

One of the most terrible types of infectious meningitis in children is fulminant meningococcemia, when a large amount of meningococcus enters the bloodstream. It releases toxins that in a few hours cause sepsis, blockage of small vessels, hemorrhages on the skin and impaired blood clotting. The child in the first few hours (maximum per day) dies from heart or kidney failure.

Symptoms

Symptoms of the disease practically do not depend on the type of pathogen. Often meningitis in children manifests itself as an infectious lesion with non-specific symptoms inherent in other, less dangerous, diseases.

Symptoms that do not rule out meningitis:

Headache, aggravated by moving the head, from light and loud noises. It is especially worth alerting if it appears during any infectious disease (ARI, herpes on the lips, and so on) and is so strong that all other symptoms fade into the background.
Pain in the back and neck, accompanied by fever.
Nausea, vomiting (without connection with food intake), drowsiness, clouding of consciousness.
Any convulsions. They are observed in a third of children with meningitis, and, as a rule, occur on the first day.
Constant crying, bulging fontanel, fever in children under one year old.
Rash with fever. In 80% of children, a typical meningitis rash looks like quickly appearing pink spots, in the center of which hemorrhages occur after a couple of hours - this is a symptom of meningococcemia. Minutes are counting and you need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. However, any rash accompanied by a high fever may be a sign of illness and should be seen by a doctor.
With purulent meningitis, nonspecific symptoms are clearly manifested from the first hours (or days), with viral meningitis, the symptoms gradually disappear later, and with the tuberculous form they increase with time.

Doctors distinguish a number of meningeal symptoms associated with impaired functioning of the sense organs, muscle tension, pain response to inflammation. The most important:

Rigidity (inelasticity) of the occipital muscles. If you put your hand on the back of your head and try to bend your head to your chest, the muscles will be so constrained that it will be impossible to do this. Strong tension causes a typical meningeal posture - lying on your side with your head thrown back and legs bent to your stomach.
Kernig's sign. Lying on his back, carefully bend the leg at the knee and hip joint at a right angle; with meningitis in this position, he will not be able to straighten the knee. For children under 4 months of age, this is not a sign of meningitis.
Lassage suspension symptom (for children under one year old). If the child is taken under the armpits, he involuntarily bends his legs to the stomach and it is impossible to unbend them.
Brudzinski's symptom. If the child lying on his back tilts his head to his chest, the legs and arms will automatically begin to bend as well (upper symptom). When bending one leg, the second will also unconsciously repeat the movement (lower symptom).
"Tripod" symptom. Sitting with outstretched legs, the child leans back, leaning on his hands, or bends his legs.

In children under 3 years of age, especially with the rapid development of the disease, the symptoms may be mild or one or two of them are present.

If there are no characteristic hemorrhages on the skin, it is possible to accurately diagnose meningitis only with the help of spinal puncture and analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid for signs of inflammation (an increase in the amount of protein, the presence of pus).

The causative agent is also detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. For the same purpose, a blood test is taken at the same time. To determine the presence and extent of damage to the meninges, neurosonography, electroencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging are prescribed.

Treatment

For the treatment of meningitis in children, emergency hospitalization is first necessary. Help with illness includes:

Antibiotics for bacterial meningitis. The choice of a particular drug depends on the pathogen. In particular, in the tuberculous form, regular punctures of streptomycin into the spinal canal are used. Viral meningitis involves observation and symptomatic treatment (the exception is a herpes infection or an identified Epstein-Barr virus when the antibiotic Acyclovir is used).
Normalization of intracranial pressure. With any meningitis, the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid increases, resulting in intense headaches. The removal of a small part of the liquor (including while taking it for analysis) allows you to reduce pressure. Diuretics are also used.
Symptomatic treatment, including analgesic, antipyretic, vitamins, antiemetic.
Elimination of intoxication and restoration of water-salt balance with the help of intravenous solutions.
Anticonvulsants (if necessary).
Hormonal anti-inflammatory therapy.

Prevention of meningitis includes, first of all, strengthening the immunity of children: hardening, walking, balanced nutrition.

In addition, for children at risk (under 5 years of age, with weakened immunity after illness or due to genetic reasons), the following methods should be used to reduce the risk of the disease:

Prevention of airborne infections: limiting contact with patients, avoiding public places during epidemics, using cotton-gauze dressings. Meningococcus, pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae quickly die under the influence of fresh air and ultraviolet radiation, so you should ventilate the premises more often and open windows.
Prevention of infections transmitted by the oral-fecal route occurs through the observance of the usual rules of hygiene: thorough washing of hands, fruits and vegetables, boiling water if it is suspected that dangerous microorganisms may enter it.
Vaccination. Unfortunately, there is no universal vaccine against meningitis, but routine vaccination can protect against some diseases, complications after which can go to the brain. Vaccines against the main pathogens of bacterial meningitis (Hemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus, meningococcus) are not included in the Russian vaccination calendar, but are certified and can be made at the request of the child's parents.

Meningitis is one of the most severe and dangerous infectious diseases, especially often affecting children from 1 to 5 years of age. Due to the ingress of bacteria, viruses, fungi, some protozoa, inflammation occurs on the membranes of the brain, which, if not treated in time, leads to serious complications, even death.

At the first possible symptoms of meningitis, it is necessary to go to the hospital as soon as possible, since toxic shock in some cases develops very quickly - in a few days or even hours. Strengthening the immune system, preventing infections of various nature and vaccination will help protect the child from the disease.

Useful video about meningitis in children

Answers

Meningitis is an inflammatory process in which the infection affects the lining of the brain and spinal cord. This disease is characteristic of different ages: more often meningitis is detected in children and adolescents with a weakened immune system, but the disease also occurs in older people with chronic diseases and bacterial infections.

According to statistics, meningitis is one of the leading infectious diseases in terms of the number of deaths. The percentage risk of death is 10-20% out of 100, i.e. every second patient with meningitis runs the risk of not surviving the recovery process. Therefore, modern medicine is trying to pay close attention to this problem, developing new methods of diagnosis and effective treatment. Timely and adequate assistance from specialists speeds up the process of correction, and reduces the list of possible consequences for the body.

Based on the causes and conditions of development can be divided into groups:

viral. This type of ailment is of the mildest nature, not threatening the life of the patient. The peak of incidence can be called the period of transition from summer to autumn;
fungal. Affects people with weak immune systems, which is most common in the elderly. Caused by pathogenic microflora containing fungal infections;
bacterial. Meningitis of this type has pronounced symptoms, is severe and can be fatal. Develops in early spring;
tuberculosis is the most dangerous type. Pathology is manifested by the generalization of tuberculosis in the body.

The development of meningitis, regardless of the underlying cause, begins with the appearance of the same symptoms. When the first signs appear, you should immediately seek help from a specialist. The first warning signs are:

increased intracranial pressure;
pain in the muscles;
vomiting that is not accompanied by a feeling of nausea;
constant migraine, aching pain;
high body temperature, chills;
sensitive perception of bright color and noise;
an unpleasant feeling of constriction in the eyes, temples, ears;
pseudoepileptic seizures;
skin rashes.

It is important to know by what symptoms and how to recognize meningitis, because a healthy person can confuse the first symptoms with general weakness and malaise of the body. The onset of the disease is immediately accompanied by symptoms: a headache appears sharply, which is not removed by conventional painkillers. You can observe convulsions and voluntary contractions of the muscles of the face. Nerve channels may be affected.

In very rare cases, skin rashes appear, a rash localized on the buttocks and legs. Symptoms are accompanied by an increase in headache, a sharp compression of the temples, dizziness, loss of reality, hallucinations, and anxious sensations may appear. Skin rashes that are black, brown, or pink can help identify the onset of meningitis. Such a rash occurs the next day after infection.

There are secondary signs of manifestation, which are much less common:

convulsions. Convulsive manifestations are similar to epileptic seizures, but are not;
mental disorders. May appear with complex or encephalitis. You can recognize it by a pronounced excitation or inhibition. Children may begin to carry nonsense;
psychomotor arousal. You can understand that a person is sick by fussy or restless movements and increased mental activity. These manifestations are characteristic of a later or advanced stage, but in rheumatic meningoencephalitis it can manifest itself instantly.

Modern medicine involves the division of meningitis into several forms: pneumococcal, meningococcal and purulent. There are distinctive features of each of these forms:

the pneumococcal form of the disease is a consequence of untreated inflammation of the lung tissues. The symptoms of this infection are the depressed consciousness of the patient, deep memory lapses, lack of awareness of reality. It was almost impossible to diagnose this form of meningitis in a child, this ailment is inherent in people after 30 years;
meningococcal infection is manifested by profuse rashes on the body, the causative agents of which are bacteria and microbes: listeria and staphylococcus aureus;
purulent meningitis is a neglected form of sinusitis, otitis or sinusitis. Or ENT - diseases that have not been cured or that have appeared as a result of an infectious infection. During attacks, severe convulsions appear, the level of intracranial pressure rises sharply, and the patient's consciousness becomes unclear.

You can diagnose meningitis at home using the symptoms described above, but after their first manifestations, you need to see a neurologist and immediately begin treatment.

The specialist, in addition to studying the external manifestations of the disease, must continue the study using modern tools and tools. Subsequently, give all the necessary prescriptions and outline the sequence of effective and prompt treatment.

There is a special test for determining meningitis that you can try at home. Everything is extremely simple: ask the person to lie on their back and stretch their legs. If the knees bend involuntarily, then this undoubtedly requires prompt medical attention.

Effects

It is already clear how to determine meningitis, but it is much more important to know what is fraught with a frivolous attitude to the disease and not a desire to treat it. The inflammatory form of an infectious disease develops very quickly and threatens with unpleasant consequences for the patient. There is a risk of developing such consequences for the body:

violation of the work of all body systems and malfunctions in the functioning of internal organs, infectious-toxic shock. If you do not promptly take measures to resuscitate the patient, then you can lose him forever;
hypertension. In this case, the pressure inside the skull increases, hearing acuity gradually decreases, which can lead to complete deafness;
epileptic attack. Brain lesions that develop over many years lead to frequent and severe seizures.

If you do not want to undergo treatment, if you ignore the obvious signs, the patient can be completely paralyzed. In order to restart normal motor skills and restore motor functions, it may take a lot of time, effort and financial resources. To do this, they resort to courses of therapeutic massage, acupuncture, exercise therapy.

Ways of transmission of meningitis

The causative agents of this pathology - microorganisms can not only be transmitted between people, but also enter through food, contaminated water, various objects, bites of insects that are carriers. There are many more ways to transfer microorganisms:

from mother to child. During childbirth, a child can pick up a causative agent of a viral disease or a bacterium from the mother, who may not know about the presence of the disease in her body. Caesarean section cannot be a 100% guarantee of protection against infection, but significantly reduces the risk of infection when compared with natural childbirth;
airborne route. Infected patients through coughing and sneezing are capable of transmitting a number of bacteria that do not go beyond the norm in their body, but are dangerous when in contact with the mucous membranes of a healthy person;
through feces. Feces can contain many different infectious bacteria. It is important to understand that regular hand washing will avoid these problems. This simple rule must be taught to children from a very early age, because they are the most at risk of infection through the oral-fecal route;
unprotected sexual contact. Unprotected intercourse, in addition to many terrible diagnoses, can carry the likelihood of meningitis. Kissing and contact with the infected blood of the patient can also serve as a cause;
through animals. The causative agent of meningitis can be contaminated with urine and excrement of mice, rats or hamsters, water and food.

Diagnostics

You can check for the presence of meningitis using laboratory and instrumental studies:

biochemical blood test for a detailed idea of the state of the immune system. There are cases when you can not do without the analysis of sterility;
puncture - samples of cerebrospinal fluid to diagnose the degree of damage to the body, the severity of the inflammatory process, sensitivity to various medications and substances;
a biopsy is not a mandatory item, but in some cases it is required in order to investigate the nature of skin rashes, their origin, the degree of damage to the body;
urine analysis is performed to detect the presence of an infectious lesion in the genitourinary system and to assess the functional state of the kidneys;
MRI - examination of the brain and nervous system for complications;
x-ray - a test for the study of the respiratory tract and sinuses for the presence of infectious foci.

Treatment

There are many diseases whose first symptoms are very similar to meningitis. In any case, at the first signs, urgent hospitalization of the patient is necessary. Self-treatment can lead to negative consequences, some of which may be irreversible or fatal. This disease requires emergency care, the efficiency of which gives greater confidence in a full recovery.

There are several areas of treatment:

Fully diagnosed meningitis is impossible without taking antibiotics. In more than 20% of cases, it is impossible to determine the type of pathogen and its nature; therefore, antibiotic treatment is selected taking into account the maximum coverage of the spectrum of all possible pathogens. The course of antibiotics should be at least a week, at the discretion of the attending physician. The duration of the inflammatory process in the body is individual for each, therefore the course is prescribed based on the characteristics of the patient. In general, drug therapy begins its action instantly. As effective drugs for meningitis, the following antibiotics are used: Penicillin and Cephalosporin. With a severe course of the disease, they resort to the help of Vancomycin and Carbapenem.

Diuretics are used to relieve swelling. Together with them, liquid is injected inside. The most common are Diacarb and Lasix.
For detoxification, colloid and crystalloid solutions are used, infused intravenously.
If necessary, the patient continues treatment at home under medical supervision. The patient can take sick leave for up to six months.

Prevention

To prevent such a disease, it is necessary to take measures even in childhood. First, vaccinate the child against all kinds of viral diseases: rubella, chicken pox, measles, hemophilia, meningococcus, pneumococcus, mumps. This will help build immunity to fight these ailments. People who have undergone spleen removal, HIV carriers or extreme travelers who visit a number of countries with particularly dangerous viral diseases should be in service.

After visiting crowded places, public toilets, transport, observe hand hygiene, take antiseptic precautions.

If possible, avoid, protect yourself from contact and communication at close range. The patient must be promptly identified in the hospital to avoid infection. After contact with the patient, conduct a prophylactic course with antibacterial or antiviral drugs.

At the first suspicion, immediately seek help.

Meningitis is an acute infectious inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord. Delay in the treatment of the disease and the inadequacy of the therapy leads to fatal consequences. At the Yusupov hospital, doctors examine the patient immediately after admission to the neurology clinic, take blood and cerebrospinal fluid for examination, and immediately begin antimicrobial therapy. Doctors collegially analyze the results of laboratory tests and correct the treatment.

Severe cases of meningitis are discussed at a meeting of the expert council with the participation of professors and doctors of the highest category. Leading experts in the field of infectious diseases of the central nervous system are developing tactics for managing patients with meningitis. In case of violations of the function of vital organs, patients are transferred to the intensive care unit. Doctors monitor heart activity and respiratory function using heart monitors. According to the indications, artificial ventilation of the lungs is carried out with expert-class ventilators. The clinic accepts patients aged 18+.

Causes of meningitis in children

Meningitis in children occurs more often in the autumn-winter period. It runs hard. There is a risk of complications. Small patients are treated by pediatric infectious disease specialists and neurologists of partner clinics.

The cause of the onset of the disease and the development of the inflammatory process of the meninges are different microorganisms:

viruses (ECHO, Coxsackie, varicella, mumps, rubella, measles, Ebstein-Barr, polio, tick-borne encephalitis, herpes, enteroviruses and adenoviruses);
bacteria (meningococcus, pneumococcus, staphylococcus, Haemophilus influenzae serogroup b, mycobacterium tuberculosis, enterobacteria);
protozoa;
mushrooms.

In children, forms of meningitis, provoked by malarial plasmodium, toxoplasma, spirochetes, rickettsiae, and helminths, are rare.

More than other children, children who are at risk are prone to meningitis:

premature babies;
newborns, if their mothers had complications during pregnancy and childbirth, fetal hypoxia or infection with intrauterine infections developed;
young children who have had purulent diseases (osteomyelitis, endocarditis, mastoiditis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, otitis or boils of the face and neck);
children with congenital or acquired disorders of the nervous system.

Meningitis in children can develop after a traumatic brain, vertebral or spinal injury. Microorganisms easily penetrate the injured meninges, which cannot fight such an invasion. Signs of meningitis in children 1 year old may appear when the child consumes unboiled water, insect bites.

The source of infection is a sick person or a carrier of microorganisms. Infection occurs by alimentary, airborne, contact-household route. The causative agents of meningitis penetrate into the membranes of the brain by hematogenous, perineural or lymphogenous routes. Symptoms of meningitis in children under 1 year of age appear with a vertical transmission route of infection - from mother to baby through the placenta.

Symptoms of meningitis in children

Signs of meningitis in children 3 years old depend on the infectious agent that caused inflammation of the meninges. With all meningitis, a meningeal syndrome is isolated, which includes cerebral, local symptoms and changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.

The meningeal symptom complex includes:

increase in body temperature to high numbers;
diffuse headache, from which the child constantly cries and screams;
vomiting without nausea, not associated with eating;
muscle contracture (rigidity of the muscles of the back and neck, symptoms of Kernig and Brudzinsky).

In young children, the Lesage symptom may be observed: the child is lifted by the armpits, while his lower limbs are involuntarily pulled up to the stomach by bending them at the knee and hip joints.

Cerebral disorders in children are manifested by intense headache, in severe cases of the disease - impaired consciousness from stupor to coma. The equivalent of a headache in children under one year old is a "brain scream". Often there is repeated or repeated "brain" vomiting, not associated with food intake and does not bring relief. In severe cases, a convulsive syndrome develops.

Symptoms of meningitis in children 3 years of age also include autonomic disorders. These include dissociation between body temperature and pulse, mental disorders (disorder of consciousness, asthenia). The pupils become unequal in diameter, their reaction to light disappears. Ophthalmologists determine congestion of the optic nerve head.

Symptoms of meningitis in children 7-8 years old can be represented by motor disorders in the form of focal epileptic seizures due to irritation of the motor cortex, signs of damage to the motor cranial nerves. There is a violation of sensitivity (hyperesthesia). Its cause is irritation of the posterior roots of the spinal nerves and intervertebral nodes.

In infants, meningitis is manifested by the following symptoms:

anxiety;
compaction and bulging of the fontanel;
rise in temperature.
Flatau's symptom (dilated pupils with a quick tilt of the head forward).

Infants with meningitis have a "paradoxical irritability": they become more restless when they are picked up than when they lie in the crib. In infants with meningitis, reactive pain phenomena appear:

Bechterew's symptom (painful grimace and increased headache when tapping on the zygomatic arch);
symptom of Kuimov (the appearance of a painful grimace when pressing on the eyeballs);
Kernig's symptom (soreness of the exit points of the trigeminal nerve);
Pulatov's craniofacial reflex (painful grimace during percussion of the skull).

Due to the non-specificity of the clinical manifestations of meningitis, the clinical diagnosis of the disease in children of the first year of life can be difficult. This is characterized by the predominance of cerebral symptoms and signs of infectious toxicosis over meningeal symptoms.

The initial symptoms of the disease in older children are fever and irritability. They develop a rash on the trunk, lower extremities and mucous membranes. If a baby has symptoms such as chills, headache, vomiting, high temperature (above 38 ° C), lethargy and drowsiness, muscle tension in the neck and neck, convulsions, confusion, he must be hospitalized. Only a doctor can make a correct diagnosis. The outcome of the disease directly depends on the timely diagnosis and adequate treatment.

Diagnosis of meningitis in children

To diagnose meningitis, neurologists examine the child. An accurate diagnosis and identification of the causative agent of an infectious disease can only be made on the basis of the results of a study of the cerebrospinal fluid. To get it, the child is given a lumbar puncture. The results of the study are analyzed no later than 2 hours after the collection of CSF.

With purulent menigitis, the cerebrospinal fluid is cloudy. Pleocytosis (the presence of an abnormally large number of lymphocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid) is usually more than 1000 in 1 ml. The cellular composition is dominated by neutrophils. At an early stage of development of purulent meningitis (especially with early antibiotic therapy), a small amount of lymphocytes can be determined in the cerebrospinal fluid.

With meningococcal meningitis, the cerebrospinal fluid is cloudy, "milky". Liquor flows out under pressure. Neutrophilic pleocytosis is determined (1000–30,000 cells per 1 ml), 0.6–10 g/l of protein. Bacterioscopy reveals gram-negative diplococci. In children with pneumococcal meningitis, the cerebrospinal fluid is cloudy, greenish. Neutrophilic cytosis is determined from 10,000 to 50,000. The protein level is in the range from 1 to 3 g / l, the sugar concentration is reduced. Bacterioscopy reveals gram-positive diplococci.

With meningitis caused by Haemophilus influenzae, the cerebrospinal fluid is cloudy, green. The number of neutrophils varies from 5,000 to 15,000, the protein level is 1–3 g/l, and the sugar content is reduced. Bacterioscopy reveals gram-positive diplococci.

In patients with staphylococcal meningitis, the cerebrospinal fluid is cloudy and yellowish-green in color. It has a sharply increased protein content (3–9 g / l), neutrophilic pleocytosis is determined with the number of cells up to several thousand per 1 μl. The concentration of glucose in the cerebrospinal fluid is reduced. CSF bacterioscopy reveals gram-positive cocci.

If a child has tuberculous meningitis, cerebrospinal fluid leaks out at high pressure during a lumbar puncture, sometimes even in a jet. It is macroscopically unchanged. CSF contains many leukocytes, of which 70-80% are lymphocytes. The protein content is increased to 1 mg/l. Protein-cell dissociation is noted. The sugar content in the cerebrospinal fluid is sharply reduced. After twenty-four hours of standing in a test tube with cerebrospinal fluid, a thin fibrinous film falls out, which resembles a cobweb.

For bacteriological examination, mucus from the nasopharynx, scrapings from the skin taken at the border of the healthy and affected area, blood smears (“thick drop”), the contents of the elements of the rash are used. Serological testing allows you to detect specific antibodies in the blood serum. With the help of immunological research, antigens of viruses or antibodies are found. An immunological study is carried out by two methods: polymerase chain reaction (detects the presence of viral nucleic acid) and immunofluorescence analysis (detects pathogen antigens in cerebrospinal fluid).

Laboratory diagnosis of meningitis in children

In all children with suspected meningitis (regardless of the nature of the inflammation), the following studies are performed:

general analysis of blood, urine;
examination of cerebrospinal fluid: cellular composition, protein content, glucose, chlorides, Pandey and Nonne-Apelt reaction, microscopy of a cerebrospinal fluid smear with Gram stain;
a biochemical blood test, which includes the determination of the level of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, glucose, protein, urea, creatinine, amylase, liver function tests, acid-base status;
computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain;
lung radiography.

Sick children are consulted by a neurologist, an ophthalmologist (examines the fundus of the eye), an otorhinolaryngologist.

If purulent meningitis is suspected, the patient is also given:

bacteriological examination of cerebrospinal fluid, nasopharyngeal mucus, blood and urine;
a smear of the drug "thick drop" of blood;
latex test with cerebrospinal fluid for the antigen of Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus, meningococcus, group B streptococci.

If serous meningitis is suspected, the following studies are additionally performed:

virological examination of urine, feces, cerebrospinal fluid, swabs from the nasopharynx;
microscopy of a smear of cerebrospinal fluid with Gram and Ziehl-Neelsen stains (to identify causative agents of tuberculosis);
the study of liquor on the "cobweb";
polymerase chain reaction of cerebrospinal fluid;
serological studies (determination of the increase in the titer of specific antiviral antibodies in paired blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken in the first days of the disease and again after 2–3 weeks).

A timely diagnosis and adequate treatment started in time can save the life of the child and prevent the development of severe complications.

Bibliography

ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases)
Yusupov hospital
"Diagnostics". - Brief Medical Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1989.
"Clinical evaluation of the results of laboratory studies" / / G. I. Nazarenko, A. A. Kishkun. Moscow, 2005
Clinical laboratory analytics. Fundamentals of clinical laboratory analysis V.V. Menshikov, 2002.

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Meningitis in children: symptoms and treatment, prevention, photo. Symptoms of meningitis in children: when delaying death is like

The reasons

At-risk groups

What are the main signs in newborns and infants?

Diagnostics

What consequences?

How to treat?

Prevention

Incubation period of meningitis

The first symptoms of meningitis in children according to the forms of the disease

There are several types of meningitis:

In the case of pronounced intoxication, the following symptoms of meningitis in children are observed:

How to recognize a disease in a child by the first symptoms of the disease

For children under one year old

The presence of an inflammatory process in the meninges in the baby will be indicated by 3 main signs:

For a 2-3 year old child

At the age of 4-5 years

Primary symptoms in children at 6 years of age

Signs in a child 7, 8, 9 and 10 years old

Adolescents aged 11 to 12

First aid for meningitis

Additionally, primary care before the arrival of specialists consists of the following steps:

Basic principles of treatment

Consequences of meningitis in children

The most negative ones are:

Related videos

The reasons

Symptoms

Treatment

Useful video about meningitis in children

Effects

Ways of transmission of meningitis

Diagnostics

Treatment

Prevention

Causes of meningitis in children

Symptoms of meningitis in children

Diagnosis of meningitis in children

Laboratory diagnosis of meningitis in children

Bibliography

Service prices *