Symptoms of meningitis in children
Meningitis infection usually occursby airborne droplets. Less often, children become infected through dirty objects or animals. The main carriers of this disease in the animal world are considered to be street rodents.Meningitis in a child can be detected by muscle pain Photo: Getty The signs of the disease are as follows:
- chills and weakness;
- Strong headache;
- nausea and vomiting;
- muscle pain, it is especially strong in the neck, the child can not bow his head and touch his chest with his chin;
- temperature above 38 degrees;
- sensitivity to light and loud sounds, general irritability;
- lack of appetite;
- drowsiness.
There is a simple way to diagnoseillness at home. Gently press the baby on both cheeks. The patient's shoulders will involuntarily rise. In medicine, this is called the cheek symptom. In addition, you can watch how the child sits. Due to the strain of the back muscles, he cannot sit without support on his hands. Of course, the baby cannot complain of muscle pain and other symptoms. Meningitis is determined by severe anxiety and high temperature. In the clinic, in addition to the standard set of tests and visual examination, a puncture of the cerebrospinal fluid is performed. This study helps not only to confirm or refute the diagnosis, but also shows the type of meningitis, which allows you to choose the best treatment. In some cases, the patient may be prescribed an X-ray, CT scan and other diagnostic tests.
What to do when meningitis in children
Treatment of childhood meningitis at home is out of the question.is carried out only in hospital conditions. The basis of treatment is seven-day antibacterial therapy. Doctors constantly monitor and maintain normal intracranial pressure, eliminate the symptoms of meningitis, give drugs to normalize the functioning of blood vessels and nerve cells. With the correct selection of treatment, the sick child returns to normal health in 2-3 days. Meningitis in a child is not a joke, it is a really serious disease, the treatment of which cannot be experimented with. At the first symptoms, seek qualified help to avoid dangerous consequences. It is also useful to know: