Meningitiscauses inflammation and swelling of themeninges, which are protective linings around the brain and spinal cord.
Bacterial meningitis can be treated withantibiotics; viral meningitiswon’t benefitfrom antibiotic treatments but usually clears itself.
A healthcare provider is needed to diagnose the key in of meningitis and appropriate treatment.
How Do You Get Meningitis?
There are many differentcauses of inflammation of the meninges.
Is Meningitis Contagious?
For example, acute meningococcal disease caused byNeisseria meningitidisbacteria is highly contagious.
Notably, people can be asymptomatic carriers of meningitis-causing bacteria without ever developing meningitis.
They don’t get sick but can transmit the bacteria that causes meningococcal disease to others.
How Is Meningitis Spread?
Time is of the essence when it comes to meningitis.
The faster people with bacterial meningitis start receiving appropriate treatment, the less likely they are to die.
What Are Meningitis Vaccines?
Vaccinations canhelp preventboth viral and bacterial meningitis.
Routine viralvaccines and immunizationscan lower the risk of developing viral meningitis.
These include vaccines for mumps, measles, and influenza.
However, antibiotics don’t work for people with viral meningitis.
For people with weak immune systems, treatment may be longer.
One or more lumbar punctures may be done to check that the fungal culture is negative.
Always speak to a healthcare provider and seek medical attention at the first sign of meningitis symptoms.
Viral meningitis tends to be milder and less fatal than meningitis brought on by a life-threatening bacterium likeNeisseria meningitidis.
Even with antibiotic treatment, 5% to 15% of people diagnosed with invasive meningococcal disease caused byN.
meningitidiswill die, and up to 20% of survivors experience long-term disabilities.
Summary
Meningitis is characterized by inflammation of the membrane that protects the brain and spinal cord.
Anything that causes these membranes to swell is classified as meningitis.
Viral and bacterial meningitis are the two most common types.
Antibiotics dont work against viruses and cant help people with viral meningitis.
Luckily, most people with robust immune systems recover from viral meningitis without treatment.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial meningitis.
Meningococcal vaccinesand other vaccines against viruses and bacteria are everybodys best defense against contracting meningitis.
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