Meningitis: the first signs in children from birth to adolescence

Most often meningitis is the disease of children. This is because they have an imperfect immune system that will have to "learn" a lot of viruses and bacteria in order to properly resist them. In addition, children are more careless: in their infancy they drag toys and various unfamiliar objects into their mouths, they prefer close-confidential contact with peers at an older age, and they do not bother anyone that they are coughing or sneezing. From such communication with a sick child or adult, from eating, there is not enough thermally processed food, water or milk, sometimes - with a tick bite, against a background of an untreated purulent disease or a complication of rubella, mumps, measles, chicken pox and meningitis appears. The first signs in children of this disease need to be noticed on time and immediately seek medical help.

What are meningitis?

The main two types of meningitis are isolated from the picture of cerebrospinal fluid, which is obtained with lumbar puncture. Symptoms are not always possible to orient, viral meningitis in children, or all the same bacterial. And to know this difference for a doctor is very important, since it is on it that all therapy is based.

So, meningitis happens:

A) serous, that is, in the cerebrospinal fluid, lymphocytes predominate. Such meningitis is caused mainly by viruses;

B) purulent, when most of the cells in the cerebrospinal fluid are represented by neutrophils. This kind of disease is provoked by bacteria.

Meningitis: the first signs in children

Begin the disease can as usual ARVI - with a cough, sore throat, runny nose, fever. Diarrhea or rashes may occur when the doctor called in recognizes that the baby has developed measles, rubella, or chicken pox. In cases of secondary purulent meningitis, the onset of the disease will be signs of purulent otitis, rhinitis or sinusitis (less often pneumonia), that is, the appearance of yellow, yellow-white or yellow-green discharge from the nose or ear.

Immediately signs of the disease of meningitis in older children are:

- fever, usually up to high figures, with tuberculous meningitis there may be a slight temperature reaction;

- a headache of a bursting nature, usually in the parietal and temporal areas, can be over the entire head. This pain is very strong, poorly removed with anesthetic drugs, makes the child lie down. You can notice that the kid lies on his side, pulling his knees to his chest, asks not to turn on the lights and music, to talk more quietly;

- lethargy, drowsiness;

- nausea and / or vomiting that occur suddenly, without having a visible base in the form of spoiled food;

- on a background of falling or not very high temperature there are convulsions or inadequate behavior. If meningitis is the first signs in children is just such, do not expect that everything will go by itself, urgently call an ambulance;

- The usual touch causes unpleasant sensations, even pain.

You can check several symptoms yourself:

1) put the child exactly on his back, put his hand under his head and try to get his chin to the sternum. If it is impossible to do this against normal or slightly elevated temperature, it is likely that meningitis takes place here;

2) in the same position, bend the leg in the hip joint and knee, now straighten the knee. Normally, this can be done easily, the second leg also remains lying flat. The symptom is checked on two legs.

Meningitis, the first signs in children up to the year:

- the child is always asleep;

- he has a fever;

- he can constantly cry monotonously or moan (his head hurts);

- vomiting;

- refusal of food;

- convulsions;

- its large fontanel becomes higher than the rest of the bones of the skull, it is strained and pulsating (pulsation is the norm, but it must be on a level with the bone base);

- he begins to cry more strongly, if you take it on handles;

- if you take his armpits, he just pulls the legs to his stomach, will not bend them, unbend them.

Rash is not an obligatory, but quite probable sign of meningitis. Therefore, if you see a rash, and if it is dark, it does not disappear and does not turn pale when pressed with glass (for example, a glass), even if there are no other signs described above, you still need to seek medical help.