Signs of meningitis in children: how to diagnose the disease at an early stage

Most often, meningitis occurs in children; doctors say that these cases are especially common in pediatrics. This disease has certain characteristics, for example, if treatment is started in a timely manner, the disease can be quickly cured. But at the same time, the symptoms of meningitis in children are very dangerous for the health and life of the child, especially if the child is not helped in a timely manner. The disease can be classified as a fairly rare, but extremely dangerous type of disease. In this article we will talk in more detail about the symptoms of this disease, as well as how to provide full assistance to the child.

First signs

According to Dr. Komarovsky, symptoms of meningitis in children arise quite quickly, since the incubation period lasts from two days to four days, in rare cases the incubation period extends for a week.

Temperature increase

Since the disease is quite severe, it manifests itself very quickly, first the baby feels unwell, and then the condition worsens significantly to severe.

That is why parents must detect signs of this disease in time and show the patient to a doctor.

First, fairly common symptoms appear that occur with any infection, these include:

temperature rise to 39-40 degrees;
severe weakness;
the child loses his appetite;
chills occur, alternating with bouts of fever.

Due to the prevalence of symptoms, parents often mistake these signs for a common cold, flu or acute respiratory viral infection. But later, additional signs of this disease begin to develop; these symptoms are almost the same in all children.

These signs include:

The appearance of a hemorrhagic rash, which has a red-violet tint, and the spots may also turn yellow. The rash comes in various shapes and sizes, with spots spreading throughout the patient's body.
The body temperature rises to 39-41 degrees, while the use of antipyretic medications does not give a positive result, and the temperature does not return to normal.
The child becomes too active and excitable, or, on the contrary, lethargy and weakness occur. In one case, the baby cries a lot and sleeps poorly, in the other he sleeps a lot.
Vomiting appears, which does not depend on food intake, and after vomiting there is no relief from the condition.
The baby becomes more sensitive to sounds that are too loud and harsh, as well as to bright light.
Increased sensitivity of the skin occurs, even a light touch becomes unpleasant for the patient.

If parents want to know how to recognize meningitis in children by symptoms, just consider the list of signs of this disease, which is presented above.

It is worth considering that the child’s body is individual and can react to the disease differently.

Diagnostics

Symptoms of viral meningitis in children cannot always be immediately identified, which is why doctors recommend immediately seeking help from a doctor.

Need a blood test

In the hospital, the child will be prescribed tests such as:

A general blood test, in which you can see the number of leukocytes; if they are elevated, this will indicate the presence of infection in the body.
Examination of the cerebrospinal fluid, as well as taking a lumbar puncture. The first analysis is collected into three tubes at once, and then immediately delivered to the laboratory. With this disease, the cerebrospinal fluid becomes cloudy and acquires a milky tint. The number of neutrophils increases to several thousand, the amount of proteins also increases, and glucose decreases significantly.
Bacterioscopy is also carried out using cerebrospinal fluid, and swabs can also be taken from the child’s throat. In some cases, skin punctures and blood smears are required.

You can see in the photo what the rash and other symptoms of meningitis in children look like, but only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis. Moreover, without a full examination, the doctor does not have the right to prescribe treatment for the patient.

Disease prevention

When symptoms of meningitis appear in children, parents look for photos on the Internet to confirm the diagnosis, but in order to avoid a serious illness in the first place, prevention should be carried out.

The first thing doctors talk about is vaccination against meningitis, but even this method does not guarantee that the child will not become infected. Parents should add more healthy foods to the baby’s diet, normalize the daily routine, and also take the child out for walks more often.

The baby’s immunity should be strengthened in various ways, for this they use walking, hardening and playing sports. As doctors note, meningitis most often affects those patients who have a weakened immune system.

What are the symptoms of meningitis?

As Dr. Komarovsky says, if parents carefully monitor the health of their child, they will be able to quickly identify the presence of the first symptoms.

Headache in a child

It is enough to pay attention to the main signs, which include:

Attacks of severe headaches in a patient, which are provoked by serious intoxication of the body. Toxins have a negative effect on the lining of the brain, causing pain as intracranial pressure increases significantly. Painful sensations can be sharp, pressing, bursting and sharp.
The pain spreads throughout the head, so the child will not be able to indicate the location of the pain. Doctors note that these painful sensations do not subside with the use of painkillers, so if a child experiences this symptom, you should immediately call an ambulance.
The child becomes very sensitive to bright light and loud sounds, the patient reacts negatively to light touches, as the sensitivity of the skin increases.
Dizziness occurs and vomiting may occur. The described symptoms appear in the second and third stages of meningitis development.

Newborns may react slightly differently to the development of a dangerous disease; such babies experience additional symptoms:

the baby becomes more whiny and nervous, or he sleeps a lot, but periodically cries out for no reason;
there is a disturbance in the functioning of the digestive system, this manifests itself in the form of diarrhea, regurgitation and flatulence;
in the later stages of the disease, the child experiences seizures.

It is worth noting the most dangerous symptoms of meningitis in children, these include the appearance of rashes and seizures. The fact is that the rash occurs due to the death of skin cells and tissues, which is triggered by the development of sepsis.

In this case, the disease develops rapidly and can be fatal. When the body temperature rises, spots appear on the child’s body, and convulsions occur, parents should immediately seek help from specialists.

How to recognize “hiding” meningitis: Komarovsky gave important advice

Pediatric doctor Evgeniy Komarovsky spoke about which children are more susceptible to meningitis, as well as how to identify this dangerous disease, from which several children have died in Ukraine.

As stated on the doctor’s website, meningitis is an inflammation of the tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord, that is, the meninges. But inflammation sometimes affects the brain itself. With early diagnosis and proper treatment, a child with meningitis has a good chance of recovery, although some forms of bacterial meningitis develop quickly and have a high risk of complications.

According to him, there are two forms of the disease: viral and bacterial.

Bacterial meningitis (can be caused by several types of bacteria) is often very serious. It is rare in developed countries (due to the success of vaccinations), but when it occurs, children under two years of age are at greatest risk.

The bacteria that often causes meningitis can be found in the mouths and throats of healthy children. However, being a carrier does not necessarily mean that these children will get the disease. Infection occurs when bacteria enters the bloodstream.

Doctors still don't know why some children are more likely to develop meningitis, while others never get it.

It’s just clearly known that certain groups of children get sick more often.

High risk groups include:

- infants, especially those under two months of age (since their immune systems are not sufficiently developed, bacteria can easily enter the bloodstream);

- children with recurrent infections of the ENT organs (ear, throat, nose);

- children who have recently suffered serious head injuries;

- children who have just had brain surgery.

Komarovsky notes that with timely diagnosis and treatment, 7 out of 10 children who contract bacterial meningitis recover without any complications.

“However, keep in mind that meningitis is a potentially fatal disease, so remember that in about 2 in 10 cases it can lead to serious nervous system problems, deafness, seizures, paralysis of the arms or legs, or learning difficulties. Since the course of meningitis is rapid, it must be detected at an early stage and the patient must immediately receive appropriate massive therapy with certain medications,” he says.

Main signs of serous meningitis

Symptoms of serous meningitis in children can be different; this form of the disease differs in that not only inflammation of the lining of the brain occurs, but also the accumulation of purulent fluid inside the organ.

Skin sensitivity appears

The infection is provoked by an enterovirus; this disease develops quite quickly and aggressively. If a child does not receive medical care on time, then in 100% of cases there is death.

When this disease appears, parents may notice major health problems, these include:

the appearance of hallucinations;
increased skin sensitivity to touch;
disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system;
attacks of acute pain over the entire surface of the head.

There will also be other signs of this disease that are common. If parents notice the first symptoms, they should immediately call an ambulance so that specialists can provide qualified assistance to the child.

To cure this type of meningitis, the doctor may prescribe antispasmodics, as well as antipyretics, painkillers, diuretics and medications to combat viruses. In each case, the doctor separately selects therapy for the child.

Causes and types of disease

The reasons why the meningitis virus enters a child’s body may be the following:

Trauma during childbirth or sepsis;
Weak innate immunity or prematurity;
Bacteria, fungal infection and acquired viruses;
Injuries of varying severity to the spinal cord or brain.

The incubation period for meningitis in children ranges from 1 to 10 days.

There are two types of meningitis: purulent and serous. These two concepts differ in the nature of inflammation. With serous meningitis, the inflammation will be serous in nature, without pus. The cause is usually viruses (measles, chicken pox, herpes, mumps). With purulent meningitis, the cause is often bacteria (meningococcus, staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, salmonella, etc.). Both serous and purulent meningitis can occur at any age.

Both forms of the disease are diagnosed and quickly cured if parents seek help from the clinic in time, and treatment of serous meningitis, as a rule, is accepted more easily and quickly by the baby’s body.

Meningococcal purulent meningitis is the most common, followed by viral meningitis. There is also fungal meningitis, which occurs in people with significantly reduced immunity (long-term drug therapy after an organ transplant or for the treatment of an autoimmune disease, chemotherapy).

Main signs of viral meningitis

The incubation period for viral meningitis in children does not last long, so symptoms appear fairly quickly.

Chills appear

The main features include:

increased body temperature;
bouts of severe vomiting;
the appearance of chills;
signs of ARVI development;
the appearance of a rash on the baby’s skin;
severe muscle tension;
general weakness and drowsiness.

In this case, antiviral medications are used for treatment, and therapy is also used that helps eliminate intoxication of the body.

If the body temperature is very high, the doctor has the right to prescribe the use of medications to reduce the temperature.

Treatment

To carry out full treatment, the child must be taken to the hospital, where he is examined by a doctor.

Treatment is carried out by a doctor

To help the patient, the doctor may use:

Antibacterial therapy. It is commonly used to treat bacterial meningitis. Only a doctor can select the appropriate drug, having previously established the type of pathogen. The doctor prescribes streptomycin punctures, which are injected into the spinal canal; this therapy is performed for tuberculosis. In case of viral meningitis, the doctor must monitor the patient and also prescribe symptomatic treatment to alleviate the child’s condition.
The doctor uses methods that help normalize intracranial pressure. The fact is that in any form of this disease, the amount of cerebrospinal fluid increases, for this reason severe headaches occur. To reduce pressure, a puncture of the cerebrospinal fluid is taken, this helps to reduce the amount of fluid, which will reduce the pressure. Additionally, the use of diuretic medications is recommended.
It is important to carry out symptomatic treatment; it includes the use of antipyretics, vitamin complexes, as well as antiemetic medications and painkillers.
The doctor uses special therapy, which is aimed at reducing intoxication of the body, and also uses saline solutions to restore water and salt balance in the body.
If there is such a need, the patient is prescribed medications that reduce the number of seizures or eliminate these seizures.
Hormonal agents can be used against inflammation; they are used only after a doctor’s prescription.

And in order not to encounter symptoms of meningitis in children, and not to adhere to clinical recommendations, constant prevention should be carried out.

To do this, the child should walk outside more often, parents should strengthen the baby’s immunity, and also monitor his proper nutrition.

Baby with weakened immune system

There is also a certain risk group, which includes children under five years of age, as well as children with weakened immune systems.

In order not to encounter signs of the disease, additional prevention should be carried out:

To prevent the development of viral and colds, for this you should limit the child’s contact with sick people, and during epidemics do not visit public places. To avoid infection with viruses such as meningococcus, you should ventilate the room more often.
Infections can be transmitted through the oral-fecal route. To avoid infection, you should teach your child to follow simple hygiene rules. After using the toilet, the baby should wash his hands, it is important to eat only washed fruits and vegetables, and it is also recommended to boil water before use.
Conducting vaccinations. This method is not reliable, but it still helps reduce the risk of developing this disease. Some viruses first infect the body and then gradually spread to the child’s brain. These vaccinations are not included in the list of necessary ones, but they can still be done at the request of the parents.

Prevention of meningitis in children

Since the disease often occurs in acute and severe forms, and the consequences of meningitis in children can be the most tragic, the prevention of this disease becomes relevant in modern medicine. Your pediatrician will definitely suggest that you get vaccinated against meningitis.

Who needs vaccination first:

Children who were born prematurely;
Children and adults who have frequent seasonal respiratory infections;
Children under 2 years old;
Families with more than 1 child;
Children who have been bottle-fed or mixed-fed since birth;
A history of recurrent bronchitis, pneumonia, otitis, sinusitis;
Children who regularly attend children's groups (kindergarten, early development groups, dances);
Patients who have had their spleen removed;
People who have been in contact with infected patients or carriers of meningococcal infection, Haemophilus influenzae.

Among the many human diseases, meningitis is one of the most dangerous. You can suffer from pneumonia on your feet, you can walk with tuberculosis for years, you can, with the help of “healers,” try to recover from sexually transmitted diseases for a long time. With meningitis, such “numbers” do not go through - either to the hospital, or. Meningitis is a well-known disease. At least the average person, without any special medical education, knows the word “meningitis” and, although the specifics of the disease itself are not very clear, everyone is afraid of meningitis. An emergency doctor may say: “You have a sore throat (flu, pneumonia, enterocolitis, sinusitis, etc.). Get ready to the hospital quickly." In response, he will definitely hear: “Doctor, is there no way to get treatment at home?” But if the word “meningitis” is uttered, even if not categorically: “You have meningitis!”, but with doubt: “It looks like meningitis,” you can say with confidence: a normal person will not even mention any treatment at home. This attitude towards meningitis is generally understandable - less than 50 years have passed since the time when it became possible to treat it (meningitis). But if the mortality rate from most childhood diseases decreased during this time by 10-20 times or more, then for meningitis - only 2 times. So what kind of disease is this, meningitis? First of all, it should be noted that meningitis is an infectious disease. That is, the direct cause of the disease is certain microbes. Most human infections allow us to establish a clear relationship between the name of the disease and the name of its specific pathogen. Syphilis - pale spirochete, scarlet fever - streptococcus, salmonellosis - salmonella, tuberculosis - Koch's bacillus, AIDS - immunodeficiency virus, etc. At the same time, there is no specific connection between “meningitis and the causative agent of meningitis”. The word “meningitis” itself means inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and the cause of this inflammation can be a huge number of microorganisms - bacteria, viruses, fungi. Infectious disease experts say, not without confidence, that under certain conditions any microorganism can cause meningitis in a person of any age. From this it is clear that meningitis can be different - different in the speed of development, in the severity of the condition, in the frequency of occurrence, and, most importantly, in the methods of treatment. All meningitis has one thing in common - a real threat to life and a high probability of complications. For meningitis to occur, a specific pathogen must enter the cranial cavity and cause inflammation of the membranes of the brain. Sometimes this happens when foci of infection occur in the immediate vicinity of the membranes of the brain - with purulent otitis media, for example, or with sinusitis. Often the cause of meningitis is traumatic brain injury. But most often, microbes enter the cranial cavity through the bloodstream. It is obvious that the very fact of a microbe entering the blood, the very possibility of its “introduction” and subsequent reproduction on the meninges is determined by the state of immunity. It should be noted that there are a number of, usually congenital defects of the immune system, that predispose to the occurrence of meningitis. It is not surprising that in some families all children suffer from meningitis - although this disease is not so common, in comparison, for example, with sore throat, whooping cough, chickenpox or rubella. But if the role of immunity is generally clear, then so far it has not been possible to find a convincing explanation for the fact that boys suffer from meningitis 2-4 times more often than girls. Depending on the type of pathogen, meningitis can be viral, bacterial, or fungal. Some protozoa (such as amoeba and toxoplasma) can also cause meningitis. The development of viral meningitis can accompany the course of well-known infections - chickenpox, measles, rubella, mumps, damage to the meninges occurs with influenza, and with infections caused by herpes viruses. In weakened patients, in the elderly, and in infants, meningitis caused by fungi occurs (it is clear that in these situations it is the lack of immunity that plays the leading role in the occurrence of the disease). Bacterial meningitis is of particular importance. Any purulent focus in the body - pneumonia, an infected burn, tonsillitis, various abscesses, etc. - can cause meningitis, provided that the pathogen enters the blood and reaches the meninges with the blood flow. It is clear that the well-known causative agents of purulent processes (staphylococci, streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc.) will be the causative agent of meningitis in this case. One of the most terrible is tuberculous meningitis - almost forgotten, it is now becoming more and more common. At the same time, there is a microorganism that causes meningitis most often (60-70% of all bacterial meningitis). It is not surprising that it is called meningococcus. Infection occurs by airborne droplets, meningococcus settles on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and can cause a condition very similar to a common respiratory viral infection - a slight runny nose, redness of the throat - meningococcal nasopharyngitis. It was not for nothing that I used the phrase “can cause” - the fact is that the entry of meningococcus into the body quite rarely leads to the onset of disease - the leading role here belongs to very special individual changes in immunity. In this regard, two facts are easily explained: the first is the risk of developing meningitis during contact, for example, in children's institutions is 1/1000 and the second is the frequent detection of meningococcus in the nasopharynx in completely healthy individuals (from 2 to 5% of children are healthy carriers) . The body's inability to localize the microbe in the nasopharynx is accompanied by the penetration of meningococcus through the mucous membrane into the blood. With the bloodstream, it enters the meninges, eyes, ears, joints, lungs, adrenal glands, and in each of these organs a very dangerous inflammatory process can occur. It is obvious that damage to the meninges is accompanied by the development of meningococcal meningitis. Sometimes meningococcus enters the blood quickly and in huge quantities. Meningococcal sepsis, or meningococcemia, occurs - perhaps the most terrible of all childhood infectious diseases. The microbe secretes poisons (toxins), under their influence multiple blockages of small vessels occur, blood clotting is impaired, and multiple hemorrhages appear on the body. Sometimes, within a few hours after the onset of the disease, hemorrhage occurs in the adrenal glands, blood pressure drops sharply and the person dies. There is an amazingly dramatic pattern in the occurrence of meningococcemia, which is as follows. The fact is that when a microbe penetrates the blood, it begins to react with certain antibodies that try to destroy meningococcus. It has been proven that there is cross-activity of a number of antibodies - that is, if there are large quantities of antibodies, for example, to streptococcus, pneumococcus, staphylococcus - then these antibodies can have an inhibitory effect on meningococcus. So it turns out that children who are sick, have chronic foci of infections, have had pneumonia and many other illnesses, almost never get meningococcemia. The scary thing about meningococcemia is that within 10-12 hours an absolutely healthy child who has never been sick before can die! All the above information is not intended to intimidate readers. Meningitis is treatable. But the results (duration and severity of the disease, the likelihood of complications) are closely related to the time that will be lost before the start of adequate therapy. Obviously, the above-mentioned “timing of initiation of adequate therapy” depends on when human subjects seek medical attention. Hence the urgent need for specific knowledge, so that later it will not be excruciatingly painful. The essence of specific knowledge regarding meningitis is that the appearance of certain signs indicating the possibility of this disease requires immediate medical attention. Inflammation of the meninges is characterized by a number of symptoms, but many of them are not specific - that is, their (symptoms) may also occur in other diseases that are much less dangerous. Most often this happens, but the slightest suspicion of the development of meningitis does not allow you to take risks and requires immediate hospitalization and careful medical supervision. Let us now consider the most typical situations, each of which does not allow us to exclude the development of meningitis.

In addition to the symptoms described above, some reflexes change in a very definite way, and only a doctor can detect this. It is important to remember and understand that such frequent symptoms as vomiting, nausea and headache necessarily require a medical examination - God protects the best. Any rash accompanied by an elevated temperature may be meningococcemia. You (or your smart neighbors) may be confident that it is rubella, measles or “diathesis”. But the doctor must see the rash, and the sooner the better. If elements of the rash look like hemorrhages, if new rashes appear quickly, if this is accompanied by vomiting and high fever, every chance should be taken to ensure that the patient immediately ends up in the hospital, preferably immediately in the infectious diseases department. Remember: with meningococcemia, the count is not in hours, but in minutes. It should be noted that even a doctor of the highest qualifications can diagnose meningitis with absolute certainty only in one case - when the symptoms of irritation of the meninges are combined with the typical rash described above. In all other cases, the diagnosis can only be suspected with varying degrees of probability. The only way to confirm or exclude meningitis is a spinal (lumbar) puncture. The fact is that a special cerebrospinal fluid circulates in the brain and spinal cord - cerebrospinal fluid. With any inflammation of the brain and (or) its membranes, inflammatory cells accumulate in the cerebrospinal fluid; the appearance of the cerebrospinal fluid (normally colorless and transparent) often changes - it becomes cloudy. The study of cerebrospinal fluid allows not only to establish a diagnosis of meningitis, but also to answer the question of what kind of meningitis it is - bacterial (purulent) or viral, which is crucial in choosing a treatment option. Unfortunately, at a purely philistine level, there is a very widespread opinion about the enormous dangers that a spinal puncture poses. In fact, these fears are absolutely unfounded - the puncture of the spinal canal is carried out between the lumbar vertebrae at the level where no nerve trunks extend from the spinal cord, so there are no mythical paralysis after this manipulation. From a legal point of view, the doctor is obliged to perform a spinal tap if there is a real suspicion of meningitis. It should be noted that puncture has not only diagnostic, but also therapeutic usefulness. With any meningitis, as a rule, there is an increase in intracranial pressure, the consequence of which is a severe headache. Taking a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid can reduce blood pressure and significantly alleviate the patient’s condition. During a puncture, antibiotics are often administered into the spinal canal. For example, with tuberculous meningitis, the only chance to save the patient is frequent (often daily) punctures, during which a special version of streptomycin is injected into the spinal canal. Taking into account the above information, it becomes clear that the treatment of meningitis depends on the type of pathogen. The main thing in the treatment of bacterial meningitis is the use of antibiotics. The choice of specific drug depends on the sensitivity of the particular bacterium and whether the antibiotic is able to penetrate the cerebrospinal fluid. With timely use of antibacterial drugs, the chances of success are very high. With viral meningitis, the situation is fundamentally different - there are practically no antiviral drugs, the exception is acyclovir, but it is used only for herpes infection (let me remind you that chicken pox is one of the variants of herpes). Fortunately, viral meningitis has a more favorable course compared to bacterial meningitis. But helping a patient is not limited to just influencing the pathogen. The doctor has the opportunity to normalize intracranial pressure, eliminate toxicosis, improve the functioning of nerve cells and blood vessels in the brain, and use powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. Timely treatment of meningitis within two to three days leads to a significant improvement in the condition, and in the future almost always to a complete cure without any consequences. I emphasize once again: treatment started in a timely manner.