Meningitis

Meningitis is one of those words you sometimes hear on the news, such as when adults say there was a case of meningitis at a school. That's because meningitis is a serious illness that can make someone very sick. But many people do get better after they have meningitis. Read on to find out more about this illness.

What Is Meningitis?
The central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is surrounded by cerebrospinal (say: seh-ree-broh-spy-nel) fluid. This fluid acts to cushion and protect the central nervous system when you move around. Even more protection is given by the meninges (say: meh-nin-jeez), which are the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis (say: meh-nen-ji-tes) is a disease involving inflammation, or irritation, of the meninges and spinal cord. Meningitis is rare, and you may never know anyone who gets it. There are different kinds of meningitis, but most of the time it is caused by germs that cause infections, like bacteria and viruses. Meningitis caused by viruses is much more common than meningitis caused by bacteria.

The scary thing about meningitis is that it can permanently affect someone's ability to think and learn and may cause hearing loss. But the good news is that many people recover from the infection.

How Does Someone Get Meningitis?
Luckily, it's not easy to get meningitis. The body has natural defenses against infections - and usually even if someone comes across a virus or bacteria that can cause meningitis, the body can fight it off.

Everyone has lots of germs living on and in their body. Most of the time, these germs don't cause any illness. In fact, some of them, like the E. coli normally found in the intestines, helps the body to work properly. However, some germs do cause infections.

Even when a germ does cause an infection, it is soon fought off by the body's immune system. This means that when we get sick, we usually feel better in a few days, sometimes with the help of medicines called antibiotics. However, certain germs may outsmart the body's defenses and spread inside of the body. Some of these germs might then have the ability to infect the central nervous system, invading the meninges and causing meningitis.

Viral meningitis can be caused by a family of viruses known as enteroviruses (say: en-te-roh-vi-res-ez). Like most viruses, enteroviruses infect your body through saliva (spit), feces (poop), and nasal discharge (snot). This is why washing your hands after you go to the bathroom or after you sneeze is important to prevent spreading germs. Enteroviruses commonly cause fever, body aches, diarrhea, sores in the mouth and throat, and sometimes a rash on the hands and feet in people - especially kids - who are infected. Although most of us get one or more different strains of enterovirus during some point in our lives, this virus only very rarely causes complications like meningitis in kids and adults.

Viral meningitis can also occur as a complication from chicken pox. This is also very rare in healthy kids, and now many kids are vaccinated to prevent chicken pox by getting a shot before they start school.

Bacterial meningitis can sometimes be contagious, which means it can be passed to someone else by spit or snot when you sneeze or cough. Be sure to cover your mouth when you sneeze!

Vaccines that are now routinely given to kids before they are 2 years of age provide protection against certain bacteria that can cause serious diseases like meningitis.

What Are the Symptoms of Meningitis?
Usually, someone with meningitis is very sick. Symptoms may include:

a very bad headache that won't go away
neck stiffness
back stiffness
eye pain or irritation when exposed to light
nausea, or being sick to the stomach
vomiting, or throwing up
body aches
fever
feeling very sleepy or unable to fully wake up
feeling very confused or out of it

Symptoms of meningitis can come on very quickly or take a couple of days to appear. Anyone who is ill with symptoms of meningitis needs to seek medical care right away.

What Will the Doctor Do?
When someone is ill and may have symptoms of meningitis, a doctor will ask many questions to figure out how long the person has been sick and what may have caused the illness. A physical examination will be performed, especially of the central nervous system including the brain and the body's nerves. If a doctor suspects that meningitis might be causing a person's illness, a lumbar puncture (more commonly called a spinal tap) is usually done.

During a spinal tap, a person lies on his side while the doctor removes some of the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This is done through a very thin needle inserted into the spinal column at the lower back. First, the doctor will numb the skin with medication, so the needle won't hurt as much. The needle is then placed between two vertebral bones; fluid is removed and collected in some tubes. Then the needle is taken out, and the doctor will put a bandage over the area. The most important thing for the person getting the spinal tap to do is to stay very still. As long as a person lies still during the tap, they probably won't feel much more than a pinch, and it will be over quickly.

After it is collected, the spinal fluid will be examined under a microscope to see if any bacteria, cells, or substances that indicate inflammation or infection are there. Usually by looking at the spinal fluid in this way, a doctor will quickly know if someone has meningitis. The fluid will also be placed in an incubator (a warm chamber) for up to 3 weeks to see if any germs grow. If a germ grows, this means a person's meningitis came from that germ.

Treatment depends on the type of meningitis. Viral meningitis is usually less serious and just requires lots of rest and pain relievers.

Bacterial meningitis is more serious and someone will need to be in the hospital as they are treated. Strong antibiotics will be given through an IV to get rid of the bacteria. Fluids containing glucose (sugar) and minerals will also be given through the IV to help someone recover.

Can Meningitis Be Prevented?
Like so many other illnesses, the best way to protect yourself against germs that might cause meningitis is by using good hygiene. That's why doctors say to wash your hands after going to the bathroom and to cover your mouth when you cough. The vaccines you probably received before you started school will also help protect you against certain germs that can sometimes cause meningitis.

If there are ever cases of bacterial meningitis in your neighborhood or school, public health officials and doctors may ask people who also live or go to school in the area to take antibiotics for a few days to make sure they don't get sick. But this isn't always the case if someone gets meningitis - doctors will only give these medicines if they feel they are really needed.