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  • Viral Meningitis Sheet

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    CBS 11 News
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    Meningitis is an illness in which there is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Viral ("aseptic") menignitis is serious but rarely fatal in persons with normal immune systems. Enteroviruses, the most common cause, are most often spread through direct contact.

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    Meningitis is an illness in which there is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Viral ("aseptic") menignitis is serious but rarely fatal in persons with normal immune systems. Enteroviruses, the most common cause, are most often spread through direct contact.

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    3K views1 page

    Viral Meningitis Sheet

    Uploaded by

    CBS 11 News
    Meningitis is an illness in which there is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Viral ("aseptic") menignitis is serious but rarely fatal in persons with normal immune systems. Enteroviruses, the most common cause, are most often spread through direct contact.

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    Viral Meningitis Information Sheet

    Whatismeningitis? Meningitisisanillnessinwhichthereisinflammationofthetissuesthatcover thebrainandspinalcord.Viralorasepticmeningitis,whichisthemostcommontype,iscausedby aninfectionwithoneofseveraltypesofviruses.Meningitiscanalsobecausedbyinfectionswith severaltypesofbacteriaoffungi. Whatarethesymptomsofmeningitis? Themorecommonsymptomsofmeningitisarefever, severeheadache,stiffneck,brightlightshurtingtheeyes,drowsinessorconfusion,andnauseaand vomiting.Thesymptomsofmeningitismaynotbethesameforeveryperson. Isviralmeningitisaseriousdisease? Viral(aseptic)meningitisisseriousbutrarelyfatalin personswithnormalimmunesystems.Usually,thesymptomslastfrom7to10daysandthepatient recoverscompletely.Bacterialmeningitis,ontheotherhand,canbeveryseriousandresultin disabilityordeathifnottreatedpromptly.Often,thesymptomsofviralmeningitisandbacterial meningitisarethesame.Forthisreason,ifyouthinkyouoryourchildhasmeningitis,seeyour doctorassoonaspossible. Whatcausesviralmeningitis? Manydifferentvirusescancausemeningitis. About90%ofcasesof viralmeningitisarecausedbymembersofagroupofvirusesknownasenteroviruses. Theseviruses aremorecommonduringsummerandfallmonths.Herpesvirusesandthemumpsviruscanalso causeviralmeningitis. Howisviralmeningitisdiagnosed? Viralmeningitisisusuallydiagnosedbylaboratorytestsof spinalfluidobtainedwithaspinaltap.Thespecificcauseofviralmeningitiscanbedeterminedby teststhatidentifythevirusinspecimenscollectedfromthepatient,butthesetestsarerarelydone. Howisviralmeningitistreated? Nospecifictreatmentforviralmeningitisexistsatthistime.Most patientscompletelyrecoverontheirown.Doctorsoftenwillrecommendbedrest,plentyoffluids,and medicinetorelievefeverandheadache. Howisthevirusspread? Enteroviruses,themostcommoncauseofviralmeningitis,aremostoften spreadthroughdirectcontactwithrespiratorysecretionsofaninfectedperson.Thisusuallyhappens byshakinghandswithaninfected,andthenrubbingyourownnoseormouth. Theincubationperiod forenterovirusesisusuallybetween3and7daysfromthetimeyouareinfecteduntilyoudevelop symptoms.Youcanusuallyspreadthevirustosomeoneelsebeginningabout3daysafteryouare infecteduntilabout10daysafteryoudevelopsymptoms. CanIgetviralmeningitisifImaroundsomeonewhohasit? Thevirusesthatcauseviral meningitisarecontagious.However,mostinfectedpersonseitherhavenosymptomsordeveloponly acoldorrashwithlowgradefever.Onlyasmallproportionofinfectedpersonsactuallydevelop meningitis.Therefore,ifyouarearoundsomeonewhohasviralmeningitis,youhaveamoderate chanceofbecominginfected,butaverysmallchanceofdevelopingmeningitis. HowcanIreducemychancesofbecominginfected? Becausemostpersonswhoareinfected withenterovirusesdonotbecomesick,itcanbedifficulttopreventthespreadofthevirus.However, adheringtogoodpersonalhygienecanhelptoreduceyourchancesofbecominginfected.Themost effectivetopreventinfectionistowashyourhandsthoroughlyandoften.

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