How do you know you have been struck by fulminant meningitis? Why may limb amputation be necessary? here’s the answers
The fulminating meningitis it is a very serious and often fatal disease, which can have different causes and different types of complications that leave evident marks on the body. It consists of one inflammation of the meninges, that is, those protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is the most frequent infectious syndrome of the central nervous system.
It can strike at all ages, although the cause can be different depending on the age. In fact, for example, in very young children, infants, it is in most cases caused by battery such as Escherichia coli and streptococci, while in adolescents and young adults it may depend on the meningococcus and in the elderly on pneumococcus.
Fulminant meningitis, symptoms and causes –
The main causes are to be found in bacteria and viruses, therefore in very invasive microorganisms, that is, they multiply rapidly and spread throughout the organism. The disease has a sudden onset and very fast worsening. This is why it is very important to be able to have an immediate diagnosis, even if, unfortunately, it is not always possible, especially because the first symptoms are very general, such as fatigue, headache, drowsiness, loss of appetite, vomiting and nausea. However there are three more specific symptoms that if they appear they must promptly prompt the patient to carry out immediate checks:
- stiffness in the nape of the neck and inability to move the neck forward;
- very high fever;
- altered mental status.
Other more evident symptoms can also be added such as reddish or purple spots caused by micro-hemorrhages of the vessels, sensitivity to light and noise, tremors and convulsions. Meningitis contracts when coming in contact with the bacterium, virus or fungus which can cause it or by direct and prolonged contact with those who are already affected, but it can be a asymptomatic healthy carrier and therefore not knowing that it is contagious. In rarer cases it may depend on the extent of a neoplasm that also affects the meninges, an autoimmune disease or the use of drugs.
Diagnosis and complications –
To have a certain diagnosis it is necessary to proceed with a chemical-physical and microbiological analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. In order to withdraw this liquid which is located between the meninges and the central nervous system, one must proceed with one lumbar puncture and insert the needle into the spinal canal. Once meningitis has been ascertained, it is necessary to proceed immediately with antibiotics and often also with antivirals. Sometimes corticosteroids may be used.
If action is not taken in time, the body’s inflammatory response to fulminant meningitis can be very serious and cause permanent damage such as blindness, deafness, epilepsy, cognitive deficits, necrosis leading toamputation of one or more limbs. In addition, the inflammation can cause numerous scars all over the body, similar to burns.
Can fulminant meningitis be prevented? –
Science has made a lot of progress in the field of meningitis prevention and some forms of this disease can be prevented with meningitis vaccines, some of which are administered as early as the first months of a child’s life, while others can be done as adults. For example, for the elderly it is important that against pneumococcus, while for newborns that against meningococcus.
Furthermore, for prevention, it is also important to put into practice all those actions to which we are now used to due to the spread of the coronavirus: avoid crowded places, try to avoid coming into contact with droplet of people who, for example, could be healthy carriers, wash their hands often and well. However it is less contagious than the coronavirus, but also than a normal cold or the flu, to be infected it is necessary direct and prolonged contact with whom it is affected.
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