Meningitis Kayla Thomas 1/6/13 (honors) Pysch

Meningococcal Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges caused by bacterial or viral infection.

Causes of Meningitis The most common cause of meningitis is from viral infections. There are two types of meningitis, viral and bacterial. Bacterial is the most serious out of the two. People with herpes are less likely to get it rather than people with HIV and other sexually transmitted Viruses CAUSES Chemical Reactions Drug Allergies Fungi Parasites Tumors Mumps HIV

Targeted Population Kids are mainly the ones infected with this disease, it ranges from about 1 to 4 years of age, and babies under 1.

Symptoms Viral Occurs more than Bacterial with bacterial being the worst. Symptoms usually happen early fall and late summer. Bacterial meningitis is an emergency. Symptoms may be. Chills, Fever Vomiting, sensitivity to light stiff neck Severe headaches Rapid breathing, decreasing in alertness agitation

Prognosis Finding the prognosis of Meningitis is hard to determine with doctors. It really depends on the underlying severity of the infection. Bacterial: A Medical emergency, soon starts to enter bloodstream causing blood poisoning. later brain damage and if not treated and cared for immediately death can occur. Prognosis depends on age, and causative pathogen. Neurologic problems are hearing loss, impairment and seizures. Viral: For viral it is much better, with treatments patient can recover in 7-10 days. Prognosis however is not as good in infants, and younger children do the immune system. If the brain becomes infected, Prognosis becomes poor

Cures/Medication Bacterial Meningitis: Antibiotics, Cortisone medications, broad spectrum. Ears may need to be drained. Viral Meningitis: Bed rest, a lot of fluids & over the counter pain medicine. If it is caused by a herpesvirus then you take an antiviral medication. Other than that for viral you let the meningitis set its course because it isn't as bad as the bacterial.

Michael's story A young man named michael one day told his mom that he wasn't feeling so well but not too bad that he couldn't do anything. Later on that day he told his mom that his back was aching, she didn't think much of it do to the fact that he had helped her in the garden the day before. she ignored it and he decided to go out with friends. The next morning Michael seemed to get worse, and eventually collapsed trying to get up. They immediately took him to the hospital where doctors noticed a rash was occurring. Soon things appeared to get worse his temperature rose, and he was put on a respiratory system. Later on he started showing signs of improvement his fever was gone and he was breathing slightly better. Until at 2:00 a.m they received a call that Michael was going through cardiac arrest and later died. What Michael had was bacterial Meningitis the disease that can take your life as fast as it occurred.

Medical Facilities/Organizations NMA: National Meningitis Association - Gives vaccinations to those with meningitis and help with disease and control.

Citations Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "PubMed Health." Meningitis. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 Jan Web. 05 Mar Sachdev, Poonam. "Prognosis of Meningitis." Prognosis of Meningitis. N.p., Dec Web. 05 Mar