Meningitis is one of the most serious and dangerous diseases, which is characterized by inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord or brain. As a rule, because of its imperfect immunity, this infectious disease is most often exposed to young children.
In medical practice, depending on the nature of the inflammatory process, there are two types of meningitis: serous (more often enterovirus) and purulent. The causative agents of serous meningitis are enteroviruses, such as Coxsackie, ECHO, poliomyelitis virus, mumps and others. As for purulent meningitis, its causative agent usually becomes a bacterial infection - meningococcus, pneumococcus, staphylococcus, salmonella, streptococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or hemophilic rod.
At the first manifestations of meningitis in children, it is important to begin treatment as soon as possible, since this disease can cause quite serious complications: epilepsy, deafness, hydrocephalus, as well as problems with mental development of children.
How to treat meningitis in children?
Treatment of meningitis in children is carried out exclusively in stationary conditions. For an accurate diagnosis, the attending physician should perform a lumbar puncture, to study the CSF, as well as bacteriological examination of the blood. These manipulations are conducted to identify the causative agent of the disease and determine its sensitivity to antibiotics.
The basis for the treatment of both serous and purulent meningitis in children is antibiotic therapy, the main purpose of which is to eliminate the causes of the disease. However, in some cases, it is not possible to establish exactly the type of pathogen, so empirical antibiotic therapy is needed, which has an effect on the entire spectrum of the most probable pathogens. After receiving the results of bacteriological examination and identification of the type of pathogen, it is possible to change the drugs used for treatment more effective against this strain. For a sick child, antibiotics are administered parenterally for at least 10 days and 7 days after the normalization of the child's body temperature. As a rule, the following antibacterials of a wide spectrum of action are used for the treatment of meningitis: antibiotics of the class of cephalosporins ( cefotaxime , ceftriaxone ), penicillin, and as reserve vancomycin and carbapenems.
Along with antibacterial therapy, diuretics are prescribed (diuretics, such as lasix, ureide, diacarb) to reduce intracranial pressure, as well as to prevent and treat cerebral edema.
In addition, an important component of nonspecific treatment for meningitis of different etiologies is infusion therapy (detoxification) and maintenance of the water-salt balance. For this, intravenous infusion of colloidal and crystalloid solutions is carried out.
After discharge from the hospital, treatment of meningitis is carried out already at home under the prescriptions of the attending physician, and during the year
Treatment of meningitis with folk remedies
It should be remembered that in the absence of appropriate treatment this disease can lead to death, so treatment at home is simply impossible. In addition, it is strongly not recommended for the treatment of meningitis to independently use the methods of traditional medicine because of low efficiency and unnecessary waste of time. Remember that the timing and effectiveness of treatment for meningitis depends on how quickly the disease is detected and provided with adequate treatment.