Can viral meningitis cause permanent damage?
Viral meningitis can make you very sick, but it often doesn’t leave lingering effects. Bacterial meningitis is more serious. It progresses rapidly and can cause permanent damage or even become life-threatening. Quick diagnosis and treatment can help prevent some of the potential long-term side effects.
Can meningitis cause permanent brain damage?
Several types of bacteria can first cause an upper respiratory tract infection and then travel through the bloodstream to the brain. The disease can also occur when certain bacteria invade the meninges directly. Bacterial meningitis can cause stroke, hearing loss, and permanent brain damage.
Can you recover from meningitis in the brain?
Bacterial meningitis is serious. Some people with the infection die and death can occur in as little as a few hours. However, most people recover from bacterial meningitis. Those who do recover can have permanent disabilities, such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities.
How bad is meningitis in the brain?
Bacterial meningitis is serious and can be fatal within days without prompt antibiotic treatment. Delayed treatment increases the risk of permanent brain damage or death. It’s also important to talk to your doctor if a family member or someone you live or work with has meningitis.
Does meningitis affect memory?
After recovering from meningitis, some people experience problems with memory. This can be a result of damage to the brain during the illness. Children who have recovered from meningitis may have difficulty concentrating due to lingering brain damage.
What are the long-term side effects of spinal meningitis?
Long-term effects of bacterial meningitis
- speech problems.
- issues with memory.
- loss of coordination.
- learning difficulties.
- hearing loss.
- vision loss.
- seizures.
- hydrocephalus, which is a buildup of fluid in the brain.
How long does it take to fully recover from viral meningitis?
Most people who get mild viral meningitis usually recover completely in 7 to 10 days without treatment. Antiviral medicine may help people with meningitis caused by viruses such as herpesvirus and influenza.
Can you fully recover from viral meningitis?
Most people who get mild viral meningitis usually recover completely in 7 to 10 days without treatment. Antiviral medicine may help people with meningitis caused by viruses such as herpesvirus and influenza. Antibiotics do not help viral infections, so they are not useful in the treatment of viral meningitis.
Does meningitis affect mental health?
Although viral meningitis is rarely life threatening, it can make very people unwell and leave them with a number of life altering after effects. These can include depression, exhaustion, concentration and balance problems, headaches and mood swings.
What are the long-term side effects of viral meningitis?
Possible long-term complications include:
- speech problems.
- issues with memory.
- loss of coordination.
- learning difficulties.
- hearing loss.
- vision loss.
- seizures.
- hydrocephalus, which is a buildup of fluid in the brain.
Does viral meningitis cause memory loss?
In addition to causing changes in one’s sight, hearing problems, epilepsy, and sometimes paralysis of certain parts of the body (after affecting one’s spinal cord), meningitis can also cause considerable memory loss, confusion, and the inability to concentrate and focus.
Does meningitis cause altered mental status?
The classic triad of meningitis consists of fever, nuchal rigidity, and altered mental status, but not all patients have all 3, and almost all patients have headache. Altered mental status can range from irritability to somnolence, delirium, and coma.
How does meningitis affect the brain?
In very bad cases, meningitis injures or destroys nerve cells and causes brain damage. This is due to the raised pressure on your brain and the toxic effect of the bacterial poisons on your brain cells, as well as reduced blood supply and formation of blood clots in blood vessels of the brain.
How contagious is meningitis?
Bacterial meningitis is usually less contagious than viral; depending on the bacterial genus causing the infection, it may be contagious during the incubation period and for about an additional seven to 14 days. And they can be contagious for much longer (many days to months) if the person becomes a carrier.
How does one contract meningitis?
Hygiene: The bacteria and viruses that cause meningitis are contracted through close personal contact including sneezing, coughs, kissing, not washing hands before eating, and after going to the toilet.