Identify 8 symptoms of meningitis in children

In fact, it is difficult to recognize meningitis symptoms in children. This is the main cause of the delay in getting your baby to the hospital in time. From there, making children face many bad risks that seriously affect their health.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the lining that protects our brain and spinal cord. There are many causes of the illness, but the symptoms are often similar.

Meningitis usually occurs in babies and young children. Therefore, it is essential to equip knowledge to recognize the signs of the disease as soon as the baby has the first few symptoms. In this article, aFamilyToday Health will point out 8 symptoms of meningitis in children to promptly cope if the disease occurs.

The structure of the meninges

The function of the meninges is to surround and protect the brain, spinal cord and the first part of the cranial nerves. The meninges are composed of 3 layers:

Dura mater: This is the thickest of the three membranes, located on the outside, sticking to the inside of the skull. It is one of the few structures in the skull capable of feeling pain, whereas the brain does not perceive it.

Arachnoidea:  This is a thin membrane that sits close to the inside of the sclera, helping to protect the brain and spinal cord from unexpected effects. The arachnoid is made up of a network of fibers and collagen of loose fibers.

Membrane culture, also known as the pia mater: is the innermost layer, covering the brain and spinal cord. The membrane has many blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the spinal cord. Between the arachnoid and the cultured membrane, there is a subarachnoid space containing cerebrospinal fluid.

Meningitis in children is what?

Meningitis in children is a dangerous disease characterized by an inflammatory reaction of the meninges and spinal cord. It is usually caused by a virus (a disease called aseptic meningitis) or bacteria from an infected site in another part of the body moving through the bloodstream to the brain and marrow. In addition, a fungal infection can be the cause of meningitis, but this is less common.

The cause of illness in infants and young children is usually a virus. Viral meningitis is usually milder than bacterial meningitis and resolves on its own within 10 days. Many of the viruses that cause meningitis in children belong to the enterovirus group, such as coxsackie, which causes hand, foot and mouth disease. Children infected with other viral diseases such as mumps, herpes simplex virus, influenza ... can also be the cause of meningitis.

Infants aged 2 - 3 months with meningitis can suffer serious injuries that put them at risk of deafness, neurological defects ( epilepsy ), and even death.

Symptoms of meningitis in children

1. Sudden high fever

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One of the symptoms of meningitis is a sudden fever accompanied by a tremor. If you know how to talk, your child will tell you that they are very cold, with younger children they can find a blanket to cover or want to be held to warm.

Your baby's body temperature rises very quickly and it is difficult for your baby to reduce fever . Fever is a symptom of many other diseases such as sore throat, viral fever , dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease ... so you need to pay attention to other signs of the child. This can help you recognize changes in your child's health.

2. Child has severe headache

Meningitis headaches are usually not simply severe headaches, but they can also be unbearable. This may be the cause of your baby being fussy or restless or distracted. In addition, the pain can also spread to the child's neck, so some children may complain of neck pain or frequent neck cramps.

Another important sign of meningitis in a newborn is a swollen thump.

3. Double vision

A child with meningitis cannot focus on looking at something. This is the reason why you have double vision.

Photo: brightside.me

4. Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting

Children with meningitis often lose their appetite. This is because the child has persistent vomiting or nausea with colic symptoms.

5. Sensitivity to light

Photo: brightside.me

Another sign of meningitis is photophobia. Bright light makes children feel sore eyes, watery eyes, and makes headaches worse.

6. Trigger pose - a typical childhood encephalitis symptom

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You can tell if your child has meningitis or not if you notice your child is lying on his side, his head is tilted back, his arms are bent, his knees are close to his abdomen, his back is arched back. In medicine, this pose is also known as the trigger pose. If you try to swing the support so that the baby lies in a different position, the baby will tend to stay the same.

7. I can't straighten my legs

Photo: brightside.me

Put your baby on his or her back and do the following:

You place your hand on the child's left chest, the right hand is under the nape of the baby's nape and slowly raise the baby's head: If the child has meningitis, the baby will appear nape sore and legs will be pulled.

Let your child lie on his back, legs stretched, you fold his one leg to the thigh, slowly fold the thigh to the abdomen: The child has meningitis when the other leg also contracts.

Let your baby lie on his back, legs stretched: You press hard on the pubic bone of the child, the baby with meningitis will have a contraction reaction of the legs to the abdomen.

Above are the Brudziński signs characteristic of meningitis. In addition, a child with this disease also shows signs of Kernig like they cannot fully stretch their legs if you lift their legs up to an angle of about 90 °.

You can check for signs of Kernig by the following: Have your child lie on his back, place his legs at right angles to his thighs and thighs at right angles to his torso. Then, slowly lift your child's shins up the shaft to the thighs.

Your baby has a meningeal injury when the muscles behind his thighs and legs are stiff, he can't lift his or her legs up very little or he complains of pain or crying.

8. Rashes

A skin rash can also be a warning sign of meningitis. You can have this test at home to see if your baby has meningitis. Proceed as follows:

Grab a clear glass, place it in place of the rash and press firmly until the skin around it turns pale. If the rash becomes pale with the skin, chances are your baby doesn't have meningitis. If the rash is not pale, you should bring your baby to a doctor, there is a high risk that he or she is developing a rash from meningitis.

How is meningitis in children treated?

If a child has a healthy immune system with meningitis, his or her body can produce enough antibodies to fight the disease. Usually, doctors will prescribe drugs to treat children, especially babies. In some cases, children may be hospitalized for several days for the doctor to closely monitor symptoms, especially with young children. This helps doctors to promptly prevent bad complications such as brain damage, hearing loss, epilepsy, reduced learning ability ...

If the cause of your baby's meningitis is bacterial, doctors will prescribe a number of strong antibiotics. With newborn babies, babies usually stay in hospital for 2 weeks of treatment.

Meningitis is a very dangerous disease, but if it is diagnosed early in the early stages when the first symptoms of the disease appear, the possibility of cure is quite high, about 85%. This is why doctors often recommend that parents take their children to the hospital immediately if they suspect meningitis.

In fact, meningitis is a disease that is easy to confuse with many other diseases. Therefore, you need to carefully observe the unusual manifestations in the baby in order to detect the signs of the disease to promptly bring the baby to the doctor before the disease shows signs of getting worse.

How to prevent meningitis for children?

Do you know the bacteria and viruses that cause meningitis can be spread easily through everyday activities such as coughing, sneezing, kissing or eating together, sharing furniture ... That's why, to prevent Meningitis in children, you should:

Practice for your baby to have a habit of washing hands often

Children are fed with a good diet to strengthen the immune system

Only give your baby cooked or pasteurized foods, with fruit you should feed your baby thoroughly washed fruit.

Teach children how to cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing. Practice the habit of wearing a mask every time you go out

Teach your children not to eat food, to share eating utensils with others

Vaccination: meningitis vaccine caused by Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B - Hib), pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13), Pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPSV23), meningococcal vaccine ...