Introduction
Meningitis is an infectious disease in which bacteria, viruses or other pathogens cause inflammation of the meninges and spinal meninges. As a relatively common disease, there are typical signs of meningitis. Therefore, a detailed anamnesis and clinical examination is important at the beginning in order to quickly detect typical signs and make a diagnosis.
The main symptoms of a classical meningitis are the following signs during the disease: severe headache, fever with temperatures even above 40°C and meningism. Meningismus means a stiffness of the neck, where bending the head forward causes pain in the neck and is the typical sign of meningitis. In addition, other symptoms such as photophobia, sensitivity to noise and general pain in the limbs are also common.
Disturbances of consciousness can also be signs of meningitis. All these symptoms can be pronounced in different ways. Bacterial meningitis, for example, is a highly acute form of meningitis, while viral meningitis tends to be a gradual process.
Special attention must be paid to the age of the patient. While typical signs of meningitis usually dominate in adults, symptoms may be less pronounced or absent in children or babies, making diagnosis more difficult. If a tick bite is the cause, there are additional signs on the skin.
Typical signs in adults
Meningitis in adults causes typical signs in most cases. It often starts with severe headaches, which occur together with aching limbs and shyness in front of light and loud noises. A meningismus can be detected.
This is characterized by stiffness and pain in the neck, which is especially noticeable when the head is bent forward or the legs are pulled up. If bacteria or viruses are the cause, the symptoms of meningitis can develop within hours and become a highly acute clinical picture, whereby viral meningitis often heals spontaneously. Typical signs of meningitis in adults are also accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, back and muscle pain. Thus, the signs of meningitis in adults point the way forward for diagnosis and therapy.
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