Treatment
The treatment of meningitis depends on the pathogens (bacteria or viruses). Meningitis caused by bacteria is treated with antibiotics. Treatment is usually carried out as an in-patient in hospital in an intensive care unit.
It should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis and lasts several weeks to months depending on the stage of the disease. Meningitis caused by viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics. Here, special medication against viruses is given, so-called antivirals.
Normally this, in combination with rest and protection of the baby, leads to an improvement of the symptoms and the meningitis subsides within a few days to weeks. In some cases, general discomfort and headaches may persist for a long time. A transfer of the viral meningitis to the brain tissue (encephalitis) is a dreaded complication. This is particularly common when infected with herpes or measles viruses.
Duration
The course and duration of meningitis varies greatly depending on the pathogen causing it. In bacterial infections, the course of the disease is often more serious and progresses faster. The first symptoms may appear 2 to 5 days after infection with the bacterium.
Subsequently, the infection often takes a very severe course, which can lead to death within a short time (hours to days). In viral infections, the first symptoms appear approximately after 2 to 14 days. This so-called incubation period depends on the pathogen. By resting and resting, spontaneous healing of meningitis usually occurs within a few days to weeks.
What could be the consequences of late effects?
Similar to meningitis in adults, the inflammation in the area of the central nervous system can also have consequences for babies. These occur mainly in bacterial infections. As the nervous system in newborns is not yet fully mature, there is a risk that its development will be disrupted by the inflammation.
As a result, impairments of mental development are possible in rare cases. In addition, disturbances of consciousness, movement and hearing can occur when the inflammation spreads to the brain tissue. Without treatment, the bacteria can spread via the bloodstream (Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome).
In the blood there is a rapid and strong multiplication, which is why it is also called blood poisoning (sepsis). Due to a disorder of the blood clotting system, this process is acutely life-threatening for the baby. An emergency room and intensive medical treatment are urgently needed.
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