In the summer, the issue ofprevention of encephalitis in children and adults. However, few people know that the disease is not always the result of infection from a tick bite. The cause of encephalitis can be almost any viral or bacterial infection. Moreover, in children such a disease is more common than in adults, since in babies the immune system and the body’s ability to defend itself are not sufficiently developed.
What is encephalitis?What should be done to avoid infection? What are the symptoms and treatment of encephalitis? How should it be diagnosed and which specialists are best to contact? This article will help you find the answers to these questions, and then no disease can take you by surprise.
Encephalitis is an acute disease, the development of which is associated with a viral or bacterial infection and the result of which is the defeat of the substance of the brain.
What is dangerous encephalitis?Symptoms in children and adults are characterized by the serious condition of the patient, which in itself has a negative impact. However, the end of the disease has an even greater negative effect. The consequences of encephalitis are often complete or partial paralysis, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, and even death.
Pathogens cause edema andhemorrhage, destroy the membranes and processes of neurons, damage the structure of the subcortical nuclei of the brain, as well as its white and gray matter. In addition, a bacterial infection can cause purulent infection of the pia mater.
Since the disease is caused by various causes and pathogens, the symptoms of encephalitis in children (as well as in adults) can sometimes differ in their severity and duration.
Therefore, let us first define what groups and subtypes the disease is divided into, and only then talk about its treatment and prevention.
According to the cause, encephalitis is primary and secondary.
Primary encephalitis is an independent disease, excited by the negative effects of the virus on the body. In accordance with the different causes of development, primary encephalitis can be:
- viral (herpes, influenza, enterovirus, cytomegalovirus, rabies, etc.);
- bacterial (neurosyphilis, typhus);
- seasonal (tick-borne, mosquito, etc.).
Secondary encephalitis usually occurs as a complication or continuation of an existing disease. It is a consequence of:
- infection with parasites (chlamydia, malaria, toxoplasmosis);
- bacterial infection (tuberculosis, streptococcal, staphylococcal);
- complications (after measles, rubella, chickenpox);
- vaccination (after rubella, parotitis, measles vaccination).
Postvaccinal encephalitis is a pretty phenomenonrare and uncharacteristic. But still, if after vaccination the child has a fever and a headache, you should pay special attention to these symptoms.
What is the way the infection spreads to the brain? This happens with the flow of blood when the pathogens, once in the bloodstream, are sent to the very center of the nervous system.
Also likely airborne transmission of encephalitis (with herpes), contact-household and alimentary (enterovirus).
Sometimes the cause of encephalitis is the toxic effects of poisons in carbon monoxide or in contact with heavy metals, as well as an allergic reaction to various pathogens.
So, we familiarized with the causes and mechanism of the disease development. Therefore, a quite relevant question arises: what specific signs (symptoms) of encephalitis in a person?
How the disease manifests itself depends largely on the source of its occurrence. However, there is a general list of symptoms of encephalitis in humans.
First of all, it is a sharp rise in temperature.body cramps, delirium and confusion, severe migraine. Therefore, if a child has a fever and a headache (and changes in his condition occurred quickly and abruptly), it is worth sounding the alarm.
How does the encephalitis of different types? Let's find out, as the early detection of the disease will have a positive effect on its cure.
Tick-borne encephalitis in children is very dangerous. He can leave behind incurable consequences - neurological disorders that can permanently make a child disabled.
It is probably no secret that the mostthe probable carrier of encephalitis of this species is the tick. Mite lives mainly in shady bushes and grass, so if you went out of town, walked in a park or worked in the garden, you should carefully examine the skin to detect this little pest.
You should know that not always the tick stays onhuman body after being bitten. Often males quickly leave a stung place, unlike females, who can sit on a wound for several days, feeding on blood and increasing in volume. Therefore, if you do not find a tick on your body or on the child’s body, but you have unpleasant warning signs, you should immediately go to the hospital.
Помните, что инкубационный период энцефалита (то there is a time from the moment of the bite until the onset of symptoms) lasts from one to three weeks and is accompanied by weakness, body aches and fever. Later they are joined by convulsions, loss of consciousness, coma.
It is noteworthy that the older a person is, the harder he suffers the disease and the more difficult his recovery will be.
In medicine, there are several forms of tick-borne encephalitis:
Repeat that the symptoms of encephalitis in children canproceed in different ways and resemble a picture of other infectious diseases. Therefore, it is important to quickly identify the cause of the ailment, consult a doctor and begin treatment. If the child has a fever and headache, a specialist should be consulted.
Epidemic encephalitis is also very common.and dangerous. The causative agent of encephalitis of this form has not yet been determined, but it has recently been revealed that it lives in saliva and mucus and quickly dies when released into the external environment. It is noteworthy that in the first ten years of life, children rarely suffer from this disease.
Since epidemic encephalitis canto become infected by airborne droplets, it is natural that its carriers are virus carriers and those who are directly ill. The incubation period for encephalitis ranges from one week to two months.
The symptoms accompanying the disease are verymultifaceted. This is the usual fever in this disease, and vomiting, and drowsiness. Noteworthy are also other signs - strabismus, unstable gait, tinnitus, increased anxiety, mental disturbances, and decreased intelligence.
Enteroviral encephalitis is accompanied by vomiting and headache, paralysis of the limbs and seizures. The latter are most often found in children of very young age.
Herpetic encephalitis is a consequence of the herpes virus, so it is possible to become infected with it through airborne droplets, as well as with contact-household ones.
The incubation period of this disease can be a whole month. The disease may be accompanied by convulsions, loss of consciousness, skin rashes, vomiting, aggression, various kinds of hallucinations.
If the child is more than ten years old, herpesencephalitis can develop into a chronic disease, and in young children without proper treatment can be fatal. Most often, herpetic encephalitis is provoked by acute respiratory viral infections and stomatitis.
Secondary encephalitis is due to severeinfectious diseases such as measles, rubella, chickenpox and others. Therefore, if the main disease passes, but encephalitic syndromes are observed, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Usually secondary encephalitis occurs at 1-10.the day is rash and is accompanied by fever, vomiting and cramps. Sometimes (for example, with measles encephalitis), parkinsonism and even blindness can occur. With wind encephalitis in small children, head shake, wobbly gait, tremor and chanted speech are possible.
Post-vaccination encephalitis is observed mainly in children of school age and often proceeds in an acute form, in the form of various neurological disorders and disorders.
So, we figured out what the symptoms areencephalitis in children. Now let's see how it is possible to diagnose and treat this disease, as well as analyze preventive measures and ways to prevent illness.
If you find that you have some of the symptoms of encephalitis in your child or in your child, as described in this article, you should immediately go to the hospital. You should visit these specialists:
- pediatrician or therapist;
- neurologist;
- infectious diseases.
Since encephalitis has pronounced severe manifestations that are very similar to the symptoms of other diseases, it is necessary to conduct a thorough diagnosis.
Diagnosis of encephalitis includes, beforetotal, complete blood count and urine, as well as x-rays of the lungs and MRI of the brain. In addition, it may be necessary to have a lumbar puncture (i.e., sampling of the cerebrospinal fluid for analysis).
How can these tests help detect encephalitis? The diagnosis of this disease is as follows:
Также в некоторых случаях может быть назначен virological analysis of swabs from the nasopharynx, which will help determine the level of specific antibodies. In the case of failure of other diagnostic methods, a brain biopsy is possible (that is, a sample of brain tissue). Sometimes the actual method of diagnosis can be an electroencephalogram, which can capture changes in the electrical activity of the brain.
Since the effects of encephalitis are very dangerous, it is necessary to proceed to its treatment as soon as possible.
How is the treatment of this disease?Of course, the appointment of a drug depends on the form and type of the disease. However, the patient will be offered hospitalization. This should not be abandoned - the best, quality and speedy treatment can only be rendered inpatient.
Encephalitis therapy is carried out comprehensively and in several directions:
Naturally, accurate and detailed treatment will be prescribed only in the hospital. Therefore, it is vital to carefully follow all the doctor's instructions.
How to avoid infection with encephalitis?
The first thing you can protect yourself and yourchild - is to carry out timely vaccination. Vaccination against encephalitis (tick-borne) occurs during planned or emergency immunization. Thanks to the vaccine, the body will be able to produce antibodies to fight a future disease.
It is also necessary in a regulatedprocedure for vaccination against diseases that can cause the development of encephalitis. For example, there is a schedule developed by the Ministry of Health to vaccinate children of preschool and school age against measles, chickenpox and rubella. Therefore, do not abandon the immunization of the child.
Another important prevention method isisolating a patient with encephalitis from healthy people, especially children. The room should be in the process of constant airing, and personal belongings of the infected person should be regularly disinfected.
And of course, an important measure of preventiontick-borne encephalitis is the protection of the skin from the bite of a harmful insect. Before going into the forest, you should wear as close as possible clothes that fit snugly to your body, preferably in a light, uniform color. During and after visiting the risk zone, you should carefully examine yourself and your child (especially the scalp), as well as pets. Having come home, things should be carefully shaken out and aired.
If a tick has been detected, it is imperative that you contact a medical institution and, if possible, do not try to pull out the insect yourself.
Good health to you!
