MENINGITIS

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Treatment

Treatment for meningitis depends on the organism causing the infection, your age, the extent of the infection, and the presence of other medical conditions or complications of meningitis.

Most people with viral meningitis usually start getting better within 3 days of feeling sick and recover within 2 weeks. However, it is important to see your health professional if symptoms of meningitis develop so that he or she can rule out bacterial meningitis, which is more serious. With mild cases of viral meningitis, you may only need home treatment, including fluids to prevent dehydration and medicine to control pain and fever. If you do not get better or if symptoms get worse, you may need further testing to check for other causes of illness.

Bacterial or severe viral meningitis may require treatment in a hospital, including:

• Antibiotics
• Measures to reduce pressure within the brain
• Measures to reduce fever
• Measures to prevent seizures
• Oxygen therapy
• Monitoring fluids
• Monitoring blood chemicals

Home treatment

Home treatment usually is all that is needed for most people who have viral meningitis. It includes:

• Resting
• Reducing fever
• Relieving minor pain
• Preventing dehydration
• Watching for signs of complications during illness

Other Treatment

People with severe meningitis or complications during illness may need to be treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital. They may need:

• Oxygen therapy, to help ease breathing and reduce the amount of work on the heart. A pulse oximeter often is used to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. In addition, if people are too sick to breathe on their own, they may need a machine called a ventilator
• Suctioning, to remove mucus from the bronchial tubes. A small plastic tube is inserted into the mouth or nose. The tube is attached to a machine that gently sucks out mucus. Other treatments, such as breathing exercises and massage, also can be used to remove mucus.
• Liquids given through a vein (intravenous, or IV). Sometimes people are too sick to drink liquids.