Central nervous system infections and their etiology?
Central nervous system infections include myelitis, encephalomyelitis, meningitis, spinal meningitis, cerebrospinal meningitis, encephalitis and meningoencephalitis, etc. Those occurring in the brain are also called intracranial infections, with meningitis, encephalitis and meningoencephalitis being the most common. Various biological pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, spirochetes, and rickettsia can invade the brain or spinal cord parenchyma, meninges, and blood vessels, causing acute and chronic inflammation.
What are the signs of encephalitis and meningitis?
The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days, with an average of 6 days; the prodromal phase may include fever, general malaise, headache, myalgia, drowsiness, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Most acute onset, common symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, cervical tonicity, convulsions, aphasia, hemiparesis, ataxia, involuntary movements, mental disorders, impaired consciousness, and meningeal irritation. Patients with encephalitis show prominent brain parenchymal damage and are prone to convulsions, aphasia, hemiparesis, and mental and intellectual impairment; some lentiviral infectious encephalitis is dominated by mental abnormalities, manifested as inattention, peculiar behavior, unresponsiveness, reduced speech, emotional indifference, and gradually muteness, a state of wooden frontier, inability to take care of themselves, and bedridden. Headache, vomiting, cervical tonicity and meningeal irritation signs are more prominent in patients with meningitis, and manifestations of focal brain damage are often seen in the later stages. Severely ill patients may die from increased intracranial pressure due to extensive brain parenchymal necrosis and cerebral edema, or even brain hernia formation. The course of the disease is usually a few days to 1 to 2 months.
How do I get encephalitis and meningitis?
The pathogens enter the bloodstream through insect bites, animal bites or blood transfusions and are disseminated into the brain via bloodstream. The pathogens can be transmitted to the fetus via the placenta when a pregnant woman is infected. The pathogen can spread directly into the skull when the tissue adjacent to the brain is infected. In infections through the skin, respiratory tract or gastrointestinal mucosa, the pathogen can enter the bloodstream or along the nerve endings and nerve trunk into the brain.
Is there a seasonality to encephalitis?
Most are not significantly seasonal, but there are two infectious diseases that are seasonal. Epidemic encephalitis B (referred to as B encephalitis) is mostly concentrated in July to September; epidemic encephalomyelitis (referred to as rheumatoid encephalitis) occurs mostly in winter and spring from November to May, with a peak in March to April.
What tests are needed to diagnose intracranial infection and what is the significance?
After a full understanding of the pathogenesis and a thorough physical examination, if intracranial infection is suspected the main diagnostic method is lumbar puncture cerebrospinal fluid examination. Blood tests, electroencephalography, CT or MRI examinations can assist in the diagnosis and differential examination. Cerebrospinal fluid examination includes manometry, routine, biochemical, bacteriological and viral antibody tests. Measurement of cerebrospinal fluid pressure can determine the level of intracranial pressure, which cannot be replaced by other methods yet. Observing the color of the cerebrospinal fluid, examining the cell count, cell classification, protein content, sugar and chloride content of the cerebrospinal fluid, and looking for evidence of bacterial and viral infections are aimed at clarifying the presence and severity of intracranial infections and what pathogens are infecting them, which is essential for choosing the right treatment.
What is a lumbar puncture? Can a lumbar puncture test hurt my body?
Lumbar puncture is a basic operation in neurology and is a routine test to diagnose intracranial infections. It is performed mainly by extracting a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid for examination in order to understand the type and severity of intracranial infection; it can also be injected with contrast and air for examination or day-by-day medication. There are many people who think that if cerebrospinal fluid is withdrawn, it will kill them, and this is foolish and wrong. Adult cerebrospinal fluid is connected to the circulatory system through the blood-brain barrier, and its total volume is 110-200 ml, with an average of 130 ml. It is generated at a rate of 0.35 ml/min, and about 500 ml is generated every day, which means that human cerebrospinal fluid can be renewed 3 to 4 times a day. Therefore, taking a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid for examination will not cause any effect on the human body. Lumbar puncture is generally safe because it is performed according to strict protocols. During and after the lumbar puncture, there is a possibility of some accidents such as nerve injury, bleeding at the puncture site, infection at the puncture site, anesthesia accident, and headache after lumbar puncture, which may induce brain herniation in very few patients with high cranial pressure. As long as the patient actively cooperates and the physician operates in a standardized manner, the damage caused by lumbar puncture is rare and can be fully recovered.
Should lumbar puncture be done repeatedly if I have encephalitis?
In order to clarify the diagnosis and understand the progression of the disease, and to help adjust the treatment plan, some patients need to have another lumbar puncture to check the cerebrospinal fluid, and some patients with severe tuberculosis or fungal infections require intrathecal lumbar puncture to treat the drug. For these patients, the doctor will try to minimize the risk of lumbar puncture. In order to cure the disease they have as soon as possible, the patient should actively cooperate with the doctor for lumbar puncture review and not have any psychological burden.
What kind of people are prone to encephalitis? Does a fever and headache mean that I have encephalitis?
Encephalitis is related to the physical condition of each individual. If you do not usually pay attention to your health, often stay up late on the Internet, have an irregular work and rest schedule, eat irregularly, and once you are overworked, your body’s resistance will decrease, increasing the probability of pathogenic infections. Therefore, as long as we exercise regularly, strengthen our resistance, work and rest normally, and eat properly, the chances of getting encephalitis will be greatly reduced. Although the aura of encephalitis is usually a fever and headache, not necessarily all fever and headaches are encephalitis, such as the common cold, upper respiratory tract infections and other conditions can also occur fever and headache, if the headache is severe and not relieved, and accompanied by nausea, vomiting or other convulsions, mental abnormalities. Symptoms of neurological damage such as slurred speech, hemiplegia and unconsciousness should be highly alert to intracranial infections and promptly visit a neurologist to clarify the diagnosis as soon as possible.
Does encephalitis leave after-effects after treatment?
The treatment effect is better in young people and those with mild disease, but it is often worse in older patients and infants, and in those with critical disease combined with other infections. Some patients may suffer from memory and intelligence loss and seizures. In severe cases, hemiplegia, dementia, or mental behavior disorders may remain.
What are the best supplements for patients with encephalitis?
In general, the diet of patients with encephalitis does not require special attention, as long as the nutrition is balanced. If the patient is in a coma, nasal fluid or intravenous nutrition is required. Here are a few recommended recipes for reference.
Winter melon and lotus leaf soup
Cuisine and efficacy: detoxification recipes heat recipes summer recipes heat rash recipes encephalitis recipes
Process: Boiling
Features: None
Main ingredients: winter melon 500g
Coriander and purple cabbage and horsetail ticket soup
Cuisine and efficacy: Weight loss recipes Heat detoxification recipes Diabetes recipes Cancer prevention and anti-cancer recipes Encephalitis recipes
Process: Boiled
Features: None
Ingredients: nori (dried) 40g, water chestnut 300g, chestnut (fresh) 80g
Watermelon juice
Cuisine and efficacy: toddler recipes baby recipes summer heat recipes heat rash recipes encephalitis recipes
Process: Other
Features: None
Main ingredients: watermelon 100g