If your healthcare provider thinks your child has meningitis, she will start antibiotics right after the spinal tap. Antibiotics are the treatment for bacterial meningitis. If your child has bacterial meningitis, he will receive antibiotics for 14 to 21 days or longer. How long the antibiotic medicine is given depends on several things, including the type of bacteria. Usually, children can have a special intravenous (IV) line, called a PICC (peripheral indwelling central catheter), placed, which will allow your child to go home for the last part of the antibiotic treatment. If your child is an infant or 2 years old or less, your healthcare provider may order steroid therapy. This may reduce the problems from bacterial meningitis. Your doctor may need to get more spinal fluid during and after the treatment to make sure the antibiotics worked.
Bacterial Meningitis
Bacterial meningitis is a serious, and sometimes fatal, illness characterized by inflammation of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord areas. You can acquire bacterial meningitis if an infected person coughs near you, or if you have intimate contact with an infected person, like kissing them. If this infection is present in your community, pay attention to symptoms including a stiff neck, headache, vomiting, seizure, aversion to light, and/or unexplained fatigue. Antibiotics can be used to treat this infection, especially if they are started early. If you are at risk of contracting bacterial meningitis, discuss the possibility of vaccination with your doctor.
Recently Answered
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Dr. Brad J. Spellberg, MD , Infectious Disease, answeredAnyone can get bacterial meningitis. However, some people are at higher risk than others. People whose immune systems do not function normally are at higher risk for many forms of meningitis. Such patients could include those taking steroids or other immune suppressive medications (e.g., patients with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, organ transplant), patients without a spleen, patients with other diseases (e.g., HIV), or those with excessive alcohol intake. -
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Dr. Brad J. Spellberg, MD , Infectious Disease, answeredTypically fever, a severe headache, a rigid neck and back, possibly with confusion. Vomiting is common. Some bacterial meningitis may cause a rapidly spreading rash.
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Dr. Brad J. Spellberg, MD , Infectious Disease, answeredThere are many bacteria that can cause meningitis. Some, but not all, forms are contagious. In particular, Neisseria meningitidis meningitis is highly contagious. Neisseria meningitis commonly occurs among teenagers and young adults, often in military barracks or college dormitories, do to exposure to many people in a small space. Such meningitis can now be prevented with vaccination.
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Dr. Brad J. Spellberg, MD , Infectious Disease, answeredDeath despite treatment occurs in 20-30% of patients. Survivors are often left with neurological defects (i.e., brain damage), which can be debilitating. Some patients require plastic tubes to relieve pressure from the brain.
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Most children who get treatment right away recover well. Some severe problems may include:
- Blindness
- Speech loss
- Brain damage
- Seizures
- Paralysis
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Viral meningitis is the most common form. It is usually less severe.
Bacterial meningitis is very serious. The bacteria can destroy the tissue that they infect.