Neck Pain

Neck Pain Can Be Taken As A Key To Decide Existence Of Meningitis

Meningitis is the infection of brain linings and spinal cord. It creates a great fear in the minds of the people. Meningitis can expand itself over the brain tissue and damage the brain in about one tenth of the cases.

Meningitis is either viral or bacterial. Viral meningitis can't be treated with the help of antibiotics. It creates severe pain but is not as dangerous as that of bacterial meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is caused by bacteria like pneumococcus, E. coli meningococcus, etc. bacterial meningitis can be treated by using IV antibiotics. Some vaccines are aloe available to treat this.

Symptoms of the meningitis include high fever, extremely painful headache, vomiting neck pain and stiffness and photophobia. Sore throat pain in front of the neck does not indicate meningitis. In meningitis it pains at the back side of the neck. Stretching of the neck forward and backward also creates the severe pain. If patient is feeling other symptoms of meningitis without severe neck pain then it might not be the case of meningitis.

The lining:   As lining of the spinal cord and brain are connected, meningitis induces neck stiffness. Kids who are refusing to look down and holding their neck stiffly may the important symptom of the meningitis. It creates more problems to diagnose meningitis in infants as they can't tell us whether they are facing neck stiffness or not. Symptoms like severe irritability, lethargy (which means kid is limp, lifeless and not giving attention on anybody by opening eyes.), refusal to feed may be because of meningitis. Neck pain can be taken as a key to decide existence of meningitis. If patients are feeling all the above said symptoms then it indicates a serious case. But if neck stiffness is absent we can predict that this might not be a case for meningitis. Even if then one should consult doctor for the safety. Above discussion does not mean that neck stiffness with severe pain should always be taken as meningitis. To diagnose disease as meningitis doctor looks for photophobia and lethargy with irritability in infants. It is also checked whether upper movement of the legs is creating back movement or not. Existence of neck stiffness with most of the other symptoms indicates meningitis.